Political interference in Africa’s universities is not new. Universities’ governance was seen as ‘captured’ for narrow political rather than academic ends during the 1980s and 1990s. The continent’s universities started changing from the middle of the 1990s. Strong governance structures were prioritised. Governments promised to help steady institutions so they could focus on their academic missions. But studies funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and conducted by CODESRIA, suggest that not much has changed. The same tensions and crises associated with the old political order – student disturbances, harassment of academic staff and widespread academic corruption – persist.

In a bid to promote district level accountability in the delivery of education services, Action Aid has introduced an innovation which will address challenges to achieving high education standards. According to an Action Aid Project Officer in Mangochi, the initiative would address social accountability by working with the district council and building the capacity of various players in decision making positions to understand inclusive and accountable governance.

Tanzania’s universities is having trouble with ghosts. The government has suspended student loans worth TZS3.2 billion (US$1.5 million), affecting around 2000 students. This came after a routine verification exercise revealed that some who signed up for loans may not even exist. In a country of more than 100 000 registered tertiary students, 2000 “ghosts” may not seem like a big problem. But when the loan money is being misspent, deliberately or because of poor administration, the entire higher education system is affected, and ultimately the country.

University students and professors joined thousands of people demonstrating in the South Korean capital Seoul last weekend demanding the resignation of the country’s president over her connections with a close confidante whom many suspect of having undue influence over the way the country is run despite having no official position. Among the allegations is that she influenced the appointment of ministers. But allegations that she also used her influence to get her daughter admitted to Ewha Womans University in Seoul – one of the country’s top universities – led to the resignation of the embattled Ewha Womans University president on 19 October.