The latest news and highlights in higher education from Africa

IN THIS ISSUE

• Nigeria has received a donation of four million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from the US government
• Planned hearing of former South African President Jacob Zuma is set to be postponed
• Ethiopia’s Prime Minister has called on civilians to join the army in its fight against rebels
• Teachers Service Commission in Kenya has set the minimum number of lessons that secondary and primary school teachers can handle per week

WEST AFRICA: Nigeria

• Nigeria officials say the country is beginning to experience a third wave of the pandemic largely driven by the more contagious Delta variant as the country recorded its highest daily confirmed cases of Covid-19 in nearly six months. Figures from the country’s center for disease control, NCDC, show that doctors in public hospitals recorded 747 infections in 24 hours amid low vaccination rates and a strike. The government also placed at least six states on the red list over a possible surge. Approximately 1% of Nigeria’s population of around 200 million has been vaccinated so far.
• Nigeria has recieved a donation of four million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from the US government as part of the “US pledge to initially provide at least 25 million of the 80 million doses globally to Africa”. The US donated the vaccines to Nigeria through the international vaccine distribution facility, Covax and handed over to Nigerian officials in the capital, Abuja. Nigerian authorities say the Moderna jabs are expected to increase vaccination rates across the country as so far just around 1% of the country’s 200 million people are vaccinated with AstraZeneca doses, which were received in March through Covax.
• The United Nations Children’s Fund has said Nigeria accounts for 11 per cent of unregistered children in West Africa. UNICEF, in a statement on Tuesday, said the African continent has the lowest birth registration rate in the world with only 44 per cent of children registered at birth and millions of deaths also go uncounted each year. UNICEF Nigeria Country Representative, Peter Hawkins, in the statement, said birth registration was a one-off event that gives every child a unique identity, which would give them better access to vital services like health, education, and social protection.

Ghana

• Lecturers and non-academic staff at universities in Ghana have started an indefinite strike over pay even after the government had announced a 4% salary increase for public sector workers this year and another 7% due to take effect next year. Some university staff unions have kicked back against the increase, saying it’s too small and demanding Ghana’s government to implement a 2012 agreement that promised an entry-level lecturer’s salary of more than US$2,000 (£1,440) per month as it’s currently still below $1,000. Classes have been cancelled and institutions have shut their doors as of Monday, 2nd August.
• A UAE firm linked to a member of the country’s royal family has agreed to refund about US$2m (£1.4m) to Ghana’s health ministry after failing to deliver 3.4 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V COVID vaccine, local media outlets report. The doses were to be supplied by end of June, but the West African country had only received 20,000 doses by early July, according to reports. Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman-Manu has been under pressure to seek a refund following the findings of a parliamentary committee that highlighted alleged breaches in the procurement of the vaccines.

South Africa

• The planned hearing relating to the corruption trial of former South African President Jacob Zuma is set to be postponed, his foundation said in a tweet. He was admitted to hospital for what was described as a routine check-up and he is still being seen by doctors, and as a result will not be able to attend court. Currently serving a sentence for contempt of court, Zuma was expected to appear tomorrow for a court session relating to charges concerning an arms deal in the 1990s. He has already pleaded not guilty to 16 counts of racketeering, corruption, fraud, tax evasion and money laundering.

Zimbabwe

• President Emerson Mnangagwa on August 9 extended the Covid-19 induced lockdown measures by a further 2 weeks amid concerns that the country could be hit by a fourth wave by the end of the year. This comes after the country recorded 74 deaths and 437 new Covid-19 infections on 8 August 2021. A total of 1,864,294 people had been vaccinated with the first dose, while 1,022,718 got their second jabs. In his address to the nation on 10 August, Mnangagwa said it was worrisome that Zimbabwe’s neighbouring countries were currently experiencing a fourth wave. He called for strict adherence to World Health Organization (WHO) Covid-19 regulations, and urgent vaccination of the populace.

EAST AFRICA: Kenya

• Kenya’s Minister of Health said on Friday, July 30th, that the government had suspended all in-person meetings and public gatherings to try and contain COVID-19, whose spread in the country he now attributed to the more infectious Delta variant. Mutahi Kagwe said in a televised address that the government had asked public and private-sector employers to allow their workers to work from home, unless they were classified as essential services.
• Alarm has been raised of the growing number of suicides in the country as almost 500 people are reported to have killed themselves from April to June this year, more than the whole of 2020, according to the Kenyan police. The 483 deaths recorded during the period are a marked increase on the annual average of about 320 cases, the Ministry of Health reported. The youngest person to take their life was nine years old, the oldest 76.
• The Teachers Service Commission has set the minimum number of lessons that secondary and primary school teachers can handle per week. The minimum workload of a primary school teacher will be 35 lessons per week while a secondary school teacher will handle a minimum of 27 lessons per week. The commission has also set the maximum administrative posts per school according to the Curriculum Based Establishment (CBE) regulations. Single streamed schools (both primary and secondary) will have one school head/ principal, deputy and senior teacher/ master, while primary schools with 10 streams and a maximum of 4,000 learners shall have one head teacher, 2 deputies and 8 senior teachers. Secondary schools with 12 streams and a maximum of 2,100 students will have one principal, 2 deputies and 9 senior masters.

Ethiopia

• Ethiopia’s Prime Minister has called on civilians to join the army in its fight against rebels in the Tigray region and asked “all capable Ethiopians” to “show their patriotism” by joining the war, which is raging across the north of the country. Fighting has escalated since June when the rebels, led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), recaptured much of Tigray in an offensive. This came after the federal army had withdrawn and declared a ceasefire. In a sign of how desperate the military situation has become, Mr. Abiy, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, said the whole country had to get behind the battle to defeat the TPLF.

Uganda

• Some private institutions of learning may not reopen due to a number of constraints as a result of the Covid-19 induced lockdown that led to the closure of schools, including lack of funds for their operationalization. Many private schools are currently choking on debts and risk being auctioned by banks over accumulated loans while others face eviction from rented premises.

Burundi

• Burundi has agreed to receive COVID vaccines that were proposed by the World Bank, but the government will not urge people to get vaccinated, the health minister has said. He further added that the government will not mobilize people to be vaccinated and that only those who need it could seek the jab. Burundian authorities have been skeptical about the vaccines – and previously said they would monitor how effective they are elsewhere before agreeing to let them in.

Tanzania

• Education Ministers from both Zanzibar and Union government have promised to take into consideration views and suggestions from stakeholders in education in having an improved secondary school syllabus. It was argued that this new focus would enable secondary schools and university graduates to be competent in taking up jobs and be self-employed. The promise was made at the ongoing public debate on how to improve education in the country by focusing on a competence-based syllabus.

Rwanda

• President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s state visit to Rwanda has opened more doors to Tanzanians to teach Kiswahili after the country expressed interest to include it in its curriculum. Tanzanian Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Ambassador Liberata Mulamula, said that President Paul Kagame announced the decision that Kiswahili will be one of their national languages.