China’s eastern universities told not to poach from lagging regions New government policy to limit academic brain drain from struggling regions seen as unlikely to succeed in face of powerful trends By Jing Liu 3 January
India’s political tug of war over v-c appointments is fraying tempers Central government representatives are increasingly rejecting candidates selected by political foes in state governments, says Mukhtar Ahmad By Mukhtar Ahmad 2 January
Covid-era exemption for China’s joint ventures ‘could remain’ Interim policy that allows students with overseas offers to study domestically instead may turn long term By Jing Liu 30 December
Blown apart by Beirut blast, flagship Arab university fights back Fadlo Khuri, president of the American University of Beirut, explains how his institution has coped with explosions, currency crises and Covid By Jack Grove 28 December
Reshaping of Hong Kong university council ‘a political takeover’ Move to shrink governing body and reduce internal representation seen as rebuke for president Rocky Tuan By Pola Lem 24 December
Taliban’s ban on female students at universities ‘heart-breaking’ Decision ‘is in clear violation of Afghanistan’s obligations under international law’, says UN high commissioner for human rights By Pola Lem 21 December
Iranian students are protesting like never before, but academics are wary Iranian academia was previously going through a phase of chronic depression in terms of socio-political activism, says Roohola Ramezani By Roohola Ramezani 20 December
India axes publication goal for PhDs to tackle predatory journals Scholars split on whether reforms – part of a wider relaxation of rules on doctorates – will tackle research fraud or whether they aim at the wrong target By Pola Lem 19 December
‘Collective crawling’ and cardboard dogs ‘are creative protests’ Bizarre phenomena on Chinese university campuses go beyond manifestations of student boredom, according to academics By Pola Lem 16 December
NUS president: Singapore universities ‘caught’ between China and US Tan Eng Chye discusses tense geopolitics, encouraging lifelong learning and getting past the split with Yale By Pola Lem 12 December
Taliban seeks to turn fighters into faculty as exams scrapped Move by Afghan government ‘opens door’ for more of its supporters to become lecturers, scholars fear By Pola Lem 12 December
Major nations urged to follow Korea’s school to HE funding shift New Korean president’s plan to cut school funding to boost universities amid demographic and economic changes may be ‘prescient’ By John Morgan 8 December