Academic visa issues and security concerns are still hampering the growth of international development research partnerships, the Times Higher Education Europe Summit heard. He said appeals by African ministries to soften visa rules for academics travelling north were often fruitless and that, instead, their academics in the North should consider coming to Africa as a temporary solution while political hurdles were cleared. “We in the South haven’t stopped professors coming, so we can still have professors from the North, coming down, making a difference, and then five years down the road they will not say no to visas,” he said. In recent years, scrutiny of international students’ bank balances has also stopped many from coming to study, particularly from India, China, Nigeria, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Professor Shyaka said Rwanda’s relatively young vocational education sector was particularly in need of experienced partners.

Source: The North Africa Journal July 05, 2023 20:27 UTC