African academics are being caught in the predatory journal trap

[First two paragraphs]: Academic journal articles are the lifeblood of many researchers. These articles bring exposure, prestige, and money for individual academics and their institutions.

In South Africa, the Department of Higher Education and Training paid almost R3 billion in remittances to universities in the 2014/15 financial year. This was for conference proceedings, books and book chapters, as well as for students who graduated with masters and doctoral degrees. The lion’s share of the money was for academic journal articles.