Educational Development News Blog

Malaysia - Sex education in schools soon

2005-11-17T08:59:00.000-05:00

"It is up to the Education Ministry when it will be introduced, but we hope it will be next year,' she said.

Speaking at a Press conference after opening the third Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health at the Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre today the proposed syllabus was being finalised."

Pakistan - Govt Allocates 4 % OF GDP for education

2005-11-16T10:25:00.000-05:00

Govt Allocates 4 % OF GDP for education - PakTribune:

Dr Nasim Ashraf said that literacy is a big factor for gender empowerment as it focuses more on female literacy.

Mr Iqbal-ur-Rehman Chief, NCHD literacy programme said that NCHD post literacy module has already been developed , reviewed and field tested through a twice a week classes held for neo literacy which includes Quranic themes, life skills, house hold tips, information knowledge, social harmony, health and population issues.

Thailand - Schools flip-flop stirs confusion

2005-11-15T13:11:00.001-05:00

Schools flip-flop stirs confusion:

Decentralisation laws incorporate educational services, and sooner or later the transfer of schools to local administrative bodies will have to take place.

How to do it? Clear-cut goals, well thought-out policies, effective measures and realistic timeframes will be needed."

Bulgaria - Bulgaria supports the introduction of a new integrated lifelong learning program

2005-11-15T11:18:00.000-05:00

Bulgaria supports the introduction of a new integrated lifelong learning program

"Bulgaria supports the introduction of a new integrated lifelong learning program, which is targeted towards secondary, university and professional education and training of the elderly.
* * *
The total budget of this program will be EUR 13,62 billion and it includes funding for all EU member countries. The goal of the program is to stimulate lifelong learning. One of its main priorities is that it gives an opportunity for training of schools' administration. The professional education plans internships and practices in various companies."

UAE - English language education experts visit Sharjah for the fourth annual ELTS Conference

2005-11-13T13:25:00.001-05:00

English language education experts visit Sharjah for the fourth annual ELTS Conference | Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT):

"From November 23rd to 24th, under the patronage and in the presence of His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Education and Chancellor of the Higher Colleges of Technology, the Sharjah Higher Colleges of Technology will host the fourth annual English Language Teaching in Schools (ELTS) Conference."

UAE - English language education experts visit Sharjah for the fourth annual ELTS Conference

2005-11-13T13:25:00.000-05:00

English language education experts visit Sharjah for the fourth annual ELTS Conference | Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT):

"From November 23rd to 24th, under the patronage and in the presence of His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Education and Chancellor of the Higher Colleges of Technology, the Sharjah Higher Colleges of Technology will host the fourth annual English Language Teaching in Schools (ELTS) Conference."

China - Rural kids to get free education by 2010

2005-11-10T20:08:00.000-05:00

Rural kids to get free education by 2010

"Rural elementary and secondary schools will get the bulk of educational funds allowing children to enjoy new computer and multimedia classrooms and free education as early as 2010, according to the Ministry of Education (MOE).

'Rural education is still the weakest link, and our newly-allocated
educational funds will be used mainly in rural areas,' said Zhang Xinsheng, vice-minister of MOE.

The Chinese Government will increase funds for rural education to fulfil the goal of free compulsory education in rural areas by 2010."

India rubbishes Unesco's global report on education

2005-11-10T09:16:00.000-05:00

India rubbishes Unesco's global report on education- The Economic Times

"UNESCO's Education for All Global Monitoring Report may hold countries like India responsible for failure to meet the goal of
universal primary education and gender parity, but the government isn't buying the story. Instead, the government finds the report to be based on outdated information."

UN - Illiteracy 'hinders world's poor'

2005-11-09T21:13:00.000-05:00

BBC NEWS | UK | Education | Illiteracy 'hinders world's poor'
UNESCO has published its latest Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report 2005.

"Unesco says governments and aid agencies must allocate more cash for youth and adult literacy programmes, as well as expanding quality primary and lower-secondary education.

While there is increasing backing for universal primary education, literacy is not high on the agenda of countries that give aid to other countries, the report says.

"Few bilateral donors and development banks make explicit reference to literacy in their aid policies."

The report says literacy is crucial if individuals are to participate in political, social and economic life."

Tattle Tale: Education

2005-11-09T20:49:00.000-05:00

Tattle Tale: Education is a blog similar to this one but focusing on reports. Some examples from the first few reports listed:

Using ICT for education in the Middle East

Achieving a pro poor growth higher education reform process in the South

Meeting the educational needs of nomadic peoples in East Africa: challenges and opportunities

Aus - Brand SA - the gold star for education

2005-11-09T14:38:00.000-05:00

The Advertiser: Brand SA - the gold star for education [10nov05]
International students--mostly from Asia--are moving to South Australia to take advantage of good schools and a low cost of living. This mirrors in a sense the burgeoning transfer of students from Asia to Australia for university education.

Australia spends a lot of money offering scholarships and creating joint degree programs with students from Asia (esp. Southeast Asia) with Australian universities. This is part of the changing paradigm of cross-border educational access in the developing world.

Almost 2,000 international students undertook courses at South Australian high schools this year - rising from 1800 last year and 1600 in 2003.
* * *
Glenunga International High School student Ji-Yeon Hong moved to Adelaide from Korea three months ago.

She said her parents wanted her to receive not an Australian education, but "an Adelaide education".

"Adelaide's education system is much better than Korea's and my family chose this city in particular," she said. "I'm very happy here."

Kenya gets R259m free education boost

2005-11-09T13:48:00.000-05:00

IOL: Kenya gets R259m free education boost

"Donors are injecting $24,2-million (about R159,7-million) into Kenya's free public primary school system, which was introduced after President Mwai Kibaki took power in 2003, the World Bank said in a statement Wednesday.

The funds will be directly disbursed to 18 000 primary schools throughout the country to purchase teaching and learning materials, the statement added."

Aus - Schools get Indigenous education honour.

2005-11-09T08:58:00.000-05:00

Schools get Indigenous education honour. 09/11/2005. ABC News Online

Two schools in Australia are named Centres of Excellence in Indigenous Education and awarded $20,000 (Aus dollars, I'm assuming) grants for improving attendance rates, literacy outcomes, and graduation rates.

S. Africa - Mpumalanga education dept defrauded of R26 million

2005-11-08T10:02:00.000-05:00

Mpumalanga education dept defrauded of R26 million
Perhaps it goes without saying that all government organizations are vulnerable to fraud. But the big stories usually don't involve educational organizations.

Here we have a blatant internal conspiracy to fraud which directly hurts children, as well as democracy. (R26 M is approx. US $3.9 M.)

"The contractors were appointed to build toilets and provide water tanks to schools used as polling stations during the last national elections. The companies failed to deliver any of the services but submitted a false claim of R26 million to the government. ... He says they include contractors, surveyors and government officials. "

US - Let's Renovate Our School Finance Systems

2005-11-08T00:15:00.000-05:00

Let's Renovate Our School Finance Systems
Though the editorial concerns reforming finance in the US, it's an interesting proposal that could commute to other systems as well.

"For most of this century education funding has been channeled to school districts. But since the 1980s, education reform has created a variety of new policy initiatives that require states to consider how to finance school sites (e.g., school-based management, school-level accountability, and charter schools). As states address this new task, they realize that their current district-based finance structures require significant modification, if not a complete overhaul, to produce a system that fairly and adequately responds to fiscal and curricular goals of the future.

UW-Madison Education Professors William Clune and Allan Odden say new finance systems should align with other initiatives of standards- and school-based education reforms. Based at WCER%u2019s Center for Policy Research in Education (CPRE), Odden says, 'With the right kind of change, finance systems and structures could help the education system improve the productivity of the educational dollar. Many more students could be taught to high standards.'"

Education system in Indonesia

2005-11-08T00:06:00.000-05:00

The Jakarta Post - Education system in Indonesia

"Unlike schools in the West, where critical thinking and individualism are encouraged while teaching dogma is banned -- most Indonesians don't even know that religious instruction is not allowed in public schools in the West -- Indonesian schools continue to foster the opposite.

Teaching children blind obedience and beliefs based on insufficient (or contradictory) evidence, such as religious dogma, is contrary to teaching them to be intellectually curious and to rely on the scientific method in their thinking, which is the best thing we've got in the last 200 years. Without the scientific method, we would perhaps still be counting how many angels can sit on top of a pin (a major intellectual pursuit in Europe during the Middle Ages)."

China - Govt to earmark 10 bln yuan to support vocational education

2005-11-07T21:36:00.000-05:00

Govt to earmark 10 bln yuan to support vocational education
China will provide 1O B yuan (approx. US $1.24 B) to support vocational education, focusing on poorer and rural populations.

Wen said that China has a huge population, especially in rural areas, and employment is a problem that should be solved. Therefore, vocational education should be given priority equal to basic education and education of higher learning.

He said China's vocational education should be focused on the training of working skills for the unemployed and improving workers' technical levels

Philipines - Improve teaching to solve education crisis

2005-11-07T13:50:00.000-05:00

Sun.Star Davao - Improve teaching to solve education crisis

The DepEd secretary said this would mean investing in teacher welfare and teacher development starting with improvement of curricular programs in teacher education institutions, investment in in-service teacher training, and performance rating anchored on competency-based standards.

US - States should invest in preschool

2005-11-07T09:57:00.000-05:00

States should invest in preschool

Perhaps this is obvious to most educators, but it's nice to hear media and policy makers pick up on these nuances of educational systems.

Millions of middle-class and wealthy American parents assume preschool to be an important part of their 3- and 4-year-old children's lives, but that's far from the reality of this nation's working poor. At a time when the diversity of languages, educational backgrounds, and economic status among families is rapidly widening in almost every state in the nation, a massive expansion of affordable preschool is ever more essential yet still far from being realized in too many states.

One of every 4 children under age 6 in the United States today is a child of immigrants, an extraordinary increase from just a decade ago. More than half of these children are from poor families, according to a recent report from the Urban Institute. These are exactly the families and children who can benefit most from strong early-education programs.

Bulgarian Education Lacks Practicality - Survey

2005-11-06T11:28:00.000-05:00

Bulgarian Education Lacks Practicality - Survey

[The survey] interviewed 85 businessmen and found out that highschool curriculums were inadequate to practical requirements.

Graduates usually have good knowledge of theory but lack practical skills, the report has said.

Not a particularly detailed article, but it's an interesting data point to note if, like me, you don't know anything about Bulgaria.

India - Education centres in Haryana for under-privileged sections

2005-11-05T19:18:00.000-05:00

Education centres in Haryana for under-privileged sections : HindustanTimes.com

The centres, set up under the ‘Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan’ would educate those children who fail to join schools due to poverty, an official spokesman said on Friday. The children engaged in domestic work, rag-picking activities or employed in small or cottage industries would get vocational as well as elementary education in these centres so that they are able to earn their livelihood, he said

Kenyan Secondary School Candidates Miss Exam Papers

2005-11-05T13:01:00.000-05:00

allAfrica.com: Kenya: Shock As Candidates Miss KCSE Exam Papers

In Kenya, students must take examinations to enter into the secondary school system. But this year some students did not receive copies of part of their exam.

In this situation, there is the fact that the government is trying to crack down upon exam cheating with enhanced supervision in specific regions. This is combined with fear that students may be wrongly accused of cheating due to mix-ups by the government, as in this case, where exams were not delivered (for unknown reasons).

"We are worried with the trend of irregularities in the papers this year, it was only recently when there was a nationwide mix up in the Mathematics papers," [Konoin MP Sammy Koech] said.

Norway Grants Save the Children $2.3 Million for Education in Conflict Areas

2005-11-04T21:33:00.000-05:00

allAfrica.com: PanAfrica: Africa: Norway Grants Save the Children $2.3 Million for Education in Conflict Areas:

The Norwegian government granted 15 million kroner (US $2.3 million) to international NGO Save the Children to help it implement a 2005-2009 education project in 25 countries around the world, four of them in Africa, an official of the charity said on Monday.

The chair of the International Save the Children Alliance 's Global Challenge Project, Tove Wang, told IRIN from Oslo that in Africa, the first phase of the project would be implemented in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Uganda, all adversely affected or recovering from armed conflict.

The project, which is yet to specify the budgets and needs for each country, would include the construction or rehabilitation of schools, teacher training facilities, provision of school materials, supplies and the enhancement of the quality of school curricula.

German Education Failures Linked to Social Background

2005-11-04T21:30:00.000-05:00

German Education Failures Linked to Social Background | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 04.11.2005

"The latest PISA educational study results released in Germany Thursday, confirmed what had already been suspected for long: the success of children at school is closely linked to their social status."

Children Have Something to Say

2004-12-21T11:41:00.000-05:00

IndiaDaily reports about a project by Plan India to support children making films about issues in their lives.

"The children have used the medium of films to focus on issues affecting their daily life such as education, child marriage, dowry, foeticide, substance abuse, trafficking, HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, sexual exploitation and abuse."

Here's a report regarding the program from last year.

Here's also a link the Plan India's web site.

98% of Moroccan Street Children Addicted to Glue

2004-12-21T11:37:00.000-05:00

BBC reports that 98% of Moroccan street children are addicted to sniffing glue. According to the UN, glue sniffing makes children susceptible to tuberculosis and prone to performing acts of prostitution to obtain the drug.

I don't know, that last set of claims from the UN seems shaky. I'm sure that prostitution occurs, but for a tube of glue? Also, it seems interesting that they ignore reporting on the immediate brain damaging effects of glue sniffing.

Blair Puts Money to Sports

2004-12-14T09:27:00.000-05:00

BBC reports that PM Tony Blair wants to put £ 500 M to providing sports programs for all students.

Currently 62% of students get at least 2 hours of activity a week. Blair wants that percentage to be 75% by 2006, 85% by 2008, and 100% by 2010.

Blair plans to enable this agenda through three main areas: teacher training, building specialist sports schools, and by encouraging partnership activities such as inter-school competition. Blair is also focusing on a diversity of activities--such as yoga and tai chi--a focus that his detractors call an "anti-competitive sporting agenda." These critics want sports to be the domain of competitive sports clubs--where the "real passion for sport exists."

I think this is a fantastic program to implement: physical activity for all. I have always believed that sports education is essential in learning, to have structured physical activity, if not just to get out of the classroom and move around. There's a lot to learn about your own capacity, about teamwork, and about seeing other sides of your classmates.

In response to Blair's opponents, I'm not sure that competition is an answer, or should ever be a goal--that can go on outside of the classroom. Somewhat relatedly, I think that competitive sports are destroying a lot of schools in the US, and the whole cultural goal of sports stardom is a false method to false dreams.

Ghana: Strong Voter Turnouts for Presidential Election

2004-12-07T20:20:00.000-05:00

AP Africa reports strong voter turnouts for presidential election. 21,000 voter stations with some lines holding up to 1,000 voters showed popular support to re-elect the economic reformist candidate, President John Kufuor.

'"Whoever wins needs to create jobs," said Emma Tandon, 25, who stood in line at Accra's Nkrumah Flats polling station. "Most of us students who've finished school are still sitting at home. Four years ago they promised us jobs, and look at me, I'm still here."'

S. Korea to Increase Scholarships to Foreign Students

2004-12-06T21:30:00.000-05:00

JoongAng Daily reports that Korea wishes to increase the number of foreign students studing in Korea.

"According to the Education Ministry, the number of foreign students in Korea is now at 16,800. The ministry wants the number to be up in the region of 50,000 in the next five years.
The ministry's project will kick off next month when the government invites 75 people, up from the current annual figure of 55, to study here on government scholarships. Out of the 75, the government plan calls for over half to be students from Asian countries."

Historian: Immigrants Attracted to US by Free Education

2004-12-05T11:21:00.000-05:00

NPR interviews Diane Ravage, historian of education at NYU and former assistant secretary of education under George Bush, about her idea that immigration 100 years ago to the US was partly fueled by free public education.

Zimbabwe Budgets $6.8 T for Education

2004-12-01T10:22:00.000-05:00

The Zimbabwe Herald reports that Zimbabwe has budgeted $6.8 trillion dollars for education in 2005, which is about half of what they wanted. By way of comparison, their defense spending was $2.3 trillion.

Zimbabwe has achieved great gains in developing human capital through education since their 1980 independence, but have since also been suffering from brain drain and the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

December 1 - World AIDS Day

2004-11-30T08:44:00.000-05:00

On a side-note, tomorrow (December 1) is World AIDS Day. This year the focus is on women, girls, and HIV and AIDS. UNAIDS has also released the AIDS Epidemic Update for 2004.

AusAid Scholarship to Laotian Students

2004-11-30T08:38:00.000-05:00

SMH reports on Australia's AusAid scholarship to Laotian students. This year, Australia offered 40 scholarships to study in Australia, and 64 scholarships to study at the National University of Laos. "For development [to happen], there are three steps: education, education, education."

Record Number of Women with HIV Worldwide

2004-11-23T09:50:00.000-05:00

BBC reports that the number of adult women with HIV has increased dramatically. 37.2 M adults are reported to be HIV-infected world-wide.

"In sub-Saharan Africa about 60% of those with HIV are women. Over the past two years alone, the number of women infected in East Asia has increased by 56%. In Eastern Europe and Central Asia the number has increased by 48%."

Intel, NIIT Dedicated to Doubling Technology-Assisted Schools in India

2004-11-22T09:54:00.000-05:00

Sify reports that Intel and NIIT (IT training) have dedicated themselves to doubling the number of technology-assisted schools in India by 2010. This will increase the number of schools with ICT capablities to 80,000.

"They would also develop new technologies and education models to make technology-assisted learning more affordable and accessible, and will also work with Governments and education planners to define new ICT deployment models, devise IT education standards and build replicable learning models."

Private Single Sex Schools Excel at Math and Science

2004-11-16T09:24:00.000-05:00

The Guardian reports that "Private single sex girls' schools are bucking the national trend by educating significantly more female mathematicians, engineers, scientists and linguists than schools catering for both sexes."

"The study shows that girls in single sex schools are less likely to be steered away by parents or teachers from what are still - inaccurately - perceived to be boys' subjects."

IBM Announces World Community Grid

2004-11-16T08:40:00.000-05:00

Reuters reports that IBM has announced its World Community Grid (WCG) project, an effort to tap distributed computing networks to solve global health and environmental issues. The first project will be in Human Proteome Folding, which looks to identify structures in proteins that cause disease.

The concept of the grid is that anyone with a computer can run a program that does little bits of work on a larger project when you're not using it. For example, when you walk away from your computer, it runs a screensaver that downloads data from the WCG and starts simulating protein structures and sending the processed information back to WCG. No matter how fast your computer is, when you put millions of computers to work, you can see how the is a powerful concept in data processing.

The first main player in this type of computing was the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), which is an on-going project to analyze radio signals for responses from extraterretrial life.

Global Issues That Affect Everyone

2004-11-11T16:24:00.000-05:00

In researching the situation in the Chechen Republic, I stumbled across a web site called Global Issues That Affect Everyone. The author, Anup Shah, has set up a blog-like site compiling articles he has written concerning issues from Third World debt to global conflicts to global warming. Good place to bone up on the facts regarding these issues.

East Asian Economy to Experience Slow-Down

2004-11-10T02:55:00.000-05:00

IHT reports (from Bloomberg) that the World Bank is predicting an economic slowdown in East Asia.

The East Asia region excludes Japan and India, and sees China's slowing of its own economy, higher oil prices, and lessened demand for electronics and consumer products as the main causes. The IMF and ADB (Asian Development Bank) both cut predictions for growth by about 0.3%.

Slowed down economic growth can impact government revenues for education, as well as re-prioritize economic goals over other goals (such as education). It may also affect the status of investment indicators into these countries. Overall, not great news, but not decidedly bad news for the pursuing of EFA goals in the region.

UNESCO Publishes EFA Global Monitoring Report for 2005

2004-11-09T08:37:00.000-05:00

UNESCO has published the EFA Global Monitoring Report for 2005, the third such report. The focus is on educational quality, affecting cognitive development and responsible citizenship.

The number of children out of school is declining too slowly to meet UPE by 2015. Furthermore, no country outside of the developed world has achieved all four "measurable" goals of EFA (ECCE, UPE, literacy, and gender parity). There's a nice summary of the latest results called Headline Messages.

Education Reform Should Consider Workplace Skills

2004-11-09T08:31:00.000-05:00

An editorial in USA Today argues that US education reform should consider curricular redesign to focus on critical thinking and practical skills and extracurricular activities.

Some sample recommendations are the focusing of science on health issues and the environment, and an emphasis in math curricula on statistics. Another proposal is for English courses to be electives and oral and written communication courses to become compulsory. Extracurricular activities should follow New Jersey's reform called "Option Two" where students receive credit for internships, community service, and extracurricular activities.

History of Education in the Twentieth Century

2004-11-07T20:18:00.001-05:00

From Saima (a friend): a web page documenting selected moments in the history of education in the 20th Century from the University of Toronto.

An incredibly substantial list of events, by year, and links to documents (looks like a mixture of student and faculty papers) describing each event.

Inflation and the Effect on Cash-Strapped Schools in Zimbabwe

2004-11-02T08:26:00.000-05:00

The Inter Press Service News Agency published a report on the cash-strapped situation for schools in Zimbabwe. Inflation is at an annual rate of about 255%, which has lead to the introdution of school fees--when in the 1990s free and compulsory education lead to near UPE and gender parity. The example of the Milton Junior School shows fees being raised 2000% to US$90 per year, in a country where unemployment is above 70% and few of the employed make over US$100 annually.

Scotland Unveils School Reform Package

2004-11-01T10:00:00.000-05:00

The Guardian reports that Scotland has released its 12-step school reform package.

It looks like the reform is based more on transparency of performance and data collection for reform than on standards and achievement. Troubled schools will get more money, and successful schools will get recognition and be studied for their policies. There's also talk about curriculum reform--focusing more on literacy and numeracy--but not much detail. They seem very excited, though.

Edit:

Here are links to a video and the news release from the Scottish Executive.

Free Primary Education in Africa

2004-10-25T13:51:00.000-04:00

The Seattle Times has an article on free primary education in Africa and its mixture of successes and failures, concentrating on Kenya and Malawi.

One thing I found interesting was the push by the World Bank for countries to use teacher transfers instead of new hiring in under-staffed regions. The article counters with the opinion of Kenya's Minister of Education that transfering teachers takes mothers away from their families. When I was in Tanzania, they used teacher transfers in rural areas, and the combination of loneliness, isolation, change in lifestyle, and racism/ethnocentrism was damaging to the teachers as well as to the student community.

Court Rules Against Unlawful Segregation of Roma in Hungary

2004-10-21T16:38:00.000-04:00

The European Roma Rights Center released an email discussing a court ruling that upheld the illegality of segregating a group of Roma students in a public school. Damages paid were E 16,400 (with interest) to nine families.

The families were mostly Romani, but all were of low income and social standing. Their children were placed in classrooms for the "mentally deficient" with an unqualified student-teacher, ignoring their normal IQs and learning disabilities.

"In addition, the court held that the school had clearly failed to recognize and address the plaintiffs' learning difficulties and had instead chosen to administer an inferior curriculum which has jeopardized their future development. The court pointed out that on completing their studies the plaintiffs will suffer additional disadvantage in terms of diminished chances for further education as well as with regard to their employment opportunities compared to their peers schooled on the basis of the regular curriculum."

Bosnia and Herzegovina Implement Nine-Year Schooling Plan

2004-10-19T08:50:00.000-04:00

Southeast European Times reports that the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) has started its ambitious program for nine-year schooling in the nation. This push to update the school system is in part being driven by the desire to meet education requirements for eventual EU membership.

One interesting issue is that in some areas Bosnian and Croat children are educated in separate schools--with different curricula and different resources. In fact, resistance to the plan comes from a few areas where Croats are in the majority of the population.

Blindness in Children

2004-10-15T14:20:00.000-04:00

China View reports that the NGO Sight Saver cites child blindness as a major impediment to development. In Uganda, they report that 0.1% of children are blind, figuring to almost 25,000 children total. To this, Sight Saver provides resources to schools in meeting the needs of these children.

The wording is ambiguous, but they report that "over 1.4 million children are blind yearly" (do they mean "blinded" or that the number of blind children is fairly consistent?), and that 3/4 of blind children live in the poorest regions of Africa and Asia.

Inclusion is Good, But Not Happening

2004-10-12T13:24:00.000-04:00

The UK's Guardian reports that generally inclusion is supported in schools, but it's just not happening. The actual PDF file of the Ofsted report is here.

Education and Budgetary Conditions in Mexico

2004-10-11T17:29:00.000-04:00

Reuters has a good story on the demands of keeping a conservative fiscal policy and the effects on the educational system in Mexico.

"When her son Miguel turned 5, Juana Gutierrez faced a stark choice: Send him to public school or move into a smaller apartment to be able to afford a private English-language academy. ...

Given the sad state of Mexico's chronically underfunded public schools, her decision was as easy as A-B-C.

'I would have sold everything I owned to get him in here,' Juana said as Miguel held her hand on his way to school on a recent morning. 'If you want your child to have a future, public schools aren't the answer.'"

President Fox is juggling IMF and global market pressures to "prove" and improve Mexico's credit ratings and the need to fund goals such as education, which also may lure foreign investment, as it did in parts of Asia. Fox is also considering an income tax increase--currently taxes account for 12% of GDP, compared with 20% and 36% for Argentina and Brazil, respectively.

International Students in the US

2004-10-11T17:24:00.000-04:00

The Washington Times has a brief Q&A with Cathryn Cotten, director of the International Office at Duke University, about US visa restrictions on international students.

I don't know the context regarding how the US is or is not discouraging international students, but Cotten stresses the need to keep international exchange of students open.

Blair on the Africa Issue

2004-10-07T13:47:00.000-04:00

Reuters reports that Tony Blair is going to declare that alleviating poverty in Africa and climate change will be priorities for the UK's G-8 presidency.

Britain's Loan Forgiveness Plan Delayed

2004-10-04T01:37:00.000-04:00

Fantastic editorial in The Guardian Weekly (UK) about Britain's plans for loan forgiveness to developing countries to meet the Millenium Development Goals. The author explains in more depth proposals to sell the IMF's gold reserves to alleviate the unsustainable debt, most notably in Africa.

Proposal for National Child Care in Canada

2004-10-02T11:49:00.000-04:00

The Edmonton Sun reports that the minority Liberal government in Canada is dedicated to making good on their promises for a national child care system.

Opinion: IT Trends to Lure Investment in Schools

2004-10-02T11:34:00.000-04:00

In the Jakarta Post, one of the founders of the UN ICT Task Force writes a four-point opinion about how educators can lure investment into schools. His focus is issues of digital divide in Indonesia.

It's pretty interesting. His first point aptly notes that as advanced markets are being filled, the remaining task for IT businesses is to start tapping the developing market, e.g., producing low-cost computers for the poor. Second, wireless technology also allows broadband Internet access to communities that previously lacked access. Thirdly, as international aid agencies are looking to invest in ICT, they're going to want to partner with local ICT organizations--which will then hopefully invest their resources into their developing communities. Lastly--and perhaps the most debatable--is that the education sector is the place where all the aspects of ICT come together: IT infrastructure, telecom, and software to serve students.

Because of the author's last tenable assertion that the education sector is where "it's all at," the implication is that the education sector has to realize the first three trends and then create an environment where all the parties involved will converge upon investing in the education sector. I don't know if that's ever going to fly--I'll claim that business interests in developing economies can't handle the long-term horizons for investments in education, unless the government intervenes and creates the proper incentives.

World Bank Blacklisting Textbook Publishers

2004-09-30T18:06:00.000-04:00

The Jakarta Post reports that Indonesian publishers are protesting the World Bank's blacklisting of certain state and private publishers in a book procurement plan. The World Bank claims that fraud, corruption, and collusion resulted in the distribution of poor-quality textbooks in their Book and Reading Development Project.

More on Cancelling Debt to Developing Countries

2004-09-29T23:24:00.000-04:00

Reuters reports that the UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) is recommending cancelling all African debt in order to attempt reaching the Millenium Development Goals by 2015. UNCTAD also reports that Africa's growth rate will have to double (to 7 or 8%) to meet the goals, on top of cancelling debt and requiring an additional $40 B in relief. Furthermore, it claims that the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative (1996) to reduce foreign debt from the 42 poorest countries to sustainable levels has failed.

The Christian Science Monitor also has a much more interesting discussion on this same matter, focusing more on US interests in the debt forgiveness program and the goals of the G-7. This article supports the work of HIPC in erasing debt, citing Tanzania as an example where loan forgiveness allowed the country "boost education and eliminate school fees."

World Bank Criticizes Policy Implementation in Indonesia

2004-09-28T19:06:00.000-04:00

The Jakarta Post reports that the World Bank's World Development Report 2005 cites Indonesia as a country that is "poor at implementing and drawing up policies." In an insecure economic climate, businesses are hesitant to invest which means lower tax revenues. Lower tax revenues mean less ability to contribute to the public health and education systems. Specifically the Indonesian government--with a new president about to be instated--needs to focus on corruption. Improvement of policies could increase the likelihood of investment by as much as 30%.

N. Korea Has Nuclear Weapons

2004-09-28T16:53:00.000-04:00

Not completely related to education, but relevant nonetheless: a leak reports that North Korea has nuclear weapons.

World Bank Proposes Merit-based Teacher Salaries

2004-09-28T09:30:00.000-04:00

allAfrica reports that the World Bank is proposing Kenyan teacher salaries should based upon merit and not on "job group." Around 90% of all school finances go to teacher salaries and benefits. Since Kenya has instated free primary education the World Bank has increased investment in the education sector. Other issues they're working out is even distribution of classroom size across the country and community involvement in teacher hiring, curriculum, and school finance.

allAfrica seems to be consistently spotty with details, even reporting two different numbers (90% and 95%) regarding the proportion of teacher salaries in the education budget.

Update: From the home page of the Nation (I can't access the rest of the web site now), teachers have rejected the salary proposals from the World Bank. Big surprise.

Iraq Pays off $81 M of IMF Debt

2004-09-28T08:32:00.000-04:00

Reuters reports that Iraq last week paid off $81 M of its $120 B in foreign debt, opening the way for loan forgiveness and an additional $800 M (I assume through IBRD) to rebuild the wartorn country. This relates back to a previous story where the US wants to forgive up to 90% of the Iraqi debt as well as have the World Bank cover the unpaid portions for all developing nations with unsustainable debt. The UK, on the other hand, has proposed a plan to erase all debt owed to the UK through the World Bank.

There seems to be quite a lot of discussion revolving around the issue of debt in developing countries.

2004-09-27T16:41:00.000-04:00

Ghanaweb reports that a conference called "Innovative Strategic Partnerships in Refugee Education" (INSPIRE) has begun in Ghana as part of a series by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR) to focus on the Liberian refugee situation. Referring to the 2000 World Education Forum in Dakar the conference will focus on innovative approaches to refugee education.

Mallard on the Maori Education System

2004-09-26T19:10:00.000-04:00

The New Zealand Herald reports that Education and Race Relations Minister Trevor Mallard is asking Maori principals to put gender equality before culture in schools. He also encourages principals to learn and speak Maori to assert leadership and to stress physical education in their schools. The Herald also published an editorial explaining the history of the situation in more depth.

India Launches Satellite Dedicated to Distance Education

2004-09-26T19:03:00.000-04:00

New Scientist reports that India has launched a satellite dedicated to long-distance learning, EDUSAT. The satellite will be able to beam information to specific regions in the country, catering to the 18 official languages and 400+ dialects. In two months' time, it should be able to broadcast to 5000 remote terminals across the country. In the pipe are two more satellites: AGRISAT to address agricultural needs and HEALTHSAT to provide telemedicine services.

World Bank Credits $40 M to Ethiopia

2004-09-26T10:26:00.000-04:00

allAfrica reports that the World Bank's IDA has credited $40 M to Ethiopia for post-secondary education. The plan forecasts doubling undergraduate and tripling graduate enrollments in three years.

World Bank Approves Education Grant to Congo

2004-09-24T23:34:00.000-04:00

allAfrica (Kenya) reports that the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) has approved a $20 M grant to rebuild Congo's war-torn education system. This Support to Basic Education Project will dedicate approx. $8.5 M to rebuild destroyed buildings, and the rest will be spent on technical aid to the ministry, professional development for teachers and administrators, curricular materials, and non-formal education and training for children, 14-18 years old.

World Economic Forum Investing in Jordan for Education Reform

2004-09-24T16:48:00.000-04:00

The Daily Star (Lebanon) reports that the World Economic Forum, an organization of world leaders and CEOs, are investing in the Jordan Education Initiative (JEI) to integrate technology in the classroom. Private donations consist of $15 M from companies such as Cisco ($3 M), Dell, IBM, Intel, and HP; the government is also contributing $5 to $6 M.

From the article:

"If you want to look at it from a business perspective, call it market development," JEI program director Emile Cubeisy told The Daily Star.

"But for the country, it's social inclusion, it's opportunities, this is the place where market development and our efforts to reform and advance Jordan's capability are hand in hand, there's nothing wrong with it," he added.

Editorial from Bangladesh re: Continuing Education Program

2004-09-23T18:52:00.000-04:00

The New Nation (Bangladesh) is running an editorial outlining the implementation of a rural continuing education program. This program sponsored by BRAC (formerly known as the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) focuses on creating libraries (known as Gonokendro Pathagar) in secondary schools to extend the schools, reach out to the adult population, educate, and serve as community centers. Established in 1995, there are currently 857 libraries in operation.

"Why education is paramount in wooing foreign investment"

2004-09-23T10:00:00.000-04:00

The UK's Independent analyses the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development World Investment Report (released 09.22.04) and makes a call for improving basic education in the developing world (notably Africa) to encourage foreign direct investment (FDI) into developing the trade of services rather than goods.

The argument is that the globalized world is becoming more focused on shipping services and ideas rather than goods, and a services infrastructure is more essential to developing a strong economy, as well as more inexpensive to develop. The key to developing this is basic education, which brings in FDI, which then brings in the skills and training necessary to develop a service economy.

Nations Lobby to Expand UN Security Council

2004-09-22T19:29:00.000-04:00

AP Asia reports that Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan are lobbying the UN for permanent seats on the Security Council. They are also pushing for a permanent seat representing Africa, with Tanzania making a bid for election to a non-permanent seat. Japan is the second-largest contributor to the UN (and the World Bank), and is supported in its bid by the US President Bush. India's bid has the support of British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Most Nigerians Think AIDS Does Not Exist

2004-09-22T13:28:00.000-04:00

Medical News Today is reporting that though 90% of Nigerians have heard of AIDS, 80% don't believe it actually exists. This report by the National Action Committee on HIV/AIDS is being used to push increasing their number of informational officers from 20 to 40 to reduce a 2003 HIV prevalance rate of 5% to 2.5% by 2005.

Saving the Smart Kids

2004-09-22T13:24:00.000-04:00

Time magazine has an article on the state of gifted children in American education. In a 2000 study, 5% of gifted students dropped out after the 8th grade, compared to 5.2% non-gifted. 37% of early entrants to college demonstrated "adjustment problems" reported by teachers. With most of the dialogue (such as No Child Left Behind) focused on remediation, are the gifted students being left out?

U.S. Wants to Cancel Poorest Nations' Debt

2004-09-22T01:57:00.000-04:00

The Washington Post reports that the Bush administration is advancing a plan (registration required) to forgive debts to developing nations from the World Bank and IMF. They also want to move financial aid to developing countries to grants rather than loans.

This move has been criticized as a political move by Bush domestically and abroad--to clean up his international image as well as clear up major repercussions from Iraqi reconstruction--as well as a move which will hurt the World Bank's ability to fund future projects (I'm assuming because then the World Bank doesn't earn interest on the loans).

To me it also seems like another example of the US trying to be more autonomous in its relations with the world--picking up its ball and starting a game somewhere else. On the surface, it sounds like a great idea; unfortunately the rationale is most likely more insidious.

China Urged to Stop "Anti-Japan" Education

2004-09-22T01:22:00.000-04:00

Kyodo reports that Japan's former top financial diplomat Toyoo Gyohten has urged China to stop anti-Japanese education to soften bilateral ties. A patriotic education syllabus introduced in 1994 raises anti-Japanese sentiments in students stemming from Japanese atrocities conducted in China before and during WWII. Gyohten also says that Japan must also issue a formal apology no matter how many times the general public has heard it.

LA Times Reports on State of Urban Mexican Schools

2004-09-22T00:56:00.000-04:00

In Mexico's Schools Can't Keep Up the LA Times reports on the status of the Mexican school system, specifically focusing on Tijuana. Poor results on the PISA math exam for 9th graders (last on the list of 28 participating OECD countries) and a 10% middle school drop out rate (for those students who complete elementary school) are bringing these issues to the forefront of the social conscience. Some of the stated causes are the high rates of violence and poverty and the inability of an inefficient educational infrastructure to keep pace with housing growth. The Mexican government is responding with telesecondaria--video-enabled distance learning--that they claim, along with the World Bank, is just as effective as traditional schools. But the response: "All we ask is that the government send us certified teachers ... We [parents] will do the rest."