Malaysia - Sex education in schools soon

Sex education in schools soon:

"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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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'

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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)."