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Pakistan: Political parties commit to increase education spending to 4pc of GDP

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Pakistan/May 15, 2018/BY HAMID KHAN WAZIR/ Source: https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk

The leadership of almost all major political parties have signed reform agenda called “Charter for Education”, committing to increase the provincial and federal education spending to 4 per cent of the GDP, supported by substantial governance reforms to ensure that the allocated funds are spent effectively and transparently.

The leadership of almost all major political parties made the commitment in a landmark education conference titled Ailaan-e- Amal hosted by education campaign Alif Ailaan here on Monday.

All the parties have committed to ensuring that the agreed charter will be adopted into their respective election manifestos, besides committing to developing a plan of implementation within 100 days of the oath-taking of the future chief ministers after the upcoming elections.

Political parties including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), National Party (NP), Awami National Party (ANP), Jamat-e- Islami (JI), Qaumi Watan Party (QWP), Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), PkMAP and BNP-M pledged to go beyond political differences and proceed with national reform agenda for education.

Punjab School Education Minister Rana Mashood, KP Education Minister Muhammad Atif Khan, ANP’s Afrasiab Khattak and Sardar Hussain Babak, PTI’s Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar and PPP MNA Dr Azra Pechuho among others attended the conference.

The conference discussed improving learning outcomes in schools and delivering on the state’s obligation to provide compulsory and free education for all children between the ages of 5-16 and continue support for the provision of quality education to all Pakistani children. Besides that, all provinces were also asked to commit a minimum of 20 per cent of their budget for education annually.

The conference also agreed on a standard career plan for all recruited teachers and clear distinction between teaching paths and management paths, besides reaffirming merit-based recruitment.

Speaking on the occasion, Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar stated that in a country like Pakistan, where 23 million children were still out of school, a national emergency must be declared after the general elections. “We will need to set strict targets to get them all in school and get them learning.”

Dr Azra Pechuho was of the view that there is a need for legislation extending beyond the provision of free and compulsory education to legislation on quality, teacher availability and budget utilization.

Punjab School Education Minister Rana Mashhood stated that it was heartening to see that all provincial governments have prioritized education since 2013 and Punjab, specifically, focused on providing quality education.

Speaking on the occasion, Ajmal Khan Wazir said that it was shocking to know that FATA was even not included in the draft despite having many out of school children. He added that the long-deprived area must be included and all political parties should play their part to develop the area.

Source:

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/05/14/political-parties-commit-to-increase-education-spending-to-4pc-of-gdp/

 

 

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How A People-First Culture Is Transforming Education In India

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India/May 08, 2018/By: Laura Garnett /Source: https://www.forbes.com

Since 2005, when he became president and later CEO of HCL Technologies, Vineet Nayar has led a remarkable turnaround that saw the company triple its revenues and income growth. He wrote about this in his book, Employees First, Customer Second. The value-based leadership simultaneously resulted in the company being ranked by Hewitt Associates as the Best Employer in India and by BusinessWeek among the top five most influential companies in the world.

Nayar is now trying to transform the education of India’s children. He’s taking on a huge goal, and I’ve always admired his focus on people. I wanted to sit down with him and talk about his current work with his own fund and figure out how he plans to transform education.

Laura Garnett: What is the problem that you’re trying to solve and what is your goal?

Vineet Nayar: In India, government-led primary school education systems suffer from a myriad of issues, not only preventing families from sending their children to these schools but also affecting the learning outcomes for those 144 million children who attend. Most children in grade 5 can’t do basic math or construct simple sentences in English.

Sampark Foundation was founded with a belief that “frugal innovation,” along with relentless execution in partnership with the government, can drive large scale change in learning outcomes. Our goal is to design and implement frugal innovation ideas that will transform learning outcomes for 20 million children studying in 200,000 rural government schools by 2025, at less than $1 per child per annum. As of today, we have touched the lives of 7 million children across 76,000 schools.

Garnett: How did you come up with the Innovative ideas that you speak about?

Nayar: While many educational change initiatives are in-flight in India currently, we realized they have not been able to deliver impact because they are either sub scale or resource intensive, or they ignore the ground realities surrounding these kids. For example, you can’t just solve this problem by giving away iPads to children in an environment that lacks electricity.

We believe that for any long-lasting change to happen it has to be driven by practical and sustainable solutions that are frugal but at a large scale. Our area of investment and focus was on design thinking and coming up with frugal innovation ideas (low on resources, high on impact) and leveraging them to deliver a comprehensive, multi-fold improvement in learning outcomes that can be sustained.

This led to Sampark Smart Shala: a learning-outcome focused, frugal innovation-led initiative that uses audio technology, a voice mascot called “Sampark Didi,” toys, folklore, board games and teacher training modules combined with rigorous monitoring in collaboration with state governments.

Garnett: What allowed you to have these innovative ideas?

Nayar: Our design thinking was inspired by three ideas. The first came from an unlikely source: Bollywood! Going to a movie in an Indian village is an open-air three-hour deeply immersive experience of life enacted through dance, songs and dramatic scripts. We asked ourselves – could we bring that experience to the classroom too?

The second came from watching people in villages charge cell phones using their bicycles. Could this battery drive an audio device with a big speaker that could be used in a class? And the third inspiration came from Teaching Learning Materials (TLM’s). Students retain 70% of what is said in the first 10 minutes of class and only 20% of what is said in last 10 minutes. Adding visual aids and stories increases retention by 250% even in the last 10 minutes.

Garnett: How are these ideas making an impact on your goal?

Nayar: The results have been nothing short of magical – a 56% increase in learning outcomes measured through an independent assessment study. This is also now a case study at the Harvard Business School, showcasing how frugal innovation can create large scale social impact.

Garnett: How are you bringing people first customer second to your foundation and how does it operate?

Nayar: Since Sampark Foundation is a small not-for-profit organization, it has barely 100 people, or ‘Sparks’ as we call them. In this model, it is the government schoolteachers who are the front-line workers in the value zone, the classroom. Therefore, following the EFCS principles, our role is to enthuse, encourage and empower them. So, we set our eyes on enhancing the teacher’s power to teach and bring excitement into the classroom through Sampark Smart Shala.

Our 100 Sparks travelled over 15,000 kilometers within 100 days into remote interiors of the country to help train 100,000 teachers each year on the use of Sampark Smart Shala teaching aids to bring excitement back into the classroom and drive significant transformation in learning outcomes. The one thing that brings a smile to my face is the fact that the impact and learning outcome has been achieved by enthusing the teachers, empowering them with the teaching aids, encouraging and mentoring them through helplines and periodic training sessions – and most importantly, by transferring the ownership of change to them. This is employee-first at its best.

Garnett: What is your biggest challenge now and how can people that read this that want to help, get involved?

Nayar: The biggest challenge now for us is if we should focus on higher grade levels with the 7 million children already in the program in the existing four states, or should we add more children to the grade 1-3 program by scaling up to more states. Doing both could break the back of operations, and there is a limit to how far our resources can take us. Our foundation is inviting new ideas, new approaches, new and frugal ways to improve learning levels which will help us go the extra mile and provide a path for millions of children studying in government-funded primary schools to see the light at the end of the dark tunnel.

Source:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lauragarnett/2018/05/08/how-a-people-first-culture-is-transforming-education-in-india/2/#2898c849303d

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Pakistan: Public Private Partnership produced good results in education sector: CM

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Pakistan/April 10, 2018/BY AFTAB CHANNA/Source: https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that the Public Private Partnership (PPP) in education sector has produced best results and its one of the success story is the toddlers who speak fluent English at DCTO English medium schools in Lyari.

This he said while addressing administration, teaching staff and students at DCTO English Medium High School, Lyari operating on PPP mode by Kiran Foundation, which he visited on Saturday. When the chief minister reached at school he was received by Education Secretary Iqbal Durani, Sindh Education Foundation (SEF) MD Nahid Durrani, administrator of school Nazir Tunio and others.

He said that Lyari was once a beautiful, peaceful and a vibrant area in the city. It used to remain opened the whole night. “I had also the honour to enjoy milk tea at restaurants at night but later something painful happened and Lyari turned into a most disturbed area in terms of peace and tranquility.

Murad Ali Shah added that drug dealers, paddlers and other out laws established their sway in the Lyari. The government worked day and night and fought bravely with mafias and restored peace there and then started developing the area to restore its past glories.

This DCTO school is one of the oldest schools from pre-partition. Originally it was established in 1930s by Deepchand T Ojha. This school was a preferred choice for schooling till 1970s. Later, this institution saw a great decline resulting in poor standard of education and dilapidated school building. He added that by 2002, the DCTO school had three double storey buildings where 13 schools were running within the same premises but there were barely any children getting education.

The government decided to hand over the school to Kiran Foundation in 2016, the chief minister said and added the Kiran Foundation runs this school from pre-nursery to high school. “The most encouraging move I have witnessed here at DCTO school is that the parents, particularly the mothers of students are given proper training to handle their kids at home DCTO,” he said and added this shows that mother and child education and training are taking place simultaneously at DCTO.

This novel but practical approach would definitely create [a child] father of nation. “These children who live in Lyari and have recently liberated themselves from the shekels of gang wars are speaking fluent English and know how to receive elders and how to talk and even they have good knowledge of history and geography.  “I assure you they are our best future and they would lead Layri to a prosperous, educated and culture Lyari,” he hoped.

The chief minister sharing his personal experience with the audience said that a little girl in a nursery class brilliantly briefed him about the geographical location of different province on the map of Pakistan. “They [students] are good at mathematics, science and history- this is what I have learnt by interacting with them in their class rooms.

Murad Ali Shah said that just after taking over as a chief minister he had visited this school and had made some promises with them to construct additional storey in school building to accommodate more students. “Today, I have visited that portion and heaved a sigh of relief to see wide and airy class rooms, labs and airy veranda,” he said and added the school administration has told him that 800 students are enrolled there and for academic session more three candidates/students had applied for admission but due shortage of space they could hardly accommodate 100 students.

The chief minister directed secretary education Iqbal Durani to locate a suitable school building in the area and hand over them to expand this DCTO school. “If you are giving good education, shaping up the future of students and training their mothers, I am with you- there is no service above it,” he said and vowed to support them in all intents and purposes.

Source:

Public Private Partnership produced good results in education sector: CM

 

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Malala Yousafzai returns to Pakistan for first time in six years

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Pakistan/April 3, 2018/ by NEWS WIRES/Source: http://www.france24.com

Pakistan’s Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai on Saturday arrived in her hometown of Mingora for the first time since a Taliban militant shot her there in 2012 for advocating girls’ education.

Amid tight security, Youzafzai along with her parents landed in the Swat Valley in an army helicopter.

According to her uncle Mahmoodul Hassan, Yousafzai went to her home and also planned to meet with her friends and relatives. Security was visibly beefed up in Mingora the previous day.

The 20-year-old Yousafzai had asked authorities to allow her to go to Mingora and Shangla village in the Swat Valley, where a school has been built by her Malala Fund.

Hassan said Yousafzai and her family were not afraid of going to Swat, where Taliban militants wounded her six years ago.

«We are grateful to the government and the army for facilitating this visit,» he told The Associated Press.

In October 2012, Yousafzai was shot in the head by a Taliban assassin who jumped inside her school van and yelled, «Who is Malala?» She was targeted for speaking out on girls’ education.

Only 14 when she was shot, Yousafzai has since delighted in telling the Taliban that instead of silencing her, they have amplified her voice. She has also written a book, spoken at the United Nations and met with refugees.

On Friday, Yousafzai praised the Pakistan army in an interview on the independent Geo news channel for providing her timely medical treatment, saying her surgery was done by an army surgeon at the «right time.» She later received post-trauma treatment in Britain.

She said she would not have been sitting in Pakistan now if she had not been treated quickly. She plans to permanently return to Pakistan after completing her studies in Britain.

Schoolgirls in Yousafzai’s hometown were already jubilant over her arrival.

On Thursday, Yousafzai met with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi at his office, where she also attended a gathering and made an emotional speech in which she said it was one of the happiest days of her life to be back in her country.

Yousafzai has won praise from across Pakistan on her return home, but some critics on social media have tried to undermine her efforts to promote girls’ education. Yousafzai says she failed to understand why educated people opposed her, although she could expect criticism from militants, who had a particular mindset.

She told Pakistani media that majority of Pakistanis supported her.

«Those who do criticize have absurd kind of criticism that doesn’t make any sense,» she said in an interview with Pakistan’s The News English-language newspaper published Saturday.

«What I want is people support my purpose of education and think about the daughters of Pakistan who need an education. Don’t think about me. I don’t want any favor or I don’t want everyone to accept me. All I care about is that they accept education as an issue,» she said.

Since her attack and recovery, Yousafzai has led the Malala Fund in which she said has invested $6 million for schools and books and uniforms for schoolchildren.

Yousafzai became the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.

In the interview, she said she was sitting in her classroom when news broke about her Nobel Prize and that she was not aware of it as she was not using her mobile phone at the time.

«My teacher came into my classroom and called me outside. I was worried that I might have done something wrong and I am in trouble. But she told me that I had won the Peace Prize. I said thank you. You don’t know how to respond. For me, it was for the cause of education,» she told the paper.

She said her trip to Pakistan was her college break as well. «That was also one of the reasons because I could not miss my school. So this just finally happened. To be honest, I can’t believe it that I am here in Pakistan. It still feels like a dream,» she said.

Yousafzai landed in Pakistan just before dawn Thursday, flanked by heavy security and plans to return to Britain on Monday.

Source:

http://www.france24.com/en/20180331-pakistan-nobel-prize-winner-malala-yousafzai-returns-home

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United Kingdom: School mental health problems extend to primary-age pupils amid cuts to support

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United Kingdom/ 02.04.2018/ From: www.independent.co.uk.

Los niños de escuela primaria muestran signos de problemas de salud mental, como ansiedad, ataques de pánico y depresión, en medio de recortes al apoyo de especialistas, sugiere una nueva encuesta de docentes.

Primary school children are showing signs of mental health problems – including anxiety, panic attacks and depression – amid cuts to specialist support, a new survey of teachers suggests.

The vast majority (96 per cent) of teachers say they have come into contact with pupils of all ages experiencing mental health issues, according to research from the NASUWT teaching union.

Of these, around one in seven (14 per cent) said that pupils experiencing these difficulties were aged between four and seven, while over a quarter (27 per cent) said they were aged seven to 11.

Strict school behaviour policies amount to ‘child abuse’, teachers say

One teacher spoke of an 8-year-old who climbed onto the roof and said they wanted to kill themselves.

They added the incident was “not deemed serious enough” to get support from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. “Access to mental health services is appalling for young children,” the teacher said.

The poll, of more than 1,300 teachers, found school staff were most likely to pupils aged 11 to 16 (68 per cent) experienced problems, making it harder for them to participate in class and to make friends.

Teachers said family problems (86 per cent), pressures of exams (66 per cent) and social media (64 per cent) were main causes of mental health problems such as self-harming, eating disorders and OCD.

The poll found that the majority (86 per cent) are aware of pupils sharing sexual messages, photos and videos with each other, and nearly four in 10 know students who have been sexually harassed by pupils.UK news in pictures.

One teacher said they had heard of pupils’ faces being photoshopped onto “pornographic images” by other students.

The survey also finds that a fifth teachers think children were moved on or excluded from a their school for unofficial reasons. Of those, almost half felt it was because of their low academic attainment affecting league tables and a third felt it was because the pupil has special needs.

Another teacher said: “I work with excluded pupils and feel that there is very little support for them on mental health issues – even though this may be the driving factor behind their exclusion, the expectation is still for them to achieve in line with GCSE targets.”

Chris Keates, general secretary of NASUWT, said: «Teachers have never before had to deal with such a complex range of pupil welfare issues as they do today.

«The pressure on teachers and headteachers is enormous and is putting at risk their own mental and physical health and wellbeing.»

She added: “These challenges are compounded by cuts to school staffing and to external specialist support. The government must bear responsibility for the position in which schools find themselves. It is a betrayal of staff and pupils to continue to expect schools alone to deal with all of these issues.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We want all young people to grow up feeling confident about themselves and able to get the right mental health support when they need it.

“We have pledged £1.7bn to improve the mental health services on offer to children and young people. But we know there is more to be done to ensure progress in this area, which is why we have recently outlined proposals to improve links between the NHS and schools, provide quicker access to intensive support and more capacity to be able to intervene earlier.”

From: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/mental-health-primary-school-sexual-harassment-bullying-pupils-nasuwt-union-a8283876.htm

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EEUU: Apple to launch low-cost iPad for education next week

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EEUU/March 27, 2018/BY JAMES WALKER/Source: http://www.digitaljournal.com

Apple is said to be preparing a low-cost iPad for launch at a rare education-focused event next week. The company will make a revived push into classroom devices after losing ground to strong competition from Microsoft and Google.

Education software

According to a report from Bloomberg today, Apple will launch a «lost-cost iPad» for teachers and students during its event at the Lane Technical College Prep High School in Chicago next week. It comes as Apple recommits to education devices with its first dedicated event since 2012.

The device will be a new lower-cost version of Apple’s entry-level 9.7-inch iPad. Apple is also developing specialised classroom software to improve the iPad’s usability in schools. Further details on the as-yet unannounced device are currently scarce. Insiders who spoke to Bloomberg said they could not disclose more information because of the private nature of the plans.

9.7-inch iPad Pro

9.7-inch iPad Pro
Apple

The launch will see Apple make a bold re-entry into the education market. Over the past couple of years, education PC makers have become highly competitive. The industry is currently led by Microsoft’s Windows 10 and Google’s Chrome OS platforms, both of which have recently launched new education software experiences and upgraded school-oriented hardware.

Throughout the increasingly fierce battle between Microsoft and Google, Apple has so far remained on the sidelines. The rising dominance of Chrome OS, coupled with Microsoft’s renewed efforts to promote Windows 10, now seems to have prompted Apple to take action. The cheaper iPad may help it to regain its lost ground in the classroom, particularly in the U.S. market where it has struggled to compete with low-cost Chrome OS products.

Tablet convenience

It’s of note that Apple seems to be choosing the iPad as the device to spearhead its new education strategy. For years, the company has promoted the iPad as a more modern alternative to traditional PCs. Apple frequently cites advantages including the device’s portability, light weight and responsiveness as key reasons for consumers to choose one over a regular PC.

Apple may now be taking this message into classrooms. With Microsoft and Google still predominantly focused on laptops and convertibles, Apple could try to sell schools on the promise of touchscreen tablets. iPads might be simpler to distribute to students and easier to carry during the day.

Apple MacBook Pro (2016)

Apple MacBook Pro (2016)
Apple

With Apple also expected to unveil a new entry-level MacBook, the company seems to be waking up to the computing needs of schools. While MacBooks are still popular with college students, Apple’s failure to launch more low-end devices has made them uncommon in the classroom.

 Next week’s event could debut a renewed focus on education PCs, which can only be positive for teachers and students. With Microsoft, Google and now Apple now aggressively competing for classroom dominance, schools have more hardware to choose from and increasingly sophisticated software platforms. Soon, all three major ecosystems may have compelling hardware options and dedicated learning experiences, helping to digitally transform the education sector.

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Canada: Specialty education programs can help students launch a successful career

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Canada/March 27, 2018/By: ROSE O’LEARY/Source: https://www.theglobeandmail.com

Executive director, Canadian School of Natural Nutrition.

With the increasing demand for work-life balance, a great company culture and a flexible working schedule, many young Canadians are moving toward starting their own business.

Based on a recent study from Intuit Canada, the software company behind TurboTax and Quick Books, Michael Shulman of Yahoo Finance Canada determined that nearly half of Canada’s work force will be self-employed by 2020.

It is important that education in Canada adapts to meet these changing trends. Specialty post-secondary education programs provide the skills, tools and certifications required to fulfill these changing demands and for students to begin a successful career.

In addition to providing the skills for these new careers, there are many benefits of enrolling in specialty education programs with small class sizes and flexible learning schedules. The primary benefit is that students can obtain the tools, credibility and support they need to start their new career within a relatively short period of time.

For example, in 1994, the late Danielle Perrault, founder of the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition (CSNN), identified the need for a specialty holistic nutrition program taught in the classroom. Today, approximately 8,800 students have graduated from CSNN’s specialty Natural Nutrition diploma program, resulting in numerous entrepreneurs merging the worlds of self-employment and alternative medicine.

Tools: Those looking for a new career now – not later – may want to consider a specialty education program that provides them with the necessary tools and certification. A specialty education diploma program may not provide the traditional status of a degree; however, it does provide the knowledge and tools needed to start practicing tangible skills that will be used in the work force. This is very different from a four-year degree program that may additionally require graduation from a master’s program or an internship program before a career is able to begin.

Credibility: Finding the specialty education program that provides the necessary education, tools and certification to be credible is crucial in launching a new successful career. Certifications are only credible if students’ knowledge and skills have been adequately tested and screened with board exams. For example, in the holistic nutrition industry, the public looks to see that an author of a book or article is certified and has a designation from a reputable specialty education program before trusting what is written about nutrition and health. And holistic nutrition practitioners must be certified to obtain insurance in their private holistic nutrition practices. This could be true of any entrepreneurial industry where consumers are trusting individuals, relying on internet searches and word-of-mouth referrals for services.

Networking: As is true in any new career, those new to an industry benefit if they have continued support after graduating and access to those with industry experience. When researching specialty education programs, search for schools that offer these levels of support because, even with excellent skills training, some graduates may lack confidence in navigating a new industry.

The mandate of provincially regulated private career colleges is to provide the skills and tools graduates need to acquire jobs and self-employment opportunities. As a result, many specialty education programs have job boards for their graduates and work collaboratively with their alumni associations and industry associations that help graduates navigate the industry and find ways of attracting new clientele. The goal is to collectively help graduates be successful in their budding careers.

Canadians have a lot of choice when it comes to educational programs and careers, especially if entrepreneurship is desired. As new industries and careers emerge, and as the employment trend increasingly moves toward self-employment, specialty programs may be the right step to gain the tools, credibility and network needed to reach career goals.

Executives, educators and human resources experts contribute to the ongoing Leadership Lab series.

Source:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/leadership-lab/specialty-education-programs-can-help-students-launch-a-successful-career/article38319100/?cmpid=rss1

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