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EEUU: Democrat Shea proposes sweeping — and costly — education plan that covers kids from womb to job interview

EEUU/November 14, 2017/By: Erin Cox/ Source: http://www.capitalgazette.com

Democrat Jim Shea is pitching an expansive, costly plan to overhaul Maryland’s education system, starting with expanded prenatal care and stretching through on-the-job training.

The multibillion-dollar proposal emphasizes extra funding for poor areas, universal preschool, child care subsidies, after-school care and summer programs, plus tuition-free community college, higher pay for teachers and a new K-12 curriculum pegged to international standards.

“We have to have all of these building blocks,” Shea said.

The 21-page proposal released Monday morning, however, does not offer a timeline or a price tag for the plan. Shea said those details would come later, after a state commission that’s also working on education reform releases its price estimates for similar ideas.

Shea said in an interview he expected it to cost in the billions of dollars — and that he doesn’t expect to raise taxes in order to pay for it.

Shea criticized Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s record on education, pointing out that education spending has not risen as quickly as the state’s revenue. Hogan’s spokesman has said the governor has increased education funding each year, and the governor’s record speaks for itself.

Shea promised that, if elected after winning the eight-way Democratic primary, he would make putting more cash into the education system his top priority, and he was willing to make “tough choices” to do it.

He declined to identify what he would trim from state spending in order to make education spending increase at the same rate as state revenue, but he acknowledged it was a big expense that would require significant “political will.”

“Properly funding public education is expensive,” Shea said. “In the long term, however, failing to fund education is far more expensive in lost productivity and underutilized human capital.”

In order to save some money, Shea said that non-classroom costs like transportation, energy and materials could be purchased through a statewide joint purchasing agreement. He speculated that that could save about $100 million annually — about 5 percent of the cost of such purchases.

Many of Shea’s proposals are the same ideas under discussion by the Kirwan Commission, a panel charged by the state legislature to come up with ways to overhaul education in the state. The commission plans to issue its recommendations — and the large price tag that goes with it — by this June.

Shea promised that, if elected, he would fully implement the commission’s recommendations.

A consultant for the commission has estimated Maryland needs to spend $2.9 billion more each year on education, though some commission members have said they expect the total cost of their proposals to be less than that.

“Maryland must invest boldly in education,” Shea said. “If, however, we commit fully to a bold plan to have an education system rivaling the best in the world, the benefits to our children and our state will be enormous and more than justified.”

Shea said that Maryland has taken steps before, pointing to the landmark Thorton funding formula that increased K-12 school funding from $2.6 billion annually in 2002 to $7.9 billion this year.

Maryland eventually raised taxes, in 2007 under then-Gov. Martin O’Malley, in order to pay for the promises in the Thornton program.

Shea called it “morally wrong and, ultimately, economically and socially destructive” that minority and young mothers are less likely to have access to prenatal care.

While Shea said that he believes his entire education plan should be enacted at the same time, he singled out funneling more resources to economically depressed areas as his top priority.

“Every year we delay on that, we are creating more and more problems for ourselves,” he said.

Shea’s proposal includes raising pay for teachers — but he doesn’t say by how much or how quickly those raises would be implemented. He also pitches more professional training for educators, residency programs for teachers in training, and hiring more teachers in order to reduce class sizes.

He said community colleges should offer child care and health care, and Maryland needs more vocational training to connect high school students with jobs.

ecox@baltsun.com

twitter.com/ErinatTheSun

Source:

http://www.capitalgazette.com/news/government/bs-md-democrat-pitches-womb-to-job-interview-education-plan-20171110-story.html

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South African commission urges more education spending before ratings reviews

South African/November 14, 2017/By: Alexander Winning, Mfuneko Toyana/ Source: http://www.reuters.com

 http://www.reuters.com/article/us-safrica-politics/south-african-commission-urges-more-education-spending-before-ratings-reviews-idUSKBN1DD13C
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Pakistan: Is Punjab Education Foundation a better solution?

Pakistan/November 14, 2017/Source: https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk

  • Failure of public education system

How much development and progress has been made can be seen from recent statistics about Literacy Rate in Pakistan. As it dropped by 2pc in the year 2015-16 to 58pc and that under the criteria, “a person is literate who can read and write a paragraph (3 lines) in a national/regional language with comprehension”

On the one hand our government is hiring hundreds and thousands of new teachers while on the other it is privatising thousands of public schools through PEF

 

“Education is a matter of life and death for Pakistan. The world is progressing so rapidly that without requisite advances in education, not only shall we be left behind others but may be wiped out altogether.” Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Recently, Pakistan celebrated its 70th Independence Day. How much development and progress has been made can be seen from recent statistics about Literacy Rate in Pakistan. As it dropped by 2pc in the year 2015-16 to 58pc and that under the criteria, “a person is literate who can read and write a paragraph (3 lines) in a national/regional language with comprehension”.

Reasons behind the downfall of education system?

Let’s talk about the reasons of downfall of education in Pakistan, especially Punjab, which was once considered the hub of educational institutes and province with highest literacy rate. There is no special reason but an amalgam of corruption, overspending education budgets in salaries given to teachers, lack of motivation towards education among students and parents alike, lack of schools in rural areas, lack of counselling, and missing infrastructure in schools.

Punjab Education Foundation (PEF)

Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) was established by the Punjab Assembly’s PEF Act of 1991. At that time its purpose was to help private investors (by funding or granting loans to) build new schools so there may be more schools accessible to the public. The ultimate authority of PEF was under the government from 1991 until Act of 2004 as between this period the chief minister of Punjab was its chair, but after 2004 it started working as an autonomous body under a board of directors. Initially, its basic aim was to provide better education to the nation with the help of private schools by providing teacher training, professional development for private schools, interest-free loans for building construction and by providing special vouchers to households of the students to incentivise them for taking education seriously. But today, a significant chunk of PEF’s budget goes to it Foundation Assisted Schools (FAS) programmes through which, Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) pays for every child’s fee enrolled in a Foundation Assisted Private School.

Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) claims that its programmes are cost effective that is why these programmes are the best solution for equity and quality of education. In a wave of privatisation of already existing public schools, Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) has privatised thousands of public schools. PEF gave management of these thousands of public schools to private investors. Now, I would concede to the fact that, yes, PEF is efficient in what it is doing so far, but the real question is whether the approach being followed by PEF is the right approach for long-term greater good?

Punjab needs to spend more on education?

In the fiscal year 2016 Punjab’s Education budget was $2.99b out of which only $0.602b was allocated for development projects and the rest was to cater the current needs of the education department. During the fiscal year 2014, 87pc of the education budget was spent on salaries given to teachers. The major problem lies in the overspending of the education budget on salaries to 343,458 teachers and when after evaluations a schools’ progress is represented by numbers they just decide to outsource these schools or encourage students of these schools to go to private schools which are already compensated by Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) other programmes; eventually wasting tax payer’s money in the process. It may serve its purpose in the short term but then what is the purpose of having a public school system if eventually all that government is going to do is to outsource these public schools.

Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) started paying fees of the students to the private management of the schools. Fee varies according to the grade level of a student;

Rs550 per student up till primary classes

Rs600 per student for elementary classes

Rs900 per student for secondary arts classes

Rs1100 per student for secondary science students

Punjab Education Foundation is aiming to privatise the management of all schools up till grade five across Punjab and also plans to keep management of some of the school from grade six onwards.

It is worth noting how this system can collapse in seconds as it did with the change of government after 2008 national elections when PEF’s progress stalled for nearly a year. This concludes that the progress will show its numbers as long as you keep paying these private investors and this is not going to help raise the quality of education in public schools at all. On the other hand, if public schools get operated appropriately by introducing a better attendance system for teachers and students, they may even need lesser funds than what they are already spending paying these investors and overpaying their own teachers.

What needs to be done?

Pakistan as a whole has more than 600,000 teachers appointed as government employees, these teachers may have degrees, but most of them lack motivation and discipline for doing their job with honesty as most of them do not even bother showing up in schools and gather huge sums of money in salaries. This problem needs to be addressed on an emergency basis by introducing appropriate measures.

The government needs to stop paying private investors fees for students and needs to raise the standard of the public education system which is more useful in the longer run. This policy is going to help the government build a precedence of good management within its public schools otherwise its already failing public schools because of lack of good management are going to lose their remaining symbolic as well as figurative value.

Failure of charter schools in America

Pakistan is not the first country whose government has taken this step as in America this policy was implemented in the form Charter Schools. There are two types of Charter Schools in America; for-profit and non-profit. Our policy is almost similar to the US in its structure. According to National Charter School Study (NCSS), done by the Centre for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO), 75pc of the charter schools in America were either worse or not better performing than public schools. That is because with the Charter Schools Programme, the US government focused more on their public education system to ensure that faults remain no more.

Importance of public schools

Finland has a literacy rate of 100pc. There are no private schools in Finland. The reason for that is if there are no private schools then rich people are going to care about public schools as much as they care about private schools because now they do not have any choice but to help make those public schools better. It is not easy to comprehend that a country where private schools are non-existent can have a literacy rate of 100pc. Finland had the same old rusty education system similar to the entire world till 1970, and then they changed everything once and for all for the sake of the greater good.

Only those people are hired as teachers who fall among the top 10pc of the graduating students. Teaching profession is considered as good as doctors and engineers. Teachers in Finland get paid more than teachers in the United States of America (USA). There is no standardised testing system for students and Finish students do not take any test until they are 16 years of age. There is no ranking among schools because they work under the policy “whatever it takes” and try to keep everyone at the same level. According to Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores released in 2009 Finish Students came 2nd in science, 3rd in reading, and 6th in math among nearly half a million students worldwide. These plans may seem very hard at the first look but once implemented they are way easier. All the schools are publicly funded, and if it seems so hard then why not shut down, all these high-end schools and ask the wealthy to fund public schools. There is no corporal punishment as widely practiced in Pakistan and no competition among students or schools which leads to hundreds of students falling in the pit of anxiety, depression, and eventually committing suicide. There is a rigorous check, and balance for teachers and that is the key to quality education which needs to be implemented in public schools in Punjab and Pakistan as a whole.

Conclusion

From the above discussion it is obvious that privatisation of education never helps. It is necessary to support and raise the public education system on the top. On the one hand our government is hiring hundreds and thousands of new teachers while on the other it is privatising thousands of public schools through PEF. If the government has accepted its failure and is not ready to run the public education system at all, why hiring new people for an already failed system? And if the mission is to make the government schools stronger, why are we wasting funds on paying to the private schools for free education. These two contradictions cannot run side by side for long.

Can we stop experimentation on education and follow the common successful practices only and seriously?

The question remains.

Source:

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/11/12/is-punjab-education-foundation-a-better-solution/

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Buhari’s Statement On How To Improve Nigeria’s Education Sector

Nigerian/November 14, 2017/By: RemmyAlex/ Source: https://www.nigerianbulletin.com

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday assured of an improved education sector during his opening remarks at the presidential summit on education.

The event held at the Old Banquet Hall of the presidential villa in Abuja.

In his speech, Buhari “congratulated the Minister of Education and the entire education family for setting the stage for this national conversation aimed at refocusing the education sector not only to overcome the numerous challenges, but also to strengthen the Ministerial Strategic Plan.”

Noting that the significance of the summit is obvious, Buhari added that it is those who acquire the most qualitative education, equipped with requisite skills and training, and empowered with practical know-how that are leading others.

He continued: “We cannot afford to continue lagging behind. Education is our launch-pad to a more successful, more productive and more prosperous future. This administration is committed to revitalizing our education system and making it more responsive and globally competitive.

“One of the primary roles of education is to build and sustain individual and society’s development. It renews and improves the economic, social, political and cultural aspects of any nation.

“Education upgrades the living standard of citizens and enables people to become better and more productive citizens. It is a human right that creates a safe, healthy and prosperous society.

“It changes the visions and perspectives of individuals, enhances critical decisions and improves democracy. Indeed education is paramount and necessary requirement for all-round development.

“Nigeria’s participation in all relevant international education fora together with our investment in education and collaboration with development partners is an indication of high level of commitment towards ensuring that every capable Nigerian receives good quality education.

“These efforts are justifiable only to the extent that schooling is effective in promoting the realization of national objectives, attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and Education For All (EFA) by 2030.

“These targets are, happily, in harmony with the manifesto and the CHANGE agenda of our Party, the All Progressive Congress (APC).

“It is also in agreement with my campaign promises during the 2015 elections exercise and in pursuit of the yearnings and aspirations of the generality of Nigerian citizens.

“That our country is facing numerous challenges in education and all other sectors as a result of historical abuses, mindless impunity and corruption is not news to anyone.

“With an estimated 13.2 million children out of school, high illiteracy level, infrastructural deficit and decay, unqualified teachers, and inadequate instructional materials, to mention some of the challenges, we can clearly see the effect of decades of neglect that the education sector has suffered.

“We are determined to turnaround the sector for the better. We are already making appreciable progress in this respect. This summit must therefore, among other things, sharpen our strategies for addressing the challenges of basic and secondary education, teacher training and professional development; technical and vocational education.

“The summit must work to enhance quality in, and access to, higher education and other challenges in the sector that will debar us from attaining the SDGs and be among the top 20 economies in the world.

“No nation can achieve economic, social, political and cultural prosperity without a sound and functional education system.”

Source:
https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/buharis-statement-on-how-to-improve-nigerias-education-sector.246568/
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Africa Talks Jobs: tailor education programmes to market needs

Kenia/Noviembre/Autora: Margaret Njugunah/Fuente: Capital Business

Resumen:  Más de 400 representantes de jóvenes, hombres de negocios, profesionales de la educación y responsables políticos de 44 países de todo el continente africano han pedido la mejora de las perspectivas de empleo para los jóvenes africanos a través de la educación orientada al empleo y el desarrollo de habilidades.La llamada se hizo en la conferencia Africa Talks Jobs celebrada en la sede de la Comisión de la Unión Africana en Addis Abeba. Las recomendaciones requieren un compromiso más fuerte de la comunidad empresarial africana para brindar oportunidades de capacitación y ofertas conjuntas con instituciones educativas.

More than 400 representatives of youth, businessmen, education practitioners and policy makers from 44 countries across the African continent have called for the improvement of job prospects for the African Youth through employment-oriented education and skills development.

The call was made at the Africa Talks Jobs conference held at the African Union Commission headquarters in Addis Ababa.

The recommendations call for a stronger engagement of the African business community in providing opportunities for skills training and joint offers with education institutions.

120 African companies and business associations, under the auspices of Business Africa, have also committed to investing in skills development and partnership with education institutions for job skills education and training.

Governments have been urged to provide the necessary frameworks as well as favourable conditions for young entrepreneurs.

At the same time, education at all levels and youth activities need to better address labour market demands and equip the youth with skills to start their own businesses.

In 2016, the International Labor Organization revealed that Africa, which has the world youngest population, had 71 million unemployed persons. Similarly, working poverty rates among youths in Sub-Saharan Africa was 70 per cent, translating to 64.4 per cent million youths living in extreme or moderate poverty.

A World Bank report indicates that unemployment in Kenya rose to 17.4 per cent in 2016 among its 25.5 million working age population.

Fuente: https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/business/2017/11/africa-talks-jobs-tailor-education-programmes-to-market-needs/

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Nueva Zelanda: Water Safety NZ invests $1.66m into water safety education

Nueva Zelanda/Noviembre de 2017/Fuente: Scoop

Resumen:  Nueva Zelanda se encuentra en el extremo superior de las tasas de mortalidad por ahogamiento en la OCDE. En 2016 hubo 78 muertes prevenibles y las hospitalizaciones por ahogo están en aumento. En su 2017/18 Ronda de inversión en prevención de ahogamiento WSNZ está financiando a las organizaciones que trabajan con las personas vulnerables y en riesgo para que brinden educación y apoyo en materia de seguridad hídrica.

As the lead agency in the water safety sector Water Safety New Zealand (WSNZ) is tasked with delivering funding strategies to tackle our nations drowning problem. New Zealand is towards the upper end of drowning death rates in the OECD. In 2016 there were 78 preventable fatalities and drowning hospitalisations are on the rise.

In its 2017/18 Drowning Prevention Investment Round WSNZ is funding organisations working with the vulnerable and at risk to deliver much needed water safety education and support.

Funded primarily by the New Zealand Lotteries Grant Board administered through Sport New Zealand, and supported by ACC, $1,664,260 was available for distribution by WSNZ this year – $129,260 more than 2016-17 – a 8.4% increase primarily due to a $400,000 increase in NZLGB funding.

“The water safety sector is predominantly non-Government funded and supported by volunteers. Any additional funding is a lifeline providing vital education to the most vulnerable.” says WSNZ CEO Jonty Mills.

Funding is distributed to professional and national sport and recreation organisations, swim schools, local authorities, regional sports trusts, Plunket and Trusts which administer water safety education initiatives.

Specifically, $1.189m will be allocated to providers to deliver the national aquatic initiative Water Skills For Life (WSFL) to children aged 5 – 13 years across the country.

With a reduction in the level of water safety education in schools, WSFL makes more effective use of the time students spend in the pool. Based on core water safety competencies, WSFL provides foundational water safety knowledge and the ability to assess risk.

“The social and economic cost of drowning far outweighs funding to the water safety sector and strategic and innovative initiatives are required to bring down our high drowning toll” says Mills.

The launch in 2015 of the Water Safety Sector Strategy 2020, by then Sport and Recreation Minister The Hon Jonathan Coleman, was a significant milestone and an attempt to create a step-change in Kiwi attitudes and behaviour around water.

The strategy sets bold targets for a reduction in drownings, particularly those involving males who make up 86% of all fatalities.

While the sector is more aligned and efficient the number of preventable drowning fatalities has plateaued while the number of drowning related hospitalisations is increasing.

Mills says this reflects the complex nature of the drowning problem. “We have a diverse and growing population, an expansive network of unpatrolled waterways, beaches, lakes and rivers and a broad range of water based activities.”

“With the changing nature of the drowning problem in New Zealand and increasing pressure on the sector to meet growing expectations, it’s imperative that water safety skills training becomes an integral part of the education process for all New Zealand children” says Mills.

About Water Safety New Zealand

Water Safety New Zealand is a charity making a positive difference to the social and economic problems of drowning. The organisation adds strength to the work of water safety community partners by influencing policy, convening sector discussions and work programmes, taking leadership, building knowledge through research and dissemination, and working in collaboration with government, community and business interests.

Fuente: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1711/S00161/water-safety-nz-invests-166m-into-water-safety-education.htm

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Panamá: La Semana de la Filosofía (2017) está mirando fuera de las aulas’

Panamá/Noviembre de 2017/Fuente: La Estrella de Panamá

Del 14 al 16 de noviembre, la Universidad de Panamá y el Departamento de Filosofía de la institución educativa celebran la ‘Semana de la Filosofía 2017′ con el objetivo de abrir un diálogo entre la academia y la sociedad panameña.

‘La Semana de la Filosofía está mirando fuera de las aulas, fuera de la institución y con ello trata de trascender a ese diálogo que, obviamente, es académico, pero sobre todo es humano’, asegura la catedrática universitaria y una de las organizadoras del evento, Ela Urriola, a La Estrella de Panamá .

Urriola destacó que en esta ocasión se tratará el problema de la verdad y la posverdad, así como la ética en los medios de comunicación, para este último habrá una mesa redonda, el 15 de noviembre.

La catedrática recuerda que para la filosofía el problema de la verdad es ‘consustancial’, pues desde los tiempos de Platón era un problema filosófico. No obstante, el formato ha cambiado y hoy en día, gracias a las redes sociales y al Internet, tenemos acceso a abundante información con tan solo un click .

A pesar de las ventajas que ofrecen estas plataformas, las mismas se convierten en espacios en los cuales se puede ‘tergiversar los hechos y crear bolas de nieve que se devuelven contra quien las lanza’, explica la catedrática.

En este sentido, temas como los Papeles de Panamá y los recientes casos de corrupción, antes que mediáticos ‘son temas éticos’ y ‘merecen una reflexión ciudadana’, explica la docente.

La ‘Semana de la Filosofía’, añade Urriola, también abrirá el espacio para otras temáticas, como el problema de la sensibilidad o reflexiones sobre el problema de la identidad. Entre los expositores hay docentes e invitados, algunos de los cuales regresan al país luego de cursar estudios en el extranjero.

Por otro lado, Urriola resaltó que esperan una gran participación del estudiantado. Si bien el Departamento de Filosofía está acostumbrado a una matrícula baja, el 2017 ha resultado ser un año sorpresa, pues ‘hemos tenido una proliferación de estudiantes, gente que está tomando una segunda carrera y que busca en la filosofía una posibilidad de entender el mundo en el que viven’.

Abdiel Rodríguez Reyes, de los organizadores, dijo a La Estrella de Panamá que para promocionar el evento han empleado las redes sociales y participaron en un foro por el día de la filosofía organizado por un conocido medio impreso.

A su vez, el afiche del evento se encuentra disponible en el blog del Departamento de Filosofía.

Fuente: http://laestrella.com.pa/estilo/cultura/semana-filosofia-2017-esta-mirando-fuera-aulas/24032956

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