Education

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Indonesia starts school year with caution during pandemic

Noticias

Asia/ Indonesia/ 14.07.2020/ Fuente: www.thejakartapost.com.

After months of studying from home, students in several parts of the archipelago returned to school on Monday in accordance with the so-called “new normal” protocols in their respective communities.

In the meantime, a number of other regions continued to exercise caution and carried on with their online learning policies as the COVID-19 health crisis has shown no sign of abating anytime soon.

In East Nusa Tenggara, students returned to their classrooms as junior and senior high schools in 13 regencies and cities across the province – including the provincial capital Kupang, East Manggarai regency, Rote Ndao regency, East Flores regency, and Central Sumba regency – were permitted to resume their normal educational activities this week, albeit with a renewed emphasis on physical distancing and personal hygiene.

Despite the high-spirited school reopenings across the province, some parents have conveyed their collective anxiety about their children’s well-being.

Habel Manafe, whose child attends SMA 3 state senior high school in Kupang, called on schools to implement strict health protocols to ensure the safety of students, teachers and other staff members.

“For us, it goes without saying that once schools reopen, they must [enforce] health protocols. This includes implementing physical distancing measures, for instance, by putting some distance between seats in the classroom,” Habel told the press on Monday, adding that students must also be required to wear face masks.

Habel went on to say that having students tested for COVID-19 was crucial as schools adjusted to new norms.

Furthermore, students should also be given practical lessons on health protocols so they can develop new habits to minimize the risks of infection, Habel said.

“Parents shouldn’t simply tell [their children] to wash their hands, but they should also demonstrate how to do it properly,” Habel added.

Similarly, junior and senior high school students in Jambi city, Jambi, were also allowed to return to their classrooms on Monday, kompas.com reported.

Jambi Mayor Syarif Fasha said the decision to reopen schools in the city was partly because hundreds of students in the region lacked access to online learning technology.

He noted that the reopening was met with enthusiasm among students, as evidenced by the 50 percent attendance rate on Monday. He expected the attendance rate to reach 100 percent by the end of the month.

“For the time being, [studying at school] is not mandatory. If a student has [breathing issues], for instance, they will be allowed to study remotely,” Syarif said.

Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim allowed 104 regencies and cities considered to be “green zones” across the country to reopen junior and senior high schools on July 13, which also marked the start of the new school year.

However, elementary school students are still required to study from home until further notice.

Amid Monday’s reopenings, some other regions remained cautious, with students told to continue studying from home because of health and safety concerns.

The Riau Islands administration, for instance, has prohibited schools from reopening as the threat of COVID-19 has yet to subside in the region.

“Based on our field inspection, schools – specifically senior high schools and vocational schools – haven’t reopened. We will [impose sanctions] if they do reopen,” Riau Islands Education Agency character building division head Adimaja told The Jakarta Post, adding that learning activities had mostly taken place online.

He went on to say that a few vocational schools in Batam had been permitted to allow students to resume outdoor activities, while still adhering to strict health protocols.

Akmal, who serves as a principal at Kartini Senior High School in Batam, said schools could be reopened for in-person learning as soon as the region was declared a “green zone”.

“[The reopening] also depends on the parents’ approval,” Akmal said.

In Medan, North Sumatra, however, students flocked to schools despite the local administration’s restrictions. Based on the Post’s observations, many students were not wearing face masks.

“On the first day of school, we sang together and wrote down our personal information. We had fun,” said Dori, a seventh grader at SMP 4 state junior high school in Medan.

North Sumatra Education Agency secretary Alpian Hutahuruk expressed dismay over the unsanctioned reopenings, saying it endangered students.

“This could put students in peril. We have prohibited [schools from reopening]. No school in North Sumatra may reopen when the COVID-19 [transmission rate] is still high,” said Alpian, adding that the administration would reach out to schools that were found to have violated the regulation.

Separately, national COVID-19 task force chief Doni Monardo said the government had considered allowing schools in “yellow zones” to reopen because of high public demand.

“We are reviewing several public requests to allow [students] in yellow zones to go back to school,” Doni said after a meeting with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Monday.

As of Monday, Indonesia had recorded 76,981 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 3,656 deaths linked to the disease. (rfa)

Fuente de la noticia: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/07/13/indonesia-starts-school-year-with-caution-during-pandemic.html

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Universities criticised for ‘tokenistic’ support for Black Lives Matter

David Batty

By:

 A Black Lives Matter protest at Oriel College, Oxford University, in June. Scholars say there is ‘no clear incentive for universities to take racial justice seriously’. Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock

More than 300 academics and students have criticised universities for their “tokenistic and superficial” support for the Black Lives Matter movement given their poor record on tackling institutional racism.

In an open letter to the education secretary, Gavin Williamson, and higher education funding councils, regulators and representative bodies, the scholars said the sector had underestimated the prevalence of racism and failed to address its “systemic and structural nature”.

The letter called out universities for publicly supporting the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the killing of George Floyd while racial inequalities, such as the attainment gap between white and black and minority ethnic (BAME) students, persist.

It states: “While these and other racial inequalities remain, statements that Black lives matter can at best be regarded as tokenistic and superficial.

“The sector has, to date, been overly optimistic in its assessment of the extent of the problem, it has been slow to act and, where action has been taken, it has failed to seriously engage with the systemic and structural nature of racism.”

The letter, signed by leading BAME and white academics, urges the government and higher education bodies to take urgent action to ensure universities improve their efforts.

The three authors of the letter – Richard Itaman, a lecturer in comparative political economy and development at King’s College London, Keston Perry, a lecturer in economics at the University of the West of England, and Angelique Golding, a business manager at Goldsmiths, University of London, – told the Guardian in a statement: “There is no clear incentive for universities to take racial justice seriously or consequences if they do not. However, there are disadvantages to us: black and minority ethnic staff leave, are not promoted and experience racism but these facts do not lead to the institution radically improving its practice.”

They propose universities provide training that substantially addresses institutional racism, white privilege and racial micro-aggressions, such as dismissive and stereotyping comments. Research by the Guardian last year found most did not.

The ethnicity of applicants and shortlisted and successful candidates for senior university jobs should be published, as well as a detailed breakdown of the pay gap between white and BAME staff. Universities should also introduce positive action schemes to train, hire and promote BAME staff to address their under-representation in the workforce.

Another proposal is that funding bodies should make grants dependent on universities demonstrating how they are tackling racism. The seven UK research councils recently revealed that white researchers are almost 59% more likely to receive research funding than their BAME peers.

The letter also recommends that the government provides dedicated funding for the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which published a report on racism in higher education last year, to ensure that universities implement these proposals.

A Department for Education spokeswoman said: “Racism is abhorrent and should not be tolerated anywhere in society, including in higher education. The secretary of state has received the letter and we will respond in due course.”

A spokeswoman for Universities UK, which represents 137 higher education institutions, said: “We have called upon senior university leaders to redouble their efforts to address racial harassment. This must be a strategic priority.” She added that its advisory group to tackle racial harassment would publish recommendations in the autumn.

Source of the article: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/jul/06/universities-criticised-for-tokenistic-support-for-black-lives-matter

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New Zealand: Sexual violence, racism and exploitation, the sad state of student housing

Noticias

Oceania/ New Zealand/ 07.07.2020/ Source: www.stuff.co.nz.

Sexual violence, racism and exploitation are all prevalent in the halls of residence at Victoria University, according to the university’s student association.

Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association (VUWSA) has released its submission to the inquiry into student accommodation with students detailing horror stories they have faced while living in halls of residence.

It is part of a national discussion on New Zealand’s under-regulated student accommodation sector.

One student living at Stafford House in 2019, said their bond was withheld because a flatmate left soap and a few food packets in the flat.

The students had a flat inspection before leaving, but one person was allowed to stay on an extra week, and left the items behind.

“As a result of this, the staff decided this meant our rooms were not spotless and thus they refused to give my sister and I our bonds back.”.

They emailed Stafford House in February this year but it was not until June they were told they would receive their bonds back, and as of June 29 were still waiting for their money.

Stafford House is managed by accommodation provider UniLodge, on behalf of more than 80 apartment owners.

Another student told of being sexually assaulted while living in a hall of residence.

“Myself and other girls were sexually assaulted in the hall and … after over three months of going through Vic Uni complaint process, I lost.

“He moved out on his own accord, but he has faced no repercussions.”

VUWSA’s submission claimed there was a lack of clarity for students when disclosing experiences of sexual violence, and limited support for victims, which fell to friends or residential assistants (RAs), who were typically older students.

One RA recalled having to deal with the brunt of sexual assault complaints along with two female colleagues, as the senior management team were all men.

The submission also claims staff in student accommodation struggled to handle issues of racism and other forms of discrimination.

Victoria University vice-chancellor Grant Guilford speaks at the May 5 Epidemic Response Committee meeting.

One student recalled being told to apologise when calling out other students for making fun of their culture.

VUWSA was calling for legislation to mandate a standard of care in student accommodation.

However, a University spokeswoman said there were inaccuracies and misinformation in VUWSA’s submission which was «very disappointing”.

The inaccuracies included things such as how the university educated students about consent, bystander intervention and their options when disclosing sexual harmful behaviour, she said.

The university provided “extensive” training to hall staff and RAs on these problems, and how to recognise and respond to students in distress.

The spokeswoman also said there were inaccuracies over the communication of information to students in halls of residence, the level of pastoral care given to those students, the role of RAs and the support provided to them and the University’s response to requests for information from VUWSA and its response to Covid-19.

“Universities New Zealand has contributed a submission to the inquiry into student accommodation, on behalf of all New Zealand universities.”

What is the student accommodation inquiry

The inquiry into student accommodation was called after the Covid-19 lockdown exposed the sector as being under-regulated and unfit for purpose.

It follows Interim Pastoral Care Code for domestic students, which Parliament passed in 2019 after the death of University of Canterbury student Mason Pendrous.

The Residential Tenancies Act does not apply to student accommodation, meaning students have fewer consumer protections than other renters.

The inquiry is being heard by the Education and Workforce Select Committee.

Source of the news: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/122048279/sexual-violence-racism-and-exploitation-the-sad-state-of-student-housing-in-new-zealand

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Japan: Gov’t seeks more inclusive education for foreign children

Noticias

Asia/ Japan/ 07.07:2020: Source: english.kyodonews.net.

 

The government aims to improve its outreach to foreign children in Japan to provide them with learning opportunities as part of strategies adopted Tuesday to promote Japanese-language education.

A survey conducted last year by the education ministry yielded an estimate that more than 19,000 elementary or junior high school-age children of foreign nationalities in Japan do not attend school at all, including international schools.

In Japan, compulsory education covers nine years starting at first grade, from about age 6 to 15.

Foreign residents of Japan are not subject to compulsory education but the ministry urges public schools to accept and provide free tuition to any child who wishes to enroll based on international treaties.

The government wants to ensure that all foreign children in Japan have the same educational opportunities as local students.

The basic policy to promote Japanese-language education endorsed at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday says it is the responsibility of the central and local governments to offer Japanese-language education to foreign children.

Under the new policy, local governments will work closely with international schools and relevant nonprofit organizations to better assess the situation and offer parents of foreign children information about their educational options.

Amid growing demand for Japanese-language education both at home and abroad, the basic policy also affirms the need to create new licenses for Japanese-language teachers.

Education minister Koichi Hagiuda stressed the need to deliver best-practice regulation at the municipality level to guarantee learning opportunities for foreign children.

«Based on the basic policy adopted this time, we will strengthen the system» to promote Japanese-language education, he told a press conference.

The policy was adopted based on the law on promotion of Japanese-language education that took effect in June last year. The policy will be reviewed every five years if deemed necessary.

The law stipulates the central government must make legal changes and provide necessary financing to promote Japanese-language education, while local governments are responsible for crafting and implementing specific measures and policies.

It was a major turnaround of the country’s policies on language education, which have conventionally depended heavily on municipal and private efforts.

The legislation initiated by lawmakers was compiled as Japan introduced a new visa system in April last year to accept more foreign blue-collar workers to deal with severe labor shortages caused by the country’s rapidly aging populace.

The number of foreign nationals in Japan stood at record-high 2.93 million as of the end of 2019, up 7.4 percent from the previous year, according to the Immigration Services Agency.

The ministry’s first survey conducted on foreign children’s school attendance in May and June last year found 19,654, or 15.8 percent, of foreign children eligible to enroll may not be attending Japanese elementary or junior high schools.

In addition to education being not compulsory for foreign nationals, the lack of sufficient command of the Japanese language among some children and guardians as well as the varied quality of local government support are suspected as reasons for the result.

The policy was adopted based on the revision to the law on promotion of Japanese language education that was put in force in June last year. The policy will be reviewed every five years if necessary.

Source of the news: https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/06/8d735195fa85-govt-seeks-more-inclusion-in-education-for-foreign-children-in-japan.html

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Kenya: KETRACO scholarships to bridge engineering skills among vulnerable girls

Noticias

Africa/Kenya/05/07/2020/Author: Claire Wanja/Source: www.kbc.co.ke

The Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited, KETRACO has partnered with Kenyatta University to offer scholarships to girls from vulnerable families across the country.

The partnership will see KETRACO pump resources into the program dubbed KETRACO Scholarship for Orphans and Vulnerable Students (KSOVS).

Over the next five years vulnerable female students in KU’s Electrical or Civil Engineering faculty are set to be beneficiaries of the initiative.

Speaking during the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony, KETRACO’s Managing Director FCPA Fernandes Barasa hailed the initiative as attempting to bridge the engineering skills gap in the country – which is one of the initiatives the transmission company has engaged in with institutions of higher education so as to fulfill its vision.

“The overall objective of the MoU signing is to jointly develop mutual collaboration in various areas including areas of research that touches on electricity transmission, support equity, access and excellence in higher education especially among vulnerable girls,” Barasa said.

“This will form a link that will see the development of new products and technology in electricity transmission through scholarships, research funding and knowledge management consultancy,” KETRACO said.

“This partnership will facilitate mutual collaboration between KETRACO and KU that will enable us to explore emerging trends in electricity transmission and research,” he KU Vice-Chancellor Prof Paul Wainaina.

The partnership will give an opportunity to young girls from vulnerable families to pursue their dreams.

Source and Image: https://www.kbc.co.ke/ketraco-scholarships-to-bridge-engineering-skills-among-vulnerable-girls/

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Josée Scalabrini: Les problèmes en éducation, le gouvernement ne peut s’en laver les mains

Entrevistas

Par: lapresse.

Les derniers mois n’ont pas été de tout repos pour l’ensemble des acteurs de notre système d’éducation public.

Josée ScalabriniJOSÉE SCALABRINI
PRÉSIDENTE DE LA FÉDÉRATION DES SYNDICATS DE L’ENSEIGNEMENT, CENTRALE DES SYNDICATS DU QUÉBEC

En mars dernier, alors que la pandémie de la maladie à coronavirus nous frappait de plein fouet, le premier ministre a convié les syndicats à négocier de façon intensive et accélérée dans le but, disait-il, de mettre ces pourparlers derrière nous et de garantir une « paix sociale ». Bien que les enseignantes et enseignants n’avaient pas du tout la tête à la négociation à ce moment, nous avons accepté l’invitation insistante du gouvernement. Nous étions au rendez-vous. De toute évidence, malgré l’image qu’il voulait laisser, le gouvernement n’avait pas non plus la tête à la négociation.

Dans le contexte de la pandémie que nous vivons depuis plusieurs mois, la FSE-CSQ a démontré qu’on peut toujours compter sur elle quand vient le temps de trouver des solutions pour améliorer les choses en éducation. Dans un contexte difficile, les profs ont organisé le retour en classe de mai dernier avec brio, en moins de deux semaines. Cette opération a été réussie grâce au professionnalisme des enseignantes et enseignants et des équipes-écoles, car on va se le dire, les conditions n’étaient pas toutes réunies. La FSE-CSQ a joué son rôle en posant des questions, en demandant des réponses, en remettant parfois en doute certaines décisions gouvernementales. De bonne foi, elle a proposé des voies de passage réalisables afin de s’assurer que les décisions prises répondent aux besoins réels des profs et des élèves dans les écoles et les centres du Québec.

C’est avec la même attitude que la FSE-CSQ s’est présentée aux tables de négociation à la demande du premier ministre. Malheureusement, force est de constater que le gouvernement ne s’est pas présenté aux rencontres qu’il a lui-même convoquées.

Cette négociation devait être enfin l’occasion de mettre un baume sur la souffrance du personnel enseignant, en s’assurant que les services soient offerts aux élèves qui en ont besoin, en revoyant la composition de la classe et en reconnaissant son travail à sa juste valeur, notamment sur le plan de la rémunération.

Le gouvernement avait un autre plan en tête. Il souhaitait profiter de la crise ainsi que de son capital de sympathie pour tenter d’obtenir une entente au rabais avec les profs. Les enseignantes et enseignants ne sont pas dupes. Ils ont été catégoriques et ont refusé à 97 % les dernières offres gouvernementales.

Rappelons-nous que ce gouvernement se targuait de mettre l’éducation au cœur de ses priorités. De plus, le ministre de l’Éducation a répété à maintes reprises ses intentions d’améliorer les conditions de travail des enseignantes et enseignants pour attirer les meilleurs candidats, et retenir celles et ceux qui ont fait le choix de la profession enseignante. Mais entre le discours et la réalité de l’offre qui nous est faite, il y a un monde.

Alors qu’ils sont nombreux à être épuisés, est-ce en allongeant la semaine de travail qu’on rendrait la tâche du personnel enseignant humainement supportable ?

Est-ce en ne proposant rien pour améliorer la composition de la classe et en retirant les remparts qui garantissent les services aux élèves en difficulté qu’on améliorerait leur sort ?

Est-ce en revenant sur sa promesse phare d’éliminer les six premiers échelons salariaux que le gouvernement reconnaîtrait le travail des enseignantes et enseignants ? En leur offrant moins que l’inflation ?

Est-ce en offrant une majoration salariale minime à quelques enseignants émérites (des directions adjointes déguisées !) qu’on revaloriserait la profession enseignante et qu’on lui retirerait la palme de la moins bien payée au Canada ?

Si le gouvernement avait été réellement sincère et avait donné des mandats conséquents à son équipe de négociation pour qu’il y ait de véritables avancées aux tables de négociation, il aurait été possible d’en arriver à une entente rapidement. Malheureusement, il faut être deux pour danser.

Malgré le fait qu’il n’y aura rien de normal à la prochaine rentrée, les enseignantes et enseignants sont tout de même soulagés de voir que l’ensemble des élèves reprendront le chemin des établissements et des centres et que les spécialités seront enseignées, car elles favorisent la motivation de plusieurs et le développement global de chacun.

Oui, les enseignantes et enseignants ont hâte de retrouver leurs élèves. Parce qu’ils tiennent toujours à bout de bras l’école publique, ils seront tenus de mettre les bouchées doubles pour aider les plus vulnérables à rattraper le retard qu’ils ont accumulé au cours des derniers mois, sans qu’on leur donne toutes les ressources nécessaires.

Ils auraient cependant souhaité se consacrer aux élèves l’esprit tranquille, sans avoir à se préoccuper de la négociation nationale. Mais parce qu’ils aiment leurs élèves et leur profession, si besoin est, ils seront mobilisés.

Les enseignants seront prêts à poursuivre le combat pour obtenir une juste reconnaissance de la qualité de leur travail, car le gouvernement, qui s’était pourtant engagé à le faire, a manqué à sa parole.

On comprend qu’il pourrait être tenté de faire porter à la négociation le poids des ratés du plan de pandémie, comme il l’a fait pour les camps pédagogiques, alors que ce sont particulièrement les directions qui les décriaient. Nous avons trop donné dans les dernières semaines pour accepter d’être instrumentalisés ainsi.

L’arrivée de la nouvelle présidente du Conseil du trésor nous laisse cependant espérer un changement de ton dans les négociations. Sonia LeBel doit prendre rapidement conscience de l’ampleur des défis qui sont devant elle.

C’est le gouvernement qui voulait négocier en temps de pandémie. Les problèmes en éducation, il ne peut s’en laver les mains.

Source de l’interview: https://www.lapresse.ca/debats/opinions/2020-06-26/les-problemes-en-education-le-gouvernement-ne-peut-s-en-laver-les-mains.php

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EEUU: Texas education officials consider changing state’s sex education policy for first time in 23 years

Noticias

North America/ EEUU/ 30.06.2020/ Source: www.texastribune.org.

For the first time since 1997, Texas education officials will consider a new statewide sexual education policy, and it could include teaching middle schoolers about birth control options beyond abstinence.

That proposed revision to the state’s health education standards is expected to draw crowds of people — albeit virtually — to Monday’s State Board of Education meeting, where members will take public comment and discuss the changes. Work groups of educators and experts have been working for months preparing recommendations for how the Republican-dominated board should revise its standards.

At what is likely to be a high-tension online hearing, advocates for comprehensive sexual education plan to laud the recommendation to teach abstinence-plus education earlier; opponents will say the proposals go too far beyond abstinence to be legal. The board is expected to make a final decision by November, setting the stage for how teachers and textbook publishers will approach the controversial subject for years to come.

Texas public schools are not required to teach sexual education. State law requires that schools teaching sex ed stress abstinence as the preferred choice for unmarried young people and spend more time on it than any other sexual behavior. Parents can opt their children out of any lesson they want.

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According to a Texan Freedom Network study, just 17% of school districts, including some of the state’s most populous, taught abstinence-plus sex education in 2015-16. At the same time, federal data shows Texas consistently has one of the highest teen birth rates in the country, which studies show correlates with an emphasis on abstinence-only education.

This year, the board will consider requiring all seventh and eight grade health teachers to “analyze the effectiveness and ineffectiveness of barrier protection and other contraceptive methods, including the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, keeping in mind the effectiveness of remaining abstinent until marriage.” Currently that is only a requirement in high school, where health education is an optional course. All Texas public schools must offer health education for students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Advocates for comprehensive sexual education consider the proposed change a win and will rally for the board to approve it. “If we include basic information about topics like contraception and STI [sexually transmitted infection] prevention at the middle school level, we know students will have some exposure to that before high school,” said Jen Biundo, director of policy and data for the Texas Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.

The organization conducted a public opinion poll with the firm Baselice & Associates, which shows that 75% of poll respondents, including 68% of Republicans, support teaching sexual education that prioritizes abstinence but also provides information about contraception and STI prevention.

The state board last took up the health standards in 1997 and then adopted abstinence-only health textbooks in 2004. Abstinence-only advocates have successfully kept information on birth control and sexually transmitted disease prevention out of textbooks for decades.

As more school districts adopt more robust sexual education curricula, Texas Values, a conservative statewide advocacy group, has organized campaigns to fight back. Most recently, it led a group of detractors to speak out against Austin Independent School District’s proposed curriculum for grades three through eight, which included topics like gender identity, reproductive anatomy and body image, tailored for each grade. The school board unanimously approved the curriculum.

“Leftist LGBT advocacy groups are calling this a ‘once in-a-generation opportunity’ to attack Texas’ abstinence focused approach and teach highly sexualized LGBT propaganda starting in kindergarten,” read a Texas Values email blast sent to subscribers Friday.

Texas Values is also urging board members to exclude health standards teaching students about gender identity or sexual orientation. “Teaching children to question the biological reality of their gender or engage in dangerous sexual behavior at a young age is not the job of Texas schools,” said Mary Elizabeth Castle, a Texas Values policy adviser, in a statement to The Texas Tribune.

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Advocacy groups like Texas Freedom Network and Texas Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy are asking the board to include LGBTQ students in the standards. The existing standards and the proposed revisions make no explicit mention of those students, who are more likely to be discriminated against and bullied in their schools.

Source of the notice: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/06/29/Texas-schools-sex-education-policy/

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