Education

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Egypt’s new electronic high school system fails at first

Noticias

Africa/ Egypt/ 25.03.2019/ By: Al-Masry Al-Youm/ Source: ww.egyptindependent.com.

 

First year high school students in Egypt found themselves overwhelmed on Sunday after they were unable to take their experimental exams on the Education Ministry’s new electronic platform throughout 26 governorates due to technical failure.

The Education Ministry initiated a new High school system this year, where students would take exams online using tablets and SIM cards provided by the government free of charge.

Only those in the Red Sea governorate were able to take the Arabic language test on Sunday. A large number of students in Cairo, Giza and the rest of the governorates said they could not open the examination platform because of the schools’ poor Internet connection and failure to activate the tab.

Speaking to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Education Minister Tarek Shawki said that over 2 million people visited the electronic exam platform for first year students of the new system, despite the fact that it is currently designed to only accommodate 600,000 students.

Schools in Cairo and Giza made early leave for all first grade students at 12 pm yesterday after they were unable to download the Arabic language exam due to the exam platform’s inability to download the exam even after 3 hours.

The ministry published photographs of some of the students taking the Arabic language exam via the tablets, which included the showing students how to access the electronic exam platform, which was designed by the Pearson company.

Source of the notice: https://ww.egyptindependent.com/egypts-new-electronic-high-school-system-fails-at-first-test/

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Digital education boost for South Africa’s poorest pupils

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Africa/ South Africa/ 20.03.2019/ Source: www.itnewsafrica.com.

In a boost for South Africa’s ailing education system, business heavyweights are backing a plan to place a fully resourced e-learning tablet in the hands of one million of the poorest pupils within the next five years.

Already MTN, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Shuter & Shooter and WIZZR Technologies have signed on with the organisation spearheading the plan, the Closed-loop Learner Network (CLN), resulting in a successful trial roll-out of the tablets – called Omang – to 1,000 pupils at no-fee schools in the Free State late last year.

Based on the trial’s success, and together with the provincial Department of Education, a further 20,000 pupils at no-fee schools will be benefitting from the initiative during 2019.

MTN provides free connectivity for the tablets, while CAPS-approved textbooks for grades 10 to 12 pupils are pre-loaded onto the devices thanks to international software developers WIZZR Technologies and the three textbook publishers. CLN in turn ensures that high school pupils receive the Omang devices, complete with textbooks, tutorials and white-listed online resources to assist them in their studies.

The initiative was celebrated at a gala dinner in Bryanston this week, where private sector heavyweights including MTN’s David Mphelo* and SAP Africa head of innovation Dr Adriana Marais – who is a candidate for the Mars One human settlement mission – addressed the audience of 150 delegates. Included in the line-up of speakers were MD Ramesh, regional head of the multi-billion dollar agri business Olam International, as well as African Industrialist of the Year**, Jendamark MD Quinton Uren.

Also in attendance were Massimo de Luca, head of trade and economics for the European Union delegation to South Africa, Danone Southern Africa MD Hendrik Born, and singer Danny K.

CLN had already begun building the infrastructure required to implement President Cyril Ramaphosa’s vision of a tablet device in every pupil’s hands within the next six years, CLN founder Ajit Gopalakrishnan told the audience. South Africa currently ranks 54 out of 63 global economies in the category of education and training, according to the latest IMD World Digital Competitiveness Rankings.

“This is not about giving tablets to kids. Our aim is to become the Facebook of education and to gain in-depth insight into the next generation. It’s about seeing the human potential – and the business opportunity – in including the masses in the economic equation,” said Gopalakrishnan, adding that dedicated social impact funding from the private sector was essential to extend the initiative’s reach across South Africa.

Mphelo said education was one of two major focus areas for the MTN Foundation and that it was vital to use the available connectivity to bridge the digital divide.

“We have the scalable ready network and infrastructure. Why aren’t we using that infrastructure to unlock the potential of all South Africans no matter where they live?” Mphelo said.

Quantum physicist Marais said connectivity had become a basic resource like water and food and that a sustainable approach to all of these resources was critical for the future. She added that it was important to support the dreams of young people but that tools such as science and technology were needed to make those dreams a reality.

“CLN’s Omang initiative is one of the crucial projects around education and connectivity that will inspire the next generation of thinkers and make us proud to be human,” said Marais.

Uren, whose company has acquired a 41% stake in Omang, said Jendamark already had the technology platform in place to support the agenda and unlock potential.

“Industry 4.0 is the perfect platform to solve specific educational problems and inspire hope. This tablet device can affect a major change in education. Here we can really change lives and the future of our country.”

Source of the notice: https://www.itnewsafrica.com/2019/03/digital-education-boost-for-south-africas-poorest-pupils/

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Helpdesk Report: K4D – Stunting, Wasting, and Education in Nigeria

Documentos

Africa/ Nigeria/ 19.03.2019/ Source: reliefweb.int.

Summary

Globally, the number of primary school children with nutritional deficiencies is high. This rapid review focuses on children with such deficiencies (namely stunting and wasting), and how it affects them throughout their primary education. Although the focus is on Nigeria, other country examples and their approaches to address this issue are also included, where available.
Key points are:

  • As hungry children find it difficult to concentrate (Muiru et al., 2014; Foodbank, 2015;
    Businge, 2016), their learning needs and outcomes are different to well-nourished children.
  • Countries respond to these children in different ways: the most popular being school feeding programmes, e.g. in India, which has a high prevalence of stunting and wasting, there is the free Midday Meal Scheme, which is the largest such scheme in the world (Singh et al., 2012).
  • However, such approaches have varying impacts: positive effects on measured learning were found in Burkina Faso and Peru (World Bank Group, 2018). However, in Kenya, providing school meals took significant time away from the classroom, and so they had an ambiguous net effect (World Bank Group, 2018). Therefore, it is worth noting that although school feeding gets children to school, it does not always improve learning (FAO et al., 2018).
  • Differences were found between urban and rural areas: in Nigeria, children from rural areas are almost twice as likely to be stunted as children from urban areas.
  • In Nigeria, as part of a public private partnership, Bridge school teachers use an innovative programme designed to scale up effective new approaches to education.
    However, no evidence is available on successful approaches to teaching malnourished children, e.g. how the timetable is organised, what practices are used in the classroom, what resources are used, etc.
  • Read-Aloud (RA) story lessons in reading and maths learning outcomes in northern Nigeria were evaluated by Moussa et al. (2018). The Reading and Numeracy Activity (RANA) Programme provides training, monitoring, and support to help teachers properly use these materials in class. Maths RA lessons were relatively more effective than the language RAs in improving listening comprehension, missing number identification, and maths word problem scores- however these results are for low socio-economic status pupils, not necessarily malnourished ones.
  • Preliminary findings of the school-based component of Young Lives research found a relationship between teacher qualifications and experience, and pupil’s maths scores (Woldehanna et al., 2017).
  • In the classroom, large numbers of over-age malnourished pupils present a challenge for teachers, who must teach a more diverse group with lower levels of maturity and school preparedness.
  • Teaching malnourished children does not seem to feature in the curricula of teacher training programmes (Drury, 2102; Rampal & Mander, 2013). In 2018, the Nigerian Federal Government revealed plans to revamp the country’s basic education sector – however there is no detail regarding specific approaches to teaching malnourished children
  • The available evidence suggests the need for teacher training to be relevant to classroom reality, to maximise the chance of teachers adopting new techniques in the classroom, and to be linked to better management of teachers at the school level to maximise time on task (Vogel and Stephenson, 2012).
  • Chinyoka (2014) recommends that teachers adapt their behaviour to motivate the learners to work and co-operate with peers. This teaching methodology is supported by Snowman and Biehler (2011).
  • In South Africa, the First National Bank Fund Primary Education Programme (PEP) aims to train teachers to identify pupils affected by malnutrition, as well as assisting them in what they can do to help these learners. The end-term evaluation recommends that the programme clearly had a positive impact in most objective areas (Khulisa Management Services & Bisgard, 2017).

The main sources of evidence used for the rapid review were taken from peer reviewed journals, as well as grey literature and investigative projects. In general, nutrition status of primary schoolchildren in Africa has received relatively little attention in comparison to that of younger children (Saltzman et al., 2016). Most of the data available focuses on the causes of malnutrition, and the effect of adapting diet to improve education. There is little empirical evidence on the effect of childhood malnutrition on children’s cognitive achievements in low-income countries (Woldehanna et al., 2017). There are limited teaching approaches specifically used in Nigeria.

The evidence found was ‘gender-blind,’ as there is very little information available exploring the experiences of girls and boys who are affected by nutritional deficiencies in the early education system. Children with physical disabilities were not a focus of this rapid review.

Link of the document: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/540_Stunting_Wasting_and_Education_in_Nigeria.pdf

Source of the notice: https://reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/helpdesk-report-k4d-stunting-wasting-and-education-nigeria

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Education 4.0: The Future Face of Education

Noticias

Asia/ Indonesia/ 19.03.2019/ Source: indonesiaexpat.biz.

Last year, one of Indonesia’s national agendas was “Making Indonesia 4.0”. In his opening address to the April 2018 Industrial Summit, President Joko Widodo stated that the Fourth Industrial Revolution – or Industry 4.0 – is now transforming the world. This revolution is characterised by digital manufacturing that adopts computers and automation, alongside smart and autonomous systems fuelled by data and machine learning.

Indonesia must anticipate this big shift. One of the steps we must take is to improve and advance human resources to have the important skills of innovation, creativity, and problem solving. Education is a strategic sector to prepare a well-equipped generation that is ready to enter the Industry 4.0 world.

As the world is constantly changing, education must adapt to current global trends. Traditional education in the previous industrial age was designed for mass distribution and implementing the “factory manufacturing model”. School was designed as a “manufacturer” that was organised like assembly lines to mould students into passive recipients of information or knowledge. Teachers were the only source of knowledge. As a result, students became highly dependent on teachers. Education valued competition, end results, standardisation, and conformity as indicators of success, thus producing close-minded intellectuals instead of creators and innovators.

This “old-school” traditional method of education is obsolete compared to what our world needs nowadays. Of course, knowledge is indispensable, but it is simply not enough. Our country no longer needs graduates with only perfect scores. We also need inventors and problem-solvers who can apply their knowledge into action, think on their feet, and work collaboratively towards a better future.

Because innovation should begin at school, Education 4.0 will be the future face of education. It has been designed in response to the need for the Industry 4.0, where humans use machines to discover new, creative possibilities. In Education 4.0, teachers must prepare students not only with knowledge and information, but also by promoting creativity and refining students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills. With Education 4.0, students will engage in intense research-based learning on a specific problem whilst being mentored by an expert in that field and equipped with advanced technology.

The Applied Science Academy has been founded to empower and nurture our student scientists

Sekolah Pelita Harapan is committed to being at the forefront of education in Indonesia by pioneering new ideas and challenging the conventional wisdom of traditional education. As we move from the traditional Education 1.0 and 2.0 phases, we have been applying the Education 3.0 model, which allows students to become more independent learners. It also promotes the consistent use of up-to-date digital technology as an integral part of the students’ education as we move towards applying the Education 4.0 model.

We have initiated the first Center of Excellence in Applied Science, known as the Applied Science Academy. The Center of Excellence aims to provide students with advanced research, best practices and support in specialised areas, and mentoring by field experts.

The Applied Science Academy has been founded to empower and nurture our student scientists. This is possible by providing authentic exposure to a research environment for scientific exploration in order to produce young innovators in applied science. To support this program, we also provide new and advanced lab equipment and materials.

Indonesian researcher, Dr. Eden Steven, Ph. D., is the director of the SPH Applied Science Academy. He received a doctoral degree from Florida State University, specialising in advanced materials and electronics. Dr. Steven is mentoring our students alongside competent professors from UPH. We look forward to launching many Centers of Excellence in the future including: The Center of Excellence in Performing Arts and Music, the Center of Excellence in Arts, and the Center of Excellence in Physical Education.

While maintaining our roots as a Christian school, we continue to adapt to educational trends to meet the needs of 21st Century students. We aim to enable a generation of innovators who are willing to use their God-given talents to bring transformation to the world, for His glory and for the benefit of this nation.

Source of the notice: https://indonesiaexpat.biz/education-2/education-4-0-the-future-face-of-education/

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Australia should start planning for universal tertiary education

Noticias

Oceania/ Australia/ 19.03.2019/ Source: theconversation.com.

Australia is often characterised as having a mass higher education system. In fact, it could be called near-universal. According to the 2016 Census, 56% of Australians aged 15 years and over – 9.6 million people – hold a post-school qualification, up from 46% in 2006.

Universal education does not mean every Australian should attain a higher education or tertiary qualification. It means every Australian should be given the opportunity to get one if they want.

The distinction between “mass” and “universal” is not just an academic one. Viewing higher and tertiary education as universal could help an incoming government better design policy. All Australians need to be prepared for, informed about and able to make a choice that is right for them about whether or not to pursue post-school education.

Needs-based funding of schools

If the government could do one thing to improve post-school education outcomes, it needs to happen in our primary and high schools. Prior academic achievement is one of the main predictors of higher education aspiration and success. In some studies it’s the main factor.

Needs-based funding puts more money into education. In particular, it puts more money into the schools and students who need it most.

The Gillard-led Labor government recognised the importance of this approach by adopting a needs-based school funding model. The Turnbull-led Coalition government reaffirmed this commitment, with the specific aim of helping under-achieving students focus on improvement.

This coming election, look closely at what positions the Coalition and Labor take on needs-based school funding. Both have signed up in principle, but there should be a clear commitment on how much extra money will be provided. This is not the same as simply spending more money to maintain standards in an ever-expanding system.

There also needs to be a clear explanation of how that money will be spread around, to ensure those furthest behind get the resources they need to catch up.

It’s not university or TAFE

Too many Australians – and successive governments – think in terms of students having to make a choice between university or vocational studies or neither. Tertiary education policy shouldn’t be seen this way.

For many people, the false trichotomy of degree-or-trade-or-job is locked in way too early by social and family expectations, and curriculum choices. Greater flexibility in how lifelong education is understood and explained (in terms of pathways and options) needs to be developed at the policy level.

This isn’t about merging the vocational and higher education sectors. That is neither necessary nor desirable. All tertiary education providers play a part in delivering lifelong education opportunities.

What is needed is more cooperation between state and federal governments. They need to be able to coordinate on how these various organisations will be funded and how students will be financially supported.

In many cases, there are fewer financial barriers to doing a university degree than a vocational course. This can lead some students to make a choice that seems right for them, but over the long term doesn’t work out.

The good news is all the pieces are there – even if they don’t quite fit together yet. The Coalition government has made great strides in how students can access loans for vocational courses. But the VET fee capmeans some vocational courses still result in the student having to cover the excess up front, which is not the case for higher education degrees.

For example, an Australian student studying a Diploma of Business in 2019 would have a loan cap of just over A$5,000. They would have to cover the rest of the cost of the course. Depending on the provider, this could be several thousand more.

If the same student chose to study a Bachelor of Business at a university, they would have access to a loan for the full amount, which would be more than A$30,000 for the entire degree.

Against this, students can be more sure they’re getting what they pay for from universities than from vocational education providers. The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency is responsible for the registration and quality oversight of all higher education providers, public and private.

The vocational training sector could benefit from a similarly national and coordinated approach to quality assurance. Given there are more than 5,000 vocational providers, a more realistic approach might be to provide a similar oversight (or even expand TEQSA) to cover all courses offered by the public TAFES, to begin with.

Whoever forms the next government needs to finish the job of creating a more unified structure of financial support and pathway information. It should allow students to think first and foremost about what skills and knowledge are right for them and not about what the institution they’re going to or the degree they’re going to do is called.

Making Australian higher education look more like, well, Australia

The foundation of the Australian higher education system is built on two broad principles. The first is that they exist for the betterment of the nation. The second is that the doors of universities and other higher education institutions are open to everyone. This is actually written into the founding acts of our oldest universities.

The journey towards realising the second principle has been long, rocky and as yet uncompleted. Too many groups of students still remain under-represented. These include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disability, those living in regional areas and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

Progress has been made and much of the big policy picture has been painted. In particular, more institutions have been created to better meet demand, a demand-driven system of funding has been introduced so there is federal funding for each student place, and an income-contingent loan scheme has been provided to remove many of the upfront financial barriers to accessing university.

But finishing the picture requires a final push. Committing to a sustainable, needs-based funding of school education and harmonising the support structure for vocational and higher education would go a long way towards achieving this goal. It may be enough, but if not there is another thing that would work – quotas.

Quotas are contentious, as recent political debate shows. It’s likely the concern would be raised that quotas would ignore the very different institutional profiles that are in play. For example, a regionally based university is going to find it easier to recruit regional students than one in a CBD.

One solution would be to apply the quota at the sector level, rather than the institutional level. The government could then enforce the quotas in a number of ways. It could use performance-based funding to reward the universities doing the heavy lifting. Or it could allow the universities to virtually trade between themselves.

For example, a university with a below-average enrolment of regional students could “purchase” the excess from a university with an above-average enrolment. The students would not actually move institution, but the money would. This would mean the university with the extra enrolments would receive additional financial support to help with the costs associated with supporting these students.

 

Source of the notice: https://theconversation.com/australia-should-start-planning-for-universal-tertiary-education-110783

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South Africa is failing the rights of children to education and health

Magnus Killander

By: Magnus Killander.

 

Is South Africa regularly denying children their right to access education as well as health care on the grounds either of petty bureaucracy or by a misinterpretation of the country’s laws and international obligations?

The answer is yes.

The country places limitations on children’s access to education and affordable health care. This is particularly true of migrant children. These limitations are, in my view, unconstitutional and in violation of South Africa’s international obligations. For example, South Africa is bound by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In the interpretation of this convention, the United Nations Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights has emphasised that:

all children within a state, including those with an undocumented status, have a right to receive education and access to adequate food and affordable health care.

However, South Africa isn’t living up to this promise.

What’s clear is that South Africa’s current school admission policy has a serious effect on the access to basic education of both children who are South African citizens and those who are foreign nationals or stateless.

The challenges for those who are not South African citizens and don’t have the required permits are compounded by section 39 of the Immigration Act 13 of 2002. This states that a “learning institution” may not provide “training or instruction” to an “illegal foreigner”. Principals of schools that enrol a child who is an “illegal foreigner” can be charged and may face penalties.

Children who are not South African citizens often also struggle to access affordable health care through what’s been called “medical xenophobia”.

A recent Constitutional Court ruling gives some hope that the requirements of birth certificates and study permits for children to enrol in school will eventually be relaxed. However, litigation is still ongoing and as with access to affordable health care, there’s often a discrepancy between what the law provides and the actual situation on the ground.

Denial of rights

On 10 December 2018, the Grahamstown High Court gave an order dismissing an urgent application by the Centre for Child Law that 37 children should be admitted to a public school pending final determination of a case instituted by the Centre in 2017, in which the applicants, among others, requested an order that:

no learner may be excluded from a public school on the basis that he or she does not have an identity number, permit or passport.

The 37 children were among the many children whose guardians have not managed to secure the paperwork needed to be allowed to register in a school under the 1998 Admission Policy for Ordinary Public Schools.

On 15 February 2019 the Constitutional Court granted leave of appeal against the High Court order and overturned it, ordering that the children should be admitted and enrolled in school by 1 March. However, this order does not finally decide the issue of requirements for enrolling in school as the case instituted in 2017 is still pending before the High Court.

The right to health care is provided for in article 27 of the Constitution. The National Health Act 61 of 2003 provides for free health care at public facilities for children under six years old, unless a child is covered by private medical insurance.

According to the Uniform Patient Fee Schedule all non-South African citizens – except those with permanent or temporary residence and citizens of the member states of the Southern African Development Community who “enter the (the republic) illegally” – are classified as full-paying patients. Children without the required permits who are over six years old, who lack medical insurance and are not from a Southern African Development Community member state therefore lack access to subsidised health care.

International obligations

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration was adopted in December 2018 with South Africa’s support. Among other things, the global compact calls on states to adopt child sensitive migration policies. It also promotes international legal obligations in relation to the rights of the child, and upholds the principle of the best interests of the child at all times.

The principle of the best interest of the child was first set out in an international treaty 30 years ago in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It was reiterated in the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. South Africa is party to both these treaties. In addition, the South African Constitution provides that:

a child’s best interests are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child.

A child is defined as anyone below the age of 18.

The right-holder in the bill of rights in the Constitution, is with few exceptions “everyone”. Clearly this includes not only South African citizens but everyone who is in the country. Most rights are not absolute and may be limited under section 36

in terms of law of general application to the extent that the limitation is reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom.

The Immigration Act is a “law of general application”. However, the child’s best interest is “of paramount importance”.

In my view, the rights of children to basic education and affordable health care in South Africa can’t be limited and “everyone” must be read to include every child, irrespective of their immigration status. When it comes to access to health care the situation is even clearer as there are no limitations set out in the country’s laws. The Uniform Patient Fee Schedule should therefore be revised to provide for subsidised health care for all children whose guardians cannot afford medical insurance.

Source of the article: https://theconversation.com/south-africa-is-failing-the-rights-of-children-to-education-and-health-112707

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Hungry, unwashed children fill our schools – how has it come to this?

Barbara Ellen

By: .

 

According to a survey from the headteachers’ union, the Association of School and College Leaders, schools have become “an unofficial fourth emergency service” for the families worst affected by austerity across England and Wales.

A majority of the 400 school leaders surveyed said schools were increasingly forced to help pupils, despite less help from councils, and have had to cut budgets. Schools are helping with food parcels, equipment, shoes and hygiene – nine out of 10 give out clothes, while nearly half do laundry for them. Some are running impromptu food banks or sourcing beds.

How could it not be a source of national shame that there are food banks in any schools in England and Wales? When did it become normal for schools to wash pupils’ clothes? As for anyone wishing to start ranting about parents sitting, smoking, with cans of lager, in front of wide-screen televisions – spare me. Wasn’t it precisely these Tory cartoons of the unemployed and low-income workers that gave austerity measures credibility in the first place? That fake standoff between “striver” and “skiver” (remember that?) pitted people against each other, when, in truth, they had all too much in common.

While it’s just one survey, it’s far from a one-off – schools keep trying to speak up about how much they’re helping pupils. It’s happening on too large a scale for it to be dismissed as straightforward parental failure. Pupils have come to this because they reflect the reduced circumstances of their families – they are merely the school-aged manifestation of peak-impact austerity. Swaths of the population have been crushed to the point where basics (food, clothes, heating, hot water) have become unaffordable. Underresourced schools have been left to cope with the fallout and teachers are only able to teach pupils after they’ve dealt with their basic needs.

This fundamentally undermines what schools are supposed to be – educational establishments. While there has always been an element of social work to teaching, it shouldn’t be so dominant. What should be a place about teaching and learning becomes a barely disguised holding pen, with a bit of ABC thrown in. It wouldn’t just be a relief if these children manage to reach their full potential – it would be a miracle.

While schools go above and beyond for their pupils, why does the buck stop there? Long-term austerity seems to have numbed people into accepting relentless struggle as normality, almost as though it’s all a terrible, inexplicable enchantment in a warped austerity-themed fairytale.

In reality, there’s a context (actual policies, brazen cuts) explaining how it all happened and telling us exactly who is responsible. So, yes, it’s very sad to hear about these children who arrive at school needing food and clothes before they can even think about algebra. It’s also the government’s responsibility to own its mess and do something about it.

The gossip mill continues to churn about the actress Kate Beckinsale, 45, dating the 25-year-old comedian Pete Davidson. And when I say “gossip mill”, I mean, saddos like me, who tragically feel the compulsion to gawp at happy couples, forensically examining photos of them, say, smooching at hockey games, in order to pass ill-informed judgment on their relationship. So, let’s do it.

Considering the sexist “cradle-snatching” fuss, you’d have thought that Davidson was in his teens, not a high-achieving grown man. Although some of us might not want to deal with the “extra admin” that seems to go with a large age difference (“They used to be called Marathon bars, goddammit!”), if others are up for it, then more power to them. While Davidson is punching above his weight, he’d probably admit to “punching” just as hard with his erstwhile fiancee, Ariana Grande, similar in age. Besides, he has already sagely pointed out that the older-male/younger-female celebrity dynamic is practically Hollywood’s 11th commandment.

With age-gap couples such as Beckinsale and Davidson, the focus is always on it being a “terrible shame” that they aren’t similar ages, at the same stage in life. However, who’s to say that they would have got on as well if they had been at the same life-stage? They could have irritated, even disliked, each other. Their differences might have mattered more – there could have been more niggles and clashes – over values, perspectives, anything. It’s quite possible that their age gap is making them not sweat the dreaded “small stuff” and have more fun.

Best of luck to Beckinsale and Davidson, an odd couple who could be living proof that sometimes age differences aren’t the problem, they’re the things that make it work.

Are women too wary of corporate tokenism? The Investment Association, a £7.7tn investor group, has joined the Hampton-Alexander review, a diversity study, to send letters to 66 FTSE 350 firms that have only one female board member. Good. “One and done” syndrome is a joke, when the government target is around 33%.

However, another problem lies with the wider negative perception of female quotas and targets, when even qualified, credible female candidates find themselves dismissed as not getting there entirely on merit. This gives quotas an undeserved bad name, even among women, who worry that their achievements could be dismissed as token. All completely understandable, but still – phooey!

Women worrying about tokenism need to remember that, over the years, structural sexism has given far more men far more opportunities to pursue and exploit unfair advantage. When there’s a rare attempt to redress the balance, the very last thing women should feel is guilty.

I dream of a scenario where a female board member gets some envious threatened male idiots grumbling about tokenism and she just smiles delightedly and says: “I know, great, isn’t it?”

Odds are, she’d still be some way from being as shameless as they’d be, given half the chance.

Source of the article: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/16/hungry-unwashed-children-fill-our-schools

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