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Australia: Australian education poll: 60% say funding cuts limit university access

Australia / 06 de diciembre de 2017 / Fuente: https://www.theguardian.com

Education minister is reportedly preparing to end program that helps students from low-income families

Six out of 10 Australians think cuts to university funding would limit access to tertiary education and the same proportion would oppose attempts to reduce the education budget by circumventing the parliament, polling conducted for the university’s lobbying arm has found.

On Monday it was reported the education minister, Simon Birmingham, was considering non-legislative changes to funding, including axing the higher education participation and partnerships program (Heppp), which helps students from low-income families access university.

Universities Australia responded on Tuesday by releasing polling conducted on its behalf which found 60% of respondents opposed cutting equity programs that support poorer students to go to university, without approval from parliament.

Almost as many (59%) opposed cutting research funding for universities without approval from parliament, another measure reportedly being considered by the government, and 63% agreed cuts to funding would limit access.

The numbers were higher among people from regional areas and over 55s, with 69% of those demographics saying they opposed cuts to funding that were not put through parliament.

The poll of 1,575 people was conducted by JWS Research between 24 and 28 November.

The chief executive of Universities Australia, Belinda Robinson, said the results showed the government would be making the wrong decision if it pursued non-legislative cuts.

“The government keeps coming up with creative new ways to cut funding to public universities, but the message from voters remains the same: it’s the wrong decision for Australia’s future,” she said.

“The Senate has been crystal clear on this too, and would quite rightly take a dim view of any bid to go around the legislative protections for higher education funding.
“They can see what the government seems unable to: cuts to universities are not what this country needs as we head into an era of stronger global competition and a greater need for higher skills.”

The government has sought to put pressure on opponents of the government’s higher education bill by hinting it would find another way to reduce education spending if necessary.

On Monday Birmingham said the government was “considering all options” to trim spending.

The bill, which is opposed by Labor, the Greens and the Nick Xenophon team, would impose a two-year 2.5% efficiency dividend on universities, lower the Help debt repayment threshold to $42,000 and increase fees by a cumulative total of 7.5% by 2021, and would introduce performance contingent funding aimed at increasing graduate outcomes.

Fuente noticia: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/dec/05/education-poll-60-per-cent-say-funding-cuts-limit-access-to-university

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Trans and Open: Education Is Key to Making This a Sign of the Times

By Sarah Bartolome, Truthout

The recent elections were historic for the transgender community as Virginia’s Danica Roem is the first openly transgender person elected to a US state legislature. Andrea Jenkins, who won a seat on the Minneapolis City County, is the first openly trans person of color to ever hold public office in the United States.

Last year, Utah’s Misty Snow made history as one of the first openly transgender individuals to win a major-party nomination as the Democratic Senate candidate. Although her bid was unsuccessful, she is running for Congress, aiming for the 2018 primary.

The election of transgender citizens to public office is a huge win for the transgender community and marks another rise in visibility for trans-identified individuals in this country.

In addition to having trans voices represented in the political arena, openly trans individuals are also competing in the athletic arena. Nike spokesperson and duathlete in running and cycling, Chris Mosier, was the first openly transgender athlete to compete on a US national team in 2016. Harvard University swim team’s Schuyler Bailar, was the first openly transgender athlete to compete on a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 men’s team.

In popular culture, television shows such as «Transparent» (renewed at the end of the summer for a fifth season), «Orange is the New Black,» «Nashville» and «Modern Family» have brought transgender actors and characters onto the small screens.

At a recent meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in San Antonio, Richard Paulson, Society president explained that advances in science would allow a trans woman to receive a donated, transplanted uterus and carry a child to term.

While transgender visibility is increasing, research by the National Center for Transgender Equality showcases the pervasive anti-transgender bias, verbal and physical assault and economic hardship experienced by many trans people in this country.

As a university educator, I understand that those of us in education stand at the front line, meeting our young people who may be navigating issues of gender identity. We are in a position to demonstrate to our trans-identified students that they are valued, accepted and protected members of our school communities. The challenges facing trans youth are significant and life threatening.

Trans-identified individuals have significantly higher rates of suicide attempts. While an estimated 4.6 percent of the general US population has reported a lifetime suicide attempt, a staggering 41 percent of trans or gender nonconforming individuals report attempting suicide, according to a recent report.

Anti-transgender violence is another significant threat and the Human Rights Campaign reported that in 2017 alone, at least 25 transgender people were murdered in the United States, the majority of whom were trans women of color.

Recently, two trans women of color were found dead, both victims of gunshot wounds. Stephanie Montez, murdered in Texas, and Candace Towns, murdered in Georgia, are the 24th and 25th known victims of fatal anti-trans violence this year. Both suffered the additional indignity of being misidentified by gender by police personnel and the media.

The estimated 150,000 transgender youth in the United States are also facing considerable challenges in US schools. Perhaps most troubling is the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s report that schools are some of the most hostile environments for LGBT students. The report states that transgender and gender nonconforming students experience the highest rates of bullying, verbal and physical assault, as well as discriminatory practices.

Ash Whitaker, a male-identified transgender student in Kenosha, Wisconsin, suffered daily indignities as he was denied access to male restrooms at his high school and reportedly even presented with a green wristband to help staff ensure that he exclusively used a gender-neutral restroom in the school’s office.

Whitaker took the district to court, arguing that his rights were being violated under both the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution and under Title IX. Whitaker won his lawsuit and the subsequent appeal, a historic win, as it was the first time that an appeals court interpreted these laws to protect transgender individuals. This ruling was despite the current administration’s roll-back of President Barack Obama-era guidance advising all schools that Title IX regulations protect transgender students.

The Williams Institute also noted that suicide attempts were reported by more than 50 percent of trans-identified students who were harassed or bullied in school contexts and by 78 percent of those sexually assaulted in school. For the estimated 150,000 trans-identified youth in this country, the hostile environment is a significant challenge contributing to the elevated suicide risk among trans people.

Education and training can contribute to the creation of a more inclusive society that does not condone such injustice based on gender identities. Unfortunately, that is not always the case.

The transgender college students with whom I have interacted have described negative interactions with some professors, ranging from persistent misgendering and misnaming to denying them the ability to present their gender identity in course-related off-campus activities like student teaching.

In one especially disturbing case, a professor suggested a student «fade into the background, because some people are going to find this disgusting.»

These kinds of interactions may represent ignorance or lack of experience in working with trans youth, but also contribute to the hostile school climate plaguing the trans community.

School administrators and teachers must work to combat these disturbing trends. The moral imperative of supporting trans students is clear. This is a matter of life or death for the youth who deserve to be educated in a safe environment.

To be sure, some may not fully understand the issue of gender diversity and may struggle to find ways to support trans youth. The US public is split on the issue of public bathroom usage for transgender people. A 2016 Reuter’s poll found that 43 percent of respondents believed that transgender individuals should use the bathroom associated with their biological sex at birth.

Although transgender students make up a small percentage of school age children in this country, public schools are mandated by law to protect and serve all students. Some teachers may adopt the attitude that until they have a trans student, this issue does not concern them.

Yet, as trans youth find openly trans role models across a range of professional identities, the number of openly trans students enrolled in US public schools is likely to increase.

Rather than passively watch this public health crisis grow, teachers and administrators can be proactive in educating themselves about the issues facing trans youth and adopting inclusive school and classroom policies that provide opportunities for gender-diverse students to learn and thrive.

Recently organizations and coalitions for LGBT rights have issued guidance for school districts and teachers wishing to learn how to better support trans and gender nonconforming youth. «Schools in Transition: A Guide for Supporting Transgender Students in K-12 Schools» and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s «Model District Policy on Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students» are two examples of best practices documents that provide educators and administrators with concrete guidance on how to best serve trans and gender nonconforming youth.

The Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals has issued a similar best practices document to help colleges and universities better support trans students on their campuses.

Gender Spectrum offers trainings on the topic of gender identity to schools and other organizations and Campus Pride offers its Safe Space Program trainings both in-person and online to help educators cultivate more inclusive classroom environments for all LGBT youth. The Trans Youth Equality Foundation also offers workshops on the needs of trans and gender nonconforming youth for student groups, educational institutions and other professional organizations.

Trans rights are human rights. As educators, we can model and inform all students the importance of understanding and valuing gender diversity. Even as we protect and honor trans students enrolled in education, we must also protect all trans people through education.

 

SARAH BARTOLOME

Sarah Bartolome is an assistant professor of Music Education at Northwestern University. She researches best practices in music education and the experiences of transgender musicians and is a Public Voices fellow through The OpEd Project.

Source:

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/42631-trans-and-open-education-is-key-to-making-this-a-sign-of-the-times

 

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Pakistan: Govt making efforts to provide quality education facilities to students: Maiza Hameed

Pakistan/November 21, 2017/By: https://pakobserver.net

Parliamentary Secretary Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) MNA Maiza Hameed Sunday said that government was making efforts to provide quality education to students.

In a statement, she said that over 4000,000 new students enrolled in various educational institutions due to remarkable improvement in education sector.

She said that government took effective measures to improve sanitation by establishing toilets for girl students along with proper hand washing facilities in 12 schools under Federal Directorate of Education (FDE).

Parliamentary Secretary said that mobile bus libraries handed over to CADD to enhance reading skills of all students of federal schools.

She said that CADD had taken special initiatives to strengthen education system and developed a national culture of reading through mobile bus libraries.

Orignally published by NNI

Source:

https://pakobserver.net/govt-making-efforts-provide-quality-education-facilities-students-maiza-hameed/

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Kenia: Jkuat shuts down campus in Rwanda

Kenia / 15 de noviembre de 2017 / Por: OUMA WANZALA / Fuente: http://www.nation.co.ke

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology has finally shut down its Rwanda campus, with some students set to transferred to its Juja campus in Kiambu County.

Council chairman Paul Kanyari said other students will be distributed to Rwandan universities under the credit transfer programme, while others who wish to pursue their studies through open distance learning programme will be allowed to do so.

However, Prof Kanyari declined to disclose the number of students affected by the closure.

«The winding up of the institution is in compliance with government directive,» he said.

KENYATTA UNIVERSITY
The closure of the institution followed a series of meetings between the management, Rwanda’s Higher Education Council, students and staff at the campus on Thursday.

Higher Education Council executive director Emmanuel Muvunyi said the purpose of the meetings was to agree on exit strategies.

Kenyatta University, which also invested Sh370 million in its Rwanda campus, is shopping for a buyer of its property after failing to admit students.

In July this year, Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i directed the two universities to close their campuses in Rwanda and Tanzania.

FUNDS
The directive comes after the Tanzanian government blocked the institutes from admitting students in September, citing flawed standards.

The operation of the two universities in Rwanda and Tanzania has not been rosy as even Parliament questioned the rational of having their campuses outside Kenya.

Last year, Jkuat Vice-Chancellor Mabel Imbuga told the Parliamentary Investment Committee that the institution used Sh10 million to start the Arusha centre and Sh21 million on the Kigali campus.

THEFT OF MONEY
The Arusha campus was established on November 2010 and the one in Kigali in 2012.

Last year, the university sacked its Kigali campus director over the disappearance of more than Sh20 million.

The money had been collected from students in Rwanda, where he was serving as the campus coordinator.

Fuente noticia: http://www.nation.co.ke/news/education/Jkuat-closes-campus-in-Rwanda/2643604-4183308-wkeolw/index.html

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EEUU: Texas special education programs enrollment surges

EEUU/November 11, 2017/Source: http://www.kten.com

Special education programs in Texas have seen a sharp increase in enrollment.

The Houston Chronicle reports that more than 477,000 students received special education services in the 2016-17 school year, an increase of about 14,000 students from the previous school year.

Data from the state’s Public Education Information Management System says almost 9 percent of Texas students use special education resources.

The Texas Education Agency had enacted a cap in 2004 requiring school districts to limit special education services to no more than 8.5 percent of students. The agency removed the cap last year after a newspaper investigation found thousands of students with disabilities didn’t have access to necessary services.

An agency spokeswoman says districts must identify and provide all special education services to students who need them.

Source:

http://www.kten.com/story/36815032/texas-special-education-programs-enrollment-surges

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EEUU: ULM hosts ‘Higher Education: The Future of Louisiana’ forum

EEUU/November 7, 2017/By: KeEmma Everett/ Source: https://ulmhawkeyeonline.com

The cost of tuition rests on Louisiana’s legislatures vote for fully funding higher education.

In preparation for Louisiana’s budget meeting in July 2018, universities around Louisiana hosted forums to advocate how students and faculty can prevent higher education from being on the chopping block.

ULM agreed to host an open forum for students and faculty to stress the importance of fully funding higher education last Thursday in Sandel Hall.

While higher education hasn’t taken a budget cut in 2017, there are still concerns for the next year as about $1.5 billion dollars will have to be cut from Louisiana’s budget.

Any decrease in higher education funding means an increase in tuition, and a decrease in professors and classes.

Many of the speakers like our Student Government Association president, Bryce Bordelon, and the faculty staff senate president, Katherine Dawson, agreed that the way to fix the gap is by keeping Louisiana students in Louisiana’s workforce.

“It’s an investment for economic growth for the state as a whole for now and in the future. I think it’s a vote of confidence on behalf of the legislature that the students stay here and help the state prosper,” said Dawson.

ULM alumnus, Ash Aulds, spoke about his ability to find his niche as a Senior Marketing Analyst at CenturyLink to the funding higher education provided through internship opportunities.

It allowed him to internship in whatever he was interested in at the time, later producing a well-rounded graduate from ULM that afforded him a career in northeast Louisiana.

Senator Francis Thompson spoke to the crowd on his fight in legislature to make it important to other senators.

He considered decreasing funding for higher education as extreme as a homeland security issue and that it should be an important issue for everyone, and not just those who attend college.

Make higher education apart of everyday conversation with our families and friends, so that they can understand.

At the end of the forum, many wanted to know what can we do as students and faculty.

State Representative, Katrina Jackson, offered solutions like calling and emailing your state legislatures.

Voting also makes a difference because “some elected officials tailor to the demographic that voted for them,” said Jackson.

Young adults had a low voting turnout at the last election which accounted for the lack of consideration for higher education.

Source:

ULM hosts ‘Higher Education: The Future of Louisiana’ forum

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India: Education a big hurdle, hunt for right job bigger

India/November 07, 2017/By: Ardhra Nair/Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Pune: From making education accessible to opening up the job market, activists say a lot needs to be done to improve the quality of life of persons with disabilities.

Though securing an education in itself is a big hurdle for people with disabilities, finding a job is even tougher. Public sector jobs have a quota for persons with disability, but it’s difficult to find emplyment in the private sector.

Makarand Vaidya, who needs help to walk, used to work as a marketing and strategy professional. «Government policies need to improve. Schools, colleges and workplaces too need to go beyond the regulations and extend help to disabled people,» he said.

«Only a few among the top-notch corporates hire disabled people. Mid-level companies, and even small and medium industries, are not very receptive to the idea of giving jobs to people with disabilities,» Vaidya added.

Akash Pawar, a BCA student who works at a computer centre, said, «It is tough to get an education if you are disabled. There are no toilets designed to accommodate your wheelchair, neither at school and nor at the workplace. I had learnt computers at this centre. Since I am really good with computers, the owner lets me work here. Otherwise, it is extremely hard to get a job even if you can prove that you are good.»

Kalidas Supate, manager of Kamayani Udyog Kendra (KUK), claims to have found jobs for nearly 600 disabled people. He said, «We have been holding job fairs for the disabled for the past five years or so. We advertise in the media and the HR departments of many companies contact us. Over 40 big firms had come for hiring.»

He added, «Companies that had hired our candidates have given us feedback. They said the visually challenged and hearing/speech-impaired candidates who were recruited in the IT and hospitality sectors, work twice as much as the regular employees.»

KUK also runs a training institute, which helps impart skills to the challenged workforce.

Source:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/education-a-big-hurdle-hunt-for-right-job-bigger/articleshow/61536774.cms

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