Universities

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Kenya: UASU issues seven-day strike notice

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Africa/Kenya/12-01-2020/Author and Source: www.kbc.co.ke

Universities Academic Staff Union – UASU lecturers have issued a seven-day strike notice over alleged government’s failure to honour the Collective Bargaining Agreement signed on October 28 last year. 

UASU Secretary General Constantine Wasonga says there will be no classes in public universities from Monday January 20th.

The lecturers say that according to the CBA they were supposed to be paid by November last year but the government has failed to honour the agreement.

They lamented about the ongoing blame game between the Ministry of Education, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission – SRC and the Inter Public Universities Council Consultative Forum.

According Wesonga, the lecturers are also up in arms over the conflicting figures owed by the employer.

Wesonga insists that the Salaries and Remuneration Commission had approved the CBA in its current form and vowed not to renegotiate.

Source and Image: https://www.kbc.co.ke/uasu-issues-seven-day-strike-notice/

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Kenya: You can be anything you desire, President tells learners

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Africa/Kenya/03-10-2019/Author: Rose Welimo/PSCU /Source: www.kbc.co.ke

President Uhuru Kenyatta has assured students across the country especially those seating for the ongoing national examinations of the government’s commitment to facilitate them to realise their full potential.

The President said his administration takes seriously its responsibility of ensuring that all Kenyan children are accorded equal opportunity to all aspects of life including education without discrimination.

“There is no place called far in Kenya. Everywhere in Kenya is part of Kenya. And it is the responsibility of any decent government to ensure that our children wherever they may be feel that they are treated in exactly the same way as their colleagues and counterparts in other parts of the country,” the President said.

The President spoke Friday at State House Nairobi when he donated buses to three schools.

The three schools that received the vehicles were Thika School for the Visual Impaired (Kiambu County), Archbishop Eliud Wabukala ACK Malakisi High School (Bungoma County) and Nyiro Girls’ Secondary School from Baragoi, Samburu County.

The Head of State emphasized that the government will not dither in its efforts to support students to achieve their dreams in life.

“You can be anything you desire to be as long as you dedicate your every effort to it. Each one of you has the ability and capability to become great men and women in this country,” the President said as he handed over keys for the buses.

He said the government serves all parts of the country equally in terms of development as he challenged the students to work hard in their studies and uphold values of integrity, honesty and discipline.

“I want you to love yourself, work hard and be disciplined so that you can be what you desire,” the President told the students from the three schools.

President Kenyatta at the same time wished all candidates success in the ongoing national examinations and cautioned against cheating, saying his administration will ensure the policy of 100 percent transition to secondary school is fully adhered to.

“As government, we are determined to fulfill our promise and ensure that every primary school pupil who sits for national exams joins secondary school. If that is our promise, why do you have to cheat?” President Kenyatta said.

He said the government continues to construct and equip technical and vocational institutions throughout the country to absorb those who finish their secondary education but are not able to join universities.

“There are some who will join universities. Others are gifted in other areas and will join the TVETS that we are building all over the country,” the President said.

The Head of State challenged all Kenyans to use their God given gifts to make a difference in life noting that some of the most successful and prominent personalities never went to university and yet they have managed to impact society positively.

Besides the buses, the President presented each of the three schools with 100 indigenous tree seedlings suitable for their localities as part of the ongoing sustained national campaign to increase forest cover.

Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua, Samburu Woman Representative Maison Leshomo, Samburu West Member of Parliament Naisula Lesuuda, nominated senator Isaac Mwaura and members of the boards of management of the three schools were present during the award ceremony.

Source and Image: https://www.kbc.co.ke/you-can-be-anything-you-desire-president-tells-learners/

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EE.UU.:Community colleges open the door to selective universities

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North America/United States/27-10-2019/Author(a) and Source: theconversation.com

When it comes to getting into a selective university, high school GPA and test scores typically play the most important role.

But in a recent study, we show another way to attend a selective university: transfer from a community college.

This alternative option is important for students who are minority, low-income, and underprepared academically for higher education. Students from these particular groups are less likely to gain admission and enroll at a selective university.

As researchers who specialize in the study of higher education, we know that going to a selective university often gives students a competitive advantage on the job market.

Students who didn’t attend selective universities – especially racial minorities – face disadvantages when they compete for jobs with students who do. For instance, students who graduate from a highly selective university get more responses from employers when they’re on the job market – which could be due to the perception that students at prestigious universities receive a better education than students at other institutions.

A way in

Our study included 7,110 college students nationwide. We found that students who transferred from a community college were 24% more likely to attend a selective university than students with similar background characteristics who began at a four-year institution. In general, selective universities admit students based on criteria related to past academic performance and test scores. Selective universities differ from open-admission institutions, which admit nearly anyone who applies.

The students in our study who transferred from a community college to a four-year university were more likely to be minority, low-income, and academically underprepared students with low high school GPAs.

Based on the academic characteristics of these students, starting at a selective university out of high school was likely not an option. But community colleges can open the door to selective universities.

Our study accounted for differences in students’ race, family income, academic preparation and other characteristics. We don’t know, however, whether certain types of students, such as immigrants, were more likely to transfer from a community college to a selective university.

Practical benefits

There are practical reasons to begin at a community college that can help to explain our findings. For instance, students who start at a community college can save money due to the low price of community college courses. For price-conscious students who may have been wavering on the decision to pursue a bachelor’s degree at a university with high tuition, community college offers a chance to make progress toward their degree at a low price.

Community colleges also offer more remedial course options than four-year universities. Remedial courses can benefit students who are not prepared for college-level work.

Students who transfer from a community college may be more likely to get into a selective university due to factors beyond their own academic development in college. Simply put, high school grades and SAT scores are less important for transfer students than students who are seeking admission directly out of high school.

While starting at a community college might be a good way to make college more affordable or help students develop their academic skills, it doesn’t always lead to a positive outcome.

Students who transfer from a community college to a four-year institution are 37% less likely to earn their bachelor’s degree than students who start at a four-year university. And when they do complete their bachelor’s degree, it takes them about three months longer to graduate.

Career consequences

Students who transfer from a community college to a four-year university may experience a wage penalty as they begin their career. One reason these students might earn less early in their career is that community college credits don’t always transfer to a four-year university. This loss of credits leads to a delayed entry into the workforce. Meanwhile, their peers have a head start to become eligible for promotions and raises.

Community college students don’t have to lose credits when they transfer to a four-year university. All states could implement “articulation agreements” to ensure that community college credits are accepted at four-year universities.

Only 30 states have articulation agreements that guarantee the transfer of core community college credits and the associate degree upon enrolling at a state university.

Articulation agreements are a common-sense measure that would allow transfer students to avoid unnecessary hurdles and graduate sooner.

Community colleges educate 55% of low-income college students in the United States. Only a small portion of these students transfer to a selective four-year university.

But the small share of low-income students at selective universities would likely be even smaller without the community college pathway.

Source and Image: https://theconversation.com/community-colleges-open-the-door-to-selective-universities-122978

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Opinion: Universities Don’t Prepare Students for Freelance Life (and They Should)

Sofía García-Bullé

By: Sofía García-Bullé

Universities should prepare students for independent work and the gig economy.

The labor market has been transformed in the last decade to such an extent that today, self-employment and independent workforce dominate its structure. Recruitment and staff management practices are pointing to a severe reduction in permanent job positions. The backbone of the workforce today is made up of freelancers, also known as independent or autonomous workers.

In Mexico, 14 million people are classified as self-employed or freelancers; in India, they totaled 15 million in 2016 and the number is currently estimated to 20 million; in the United States, self-employed workers number up to 57 million. As for the share of their respective national economies, the informal Mexican workforce produced 22.7% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during 2018; US freelancers contributed 1.3 trillion dollars; amounting to 6.7% of GDP (2018), and in India, the informal labor market is estimated to grow from 20 to 30 trillion rupees by 2025.

Despite the steady growth of global independent workforces, there is still no formal effort in universities to prepare students for the freelance life and the gig economy. True, there are many educational courses and programs focused on instructing and inspiring young people to start their own businesses as entrepreneurs. The problem is that often, educational institutions do not discern that undertaking their own business is not the same as working independently.

The difference between an entrepreneur and a freelancer

An entrepreneur is a person who starts a company and takes financial risks intending to make economic profits; a freelancer is an independent professional who offers his/her services by projects to a specific company or organization.

In theory, the definitions look very different; in practice, not so much. Both figures, the entrepreneur and the freelancer, have to make their own schedules, respond to their clients, manage their finances, and in some cases, manage staff. The biggest difference would be that the entrepreneur owns and is responsible for the business, while the freelancer is an outsourced person who operates independently. This is why the preparation given to each one should also be different. What skills should a freelancer possess to have a successful career in the non-traditional workforce?

The skills of a good freelancer

The road to any successful career trajectory begins by learning and knowing yourself. The starting point for a stable platform of independent work is to know which skillsets are useful in the chosen workforce, to investigate how much they are worth in economic terms, which companies are soliciting people with those skills, and whether the skills will continue to have value in the future.

Mastering the formation of business relationships or “networking” is crucial to maintaining stable sources of work in the independent sphere; to achieve this, constancy and cultivation of emotional intelligence are indispensable tools. Time management and task organization are also vital to ensure a manageable workflow that allows tending to multiple projects at one time and maximizing the profits of the freelancer.

Independent work has the advantage of allowing the freelancer to manage their time as they see fit, but the disadvantage is not having the stability of a plant job. Many freelancers live on unequal income receipts that they must distribute throughout the year. For this reason, financial education should be an essential subject for all people who want to pursue independence and work as a freelancer.

Knowing how to sell and value their own work would help self-employed workers to make a profit commensurate with the time they invest and the quality of their work. To stay up to date, independent workers need to commit to lifelong continuing education to provide themselves with new skills and increase the economic value of their work.

These are all notions that most freelancers learn on the fly, but these considerations are not included in programs of higher education. Most of the efforts of educational institutions focus on the formal labor market, with things such as job fairs, entrepreneurial startups, business incubators, grants, and networking events.

What are the areas of opportunity for universities?

It would be wrong to say that universities have made no effort to prepare students for the independent job market; however, these initiatives need a wider lens. Most of the educational bodies that offer training outside the formal labor market focus on business professionals and entrepreneurs.

Today, one of the most populated markets in the freelancer sphere is computer science, which encompasses cybersecurity, equipment repair, technical support, and so on. Due to the constant need for information systems and equipment in companies, these careers have a very close relationship with business and entrepreneurship. However, writing, editing, and proofreading (or correction of proofs) are more perceived as niche services, despite the growing need for content that establishes a brand presence. Universities have therefore failed to see the need to educate professionals in this area for the management of self-employment and freelance work.

There are many agreements between companies and universities to help students integrate into independent work. Still, there are very few associations that higher education institutions have intending to connect students to project work, give them an idea of how to value their work and point them to which companies have best practices and more job opportunities.

Until independent work is regarded as a widespread trend, students will not be well prepared for the management of self-employment and will have fewer tools to assure themselves opportunities for the non-traditional workforce.

Source: https://observatory.tec.mx/edu-news/universities-do-not-prepare-students-for-freelance-professional-life

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Fighting oppression with education

Reseñas

North America/ Canada/ 03.04.2019/ Source: www.winnipegfreepress.com.

Museum explores plight of Baha’i believers studying underground in Iran

When university-age Baha’i believers in Iran want to protest how that country oppresses members of their religion, they go to school.

They don’t go to regular state-supported universities and colleges — they are banned from those by the government because of their beliefs. They attend «underground» classes run by Baha’i professors, where they study a variety of subjects.

When Clint Curle, a senior adviser at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, heard about the issue, «I became immediately interested in the story, and how the Baha’i community in Iran is responding.»

For Curle, the issue touches on two fundamental human rights of interest to the Winnipeg museum: education and freedom of religion and conscience. It also shows how oppressed communities can creatively respond to having their rights denied.

«It’s a brilliant, non-violent response to oppression, an inspiring story deeply rooted in the Baha’i faith,» he said.

On March 26, the museum will focus on the issue with a public event titled: Persecution, Protection and Resilience: Canada and the Baha’is of Iran.

The free event, co-sponsored by the Baha’i Community of Canada and the local Baha’i assembly, will feature a presentation by Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari, who was working for Newsweek in 2009, when he was accused of being a spy and imprisoned by the Iranian government.

Following his release, Bahari wrote the memoir Then They Came for Me: a Family’s Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival, which was adapted for the big screen (Rosewater) in 2014 by former Daily Show host Jon Stewart.

In an interview from his home in London, England, Bahari, 52, said he is «dedicated to pursuing freedom of conscience in Iran.»

This includes speaking up on behalf of Baha’is, even though he is not a member of the religion — he calls himself a «non-practising Muslim.»

Bahari said opposition to the religion in Iran is rooted in «hatred by the clergy» in that country, where they are considered heretics. As a result, he said, «they are treated as second-class citizens.»

He spoke admiringly of the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education, the «underground» school that offers 38 university-level programs in science, engineering, business and management, the humanities and the social sciences. Students meet in homes, offices and other clandestine locations.

The institute’s courses are recognized by almost 100 universities around the world, including the University of Manitoba.

«It shows the best kind of peaceful response,» Bahari said of how the institute continues to offer programs despite periodic raids, confiscation of equipment, general harassment and imprisonment of faculty members.

It’s also «an educational miracle. They are fighting a brutal regime with education and creativity. It is instructive for the world.»

For Payam Towfigh, a Winnipeg Baha’i who came to Canada 30 years ago from Iran as a refugee, the event is a chance to «shine a light» on persecution in that country, and to explore ways Winnipeggers can collaborate with local Baha’is and others «to end this injustice.»

Source of the review: https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/faith/fighting-oppression-with-education-507503292.html

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England: Student loans ‘heading for trillion pounds’

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Europe/England/20.06.18/y Sean Coughlan/Source: www.bbc.com.

The tuition fee system for England’s universities is ripping off students and giving taxpayers poor value for money, says a parliamentary committee.

The House of Lords economic affairs committee revealed evidence the student loan book would grow to over £1 trillion over the next 25 years.

The committee attacked a «deeply unfair» system of fees and loans.

But the Department for Education said its review of fees would «make sure students are getting value for money».

This hard-hitting report accuses the government of using «accounting tricks» to conceal the real cost of higher education and to pile up huge debts for future generations.

It calls for «immediate reforms» – such as cutting interest rates on repayments and restoring grants for disadvantaged students.

‘Astonished’

Committee chairman and former Conservative minister, Lord Forsyth, said they had also been «quite astonished by the complete collapse in part-time education».

The report warns of the lack of funding for vocational training – and claims that the apprenticeship system has been damaged by artificial targets invented to sound impressive for a manifesto promise.

The cross-party committee, with two former chancellors and two ex-chief secretaries to the Treasury, says the student loan system seems to have been used for a «fiscal illusion» to make the deficit look smaller.

«The thing that shocked me – and I thought I was pretty unshockable – was that I had not understood that by moving to a system of funding through loans, because of the accounting methods of the Treasury, it was possible for George Osborne [then chancellor] to appear to increase funding for higher education by £3bn but at the same time cut his deficit by £3.8bn,» says Lord Forsyth.

The cost of unpaid loans will not be included until they are officially written off after 30 years.

Lord Forsyth says a parliamentary question revealed how much student borrowing was really piling up for the future.

By 2044, when many of today’s students will still be paying off their loans, the student loan book will have grown to more than £1tn, rising to £1.2tn by 2049.

«The public argument for cutting the deficit was so that debt wasn’t handed on to the next generation.

«But for this generation, being asked to pay these loans, when they’ve eventually paid them off, they’ll suddenly find there’s a bill for £1.2tn.

«I hadn’t realised that was happening.»

‘Devastating consequences’

But Lord Forsyth says this system has had «devastating consequences».

It has produced excessive interest rates, set to rise again to 6.3%, which the committee says should be no higher than the rate at which the government borrows, at present 1.5%.

The conversion of means-tested grants into loans has meant that the poorest students end up graduating with the biggest debts, says Lord Forsyth.

And he warns that the current repayment system was more expensive for people in middle income jobs such as nursing, rather than high-paid lawyers or financiers, who would pay off their debts more quickly.

«The people who get screwed by this are those in the middling jobs,» says Lord Forsyth.

«This was all done on the basis that it would create a market in higher education – and that has failed, there isn’t a market.»

Lord Forsyth says that there is no meaningful consumer choice or competition – and he dismissed the system for rating teaching quality in universities, the teaching excellence framework, as a «bit of a joke».

«Because no-one ever turns up to look at the teaching,» says Lord Forsyth.

‘Quantity rather than quality’

The report says that the student finance system has failed to recognise the need to improve vocational skills and to help those wanting to re-train.

Part-time student numbers have fallen by about 60% over the past decade – with accusations that the funding system is based around school-leavers beginning full-time degree courses.

«There’s been a huge distorting effect. It’s a huge mistake,» says the committee chair.

Lord Forsyth says there have been concerns about the apprenticeship policy – and the committee heard suggestions that the target for three million apprentices was not the result of any strategy, but was chosen as an impressive number for a manifesto promise.

The consequence of such target setting, he says, is to «encourage quantity rather than quality».

It means more attention is paid to the numbers starting than completing and there were signs that some employers were re-badging existing training as «apprenticeships» as a way of getting funding.

«There is clear evidence that what the economy needs is more people with technical and vocational skills. But the way that the funding for fees and maintenance operates makes it pretty well impossible for us to meet that demand,» says Lord Forsyth.

‘Value for money’

Alice Barnard, chief executive of the Edge Foundation, which promotes vocational education, said the report «clearly highlights how the funding bias in our higher education system has favoured universities at the expense of choice and opportunity for young people».

The head of the MillionPlus group of new universities, Greg Walker, said the report had produced «robust evidence» to support the return of maintenance grants and to find ways to make universities more accessible to part-time students.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: «We agree that for too long young people have not had a genuine choice post-16 about where and what they wish to study.

«That is exactly why we have overhauled apprenticeships to focus on quality and why we are fundamentally transforming technical education, investing £500m a year in new T-levels that will provide a high quality, technical alternative to A-levels.

«On top of this, we are undertaking a major review of post-18 education and funding, to make sure students are getting value for money and genuine choice between technical, vocational and academic routes.»

Source of the notice: https://www.bbc.com/news/education-44433569

 

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South Korea clears way for student exchanges with North Korea

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Asia/South Korea/By John Morgan/19.06.18/Source: www.timeshighereducation.com.

Seoul National University students to contact counterparts at Kim Il Sung University 

The South Korean government has approved plans for the nation’s most prestigious institution to open talks on student exchanges with North Korea’s Kim Il Sung University, according to reports.

South Korea’s Ministry of Unification gave the green light for students at Seoul National University to contact North Korean counterparts, according to students at the institution, the Yonhap news agency said.

“The approval, coming amid increasingly warming ties between the two Koreas, could pave the way for the school’s first student exchanges with a North Korean university since its foundation in 1946,” it added.

The SNU students have started a “promotion committee for inter-Korean exchanges” with the university’s council and filed a request with the ministry in May.

“After the ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, approved its plan, the SNU committee said it will send a fax message to the Pyongyang-based Kim Il Sung University as early as next week to begin discussions on student exchanges,” Yonhap reported.

Exchange programmes could include “joint exploration of historical sites in Pyongyang by students from both universities”, the students are expected to suggest. About 100 SNU students are reported to want to take part in exchanges with the North.

The move comes after a warming of relations between the two countries and the historic meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US president Donald Trump.

 

Source of the notice: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/cn/news/south-korea-clears-way-student-exchanges-north-korea

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