Group items tagged

2. Education for peace

272. Governments, non-governmental organizations, women's groups and the mass media should encourage women to engage in efforts to promote education for peace in the family, neighbourhood and community. Special attention should be given to the contribution of women's grass-roots organizations. The multiple skills and talents of women artists, journalists, writers, educators and civic leaders can contribute to promoting ideas of peace if encouraged, facilitated and supported.

273. Special attention should be given to the education of children for life in peace within an atmosphere of understanding, dialogue and respect for others. In this respect, suitable concrete action should be taken to discourage the provision of children and young persons with games and publications and other media promoting the notion of favouring war, aggression, cruelty, excessive desire for power and other forms of violence, within the broad processes of the reparation of society for life in peace.

Nairobi — Schools countrywide open a new academic year on Monday as the government released Sh6 billion for the free learning programme. The institutions usher in a year expected to bring sweeping reforms in the management of education under the new Constitution. Also targeted are renewed efforts to lift performance in public schools.

At a time when the underachievement of black boys in the United States can only be described as a national crisis, there is finally some good news. This fall, Baltimore City Schools chief executive Andres Alonso proudly reported that black male teens in his district are staying in school and graduating in higher numbers. The announcement made headlines, and for good reason: It proves that there are successful strategies in approaching this seemingly intractable problem. We urge other cities across the country to learn from Baltimore's creative approach.

We have long known that excessive use of suspension and expulsion results in higher rates of school absence, academic failure and, eventually, quitting school altogether.

Consider: In the 2003-04 school year, fewer than one out of two black male students graduated. Baltimore schools handed out nearly 26,000 suspensions to a student body of just over 88,000 kids. Two-thirds were to boys and, reflecting the city's population, nearly all were to black students.

The global corruption watchdog, Transparency International (TI), has released its 2010 world corruption barometer, ranking Liberia as the world's most corrupt country with a score of 89%, and listing its Judiciary, Legislature, Education, the Business Sector, public officials as the most corrupt institutions in the country.

The National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) is to restructure the curriculums and programmes offered by the Colleges of Education in the country in a bid to produce quality teachers in Nigeria who are knowledgeable, skilled and professional in their attitudes.

Dr Agada explained that for Colleges of education to realise their full potentials towards the production of the kind of teachers Nigeria needs in the 21st century, there is need to review and reposition Colleges of Education and all NCE awarding institutions for effective performance that meets international standards.

the restructuring was necessitated by public outcry about the inability of NCE graduates to effectively deliver instruction at the primary school.

A new policy was announced on Tuesday which will make it easier for bright students from poor families to join prestigious public secondary schools.

A new policy was announced on Tuesday which will make it easier for bright students from poor families to join prestigious public secondary schools.

Out the 4,517 Form One vacancies in the 18 national schools, 3,293 will be reserved for candidates from public schools. The other 1,224 places will go to best performing boys and girls from private schools.

“Kids are enrolling in school in much greater numbers than ever before,” she said, “but that really masks the fact that they’re actually not learning very much. One example is that in Uganda, half the kids in third grade can’t read a single word.”

“We know how to train teachers. We know how to put in curricula. We know what the right things to do for kids are to give them all the right skills,” added Mr. Wong. “But the investment required, and the time and the commitment, is not there if you don’t have the political support.”

A Brookings Institution analysis of the wealthiest philanthropic donors in the United States found that global education was a very low priority for them. Ms. Winthrop said she believed this was because a focus on enrolment – which is on track to meet the Millennium Development Goal on education – has “lulled people into thinking that the global education agenda is done, check, we can cross that off the list.”

New Delhi: Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal on Monday said that a Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) will soon be made mandatory for teachers as the Right to Education Act is implemented.

Speaking at the meeting of central and state regulatory institutions for School education, the minister said that this test will be as per the norms of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).

The government of Israel and UNESCO will sign an agreement to reinforce their cooperation in developing and promoting Holocaust education and combating denial of the mass murder of Jews and other groups in World War II.

Prior to the screening (2.30p.m), Irina Bokova and Israel’s Ambassador and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, Nimrod Barkan, will sign an agreement to provide additional resources for UNESCO’s Holocaust education, remembrance and research activities. The agreement also concerns the development of Holocaust education curricula in various languages for primary and secondary schools.

UNESCO works to mobilise networks of professionals, academics, scientists and civil society, including UNESCO/UNITWIN university chairs and UNESCO’s Associated Schools, in favour of Holocaust remembrance. Special attention is given to teacher training activities. UNESCO’s partners in this area include the Yad Vashem centre for documentation, research, education and commemoration of the Holocaust (Israel), and other relevant institutions.

"I know that my life will change for the better when I complete school; I hope to become a teacher so that I can serve as a role model for the many girls who give up on education as soon as they give birth or get married," Gor said.

Like Gor, many girls in Muhuru Bay, with a population of about 25,000, have a slim chance of a secondary education as only four public schools in the area admit both genders. The few private schools are out of reach for many poor parents.

"We are trying to reverse this trend by conducting frequent assessments of schools as well as holding education days where we inform parents and pupils on the importance of education. We welcome efforts by individuals and charitable organizations to sensitize the communities on keeping children in school."

An elementary school built by South Korea opened in Rwanda last week, ready to provide education to hundreds of young students, a state-run institute here said Tuesday.

PANAJI: Lawmakers and parents in Goa are debating whether English or mother tongue Konkani should be the medium of instruction (MOI) in schools up to Class 8.

"The poor are sending their children to English medium schools because they believe that English will propel them to excel in their studies. Why, even the Chinese are learning English. Parents whose students are studying in (English medium) schools run by the Archdiocese (Church) are agitated. Why is the government disbursing grants only to Konkani/Marathi schools?" Godinho said.

As per the education department's policy, schools with English as MOI - which includes several privately-run educational institutions and other schools run by the church in Goa - are not entitled to government funding.

But such focus on the university and its graduates shouldn’t be a surprise. After three decades of war, the country's most talented professionals have fled, leaving behind a nation where 72 percent of the people are now illiterate and the number of universities may not even reach 50.

“For a master's degree, yes, it’s tempting to go overseas. But for living, it’s not. Once you’ve got an education, it seems like this is where people need you most,” says Sulieman Hedayat, one of 32 students who graduated on Thursday.

AUAF opened its doors in 2006, and everyone from prominent Afghan businessmen to institutions like USAID have invested tens of millions of dollars in the hopes of minting a university that produces students who can help rebuild Afghanistan.

Chinese students’ obsession with learning English is apparent. Chinese cities are littered with billboards and fliers for teaching institutes, and the demand for native-speaking teachers and tutors seems endless. For many, the TOEFL, or Test of English as a Foreign Language, ranks second only to the infamous gaokao college entrance exam as a driver of candle-burning study habits. Worried that this preoccupation with English is contributing to a decline in native language skills, officials at the Ministry of Education are now trying to get students to return to their linguistic roots. How? By introducing another test.

The test comes amid worrying signs of declining language proficiency in China. More than 30% of students failed a ministry-sponsored test administered last year to evaluate Beijing college students’ language skills, according to Xinhua. Many language instructors and others worry that young people in China are neglecting their mother tongue as technological advances like cellphones and computers have greatly reduced the need to hand-write Chinese characters — of which there are tens of thousands.

“In recent years, more and more Chinese people are paying attention to foreign-language studies while neglecting to polish their native language,” Dai Jiagan, director of the authority overseeing the exam, told Xinhua. “And many newly coined, nonstandard Internet phrases are confusing their Chinese.” There are around 300 million Chinese people learning English, China’s premier Wen Jiabao boasted in a 2009 speech. Last year, ETS, the creator of the TOEFL, said it saw a 30% increase year-to-year in the number of Chinese test takers.