Scholarships Grants

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — State higher education officials say the department says will award more than 10,000 scholarships funded by the Arkansas lottery. Department interim director Shane Broadway made the announcement jon Wednesday at a legislative committee meeting.

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Bergen, Germany (AHN) – 71% of teachers feel that a secure internet “parent portal,” where parents could see details about their child’s schooling, would improve school-to-parent communication.

In the survey conducted by itslearning on teachers in France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the UK and the U.S., 75% of the 5,805 teachers surveyed said parental involvement is important to student’s education. However 44% said they didn’t have the time or means to communicate with parents as much as they would like.

“Teachers agree that involving parents is critical, but they aren’t able to communicate with parents effectively,” says Morten Fahlvik, Research Manager at itslearning.

Teachers currently communicate with parents with 46% of them using email reach their students’ parents at least once a month; 37% use texts/SMSs and 24% still send letters.

School Boards and technology companies are currently experimenting with different online tools to make the teacher parent communication relationship more seamless.

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Education is a fundamental right, and the public good demands tax dollars are appropriated for that purpose. It is the central premise behind the nearly $4 billion in Race to the Top grants awarded by the Department of Education. According to a… Robert Lee March 18, 2011

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Antananarivo, Madagascar (IRIN) – The burden of paying for education in Madagascar has shifted to the poor after donor funding was frozen in the wake of a coup on 17 March 2009.

About 70 percent of the education sector had been funded by donor countries, but since Andry Rajoelina seized power from former President Marc Ravalomanana with the backing of the military, state financial support to the education sector has become erratic.

“The question is what we have lost… over these years; how much damage has been done by vulnerable families having to pick up the bill for their children’s education,” said Margarita Focas Licht, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) head of education in Madagascar.

She said the government had not allocated any funds to the education sector in the 2009/10 academic year, which begins in October, but had begun transfers for 2010/11. However, it had not been established how much the state was paying per learner. In the past, the annual subsidy had been US$1.50 each for of the about 4.3 million primary school pupils.

According to 2008 estimates by the Ministry of Education, the average Malagasy has less than five years’ education and only 60 percent of learners completed primary school, which is considered low by regional standards.

The government’s failure to fund the education sector in the 2009/10 school year has led to the effective demise of free primary school education, with public schools demanding registration fees to compensate for the loss of income.

There is no uniformity in the registration fees. Some schools in the capital, Antananarivo, have been asking as much as $13 in a country where about three-quarters of the 20 million population live below the poverty line. An average class has about 50 learners, but some classes have as many as 100 learners.

Marie-Angele Ramanandraitsiory, principal of the Manakambahiny public primary school in Antananarivo, told IRIN the $4 registration fee her school charged was the cheapest of the city’s 92 public primary schools.

The money is being used to help pay the salaries of “community teachers”, who have no formal training but account for about two-thirds of the country’s roughly 70,000 primary school teachers. The government usually paid them, but not in the previous school year. The salaries of formally trained teachers had not been affected.

“We ask for things everywhere. We know that we don’t have enough money, but we work with the available means as we have to try and get all the kids to study, with or without funding,” Ramanandraitsiory said. But the money does not stretch to repairing roof leaks in some classrooms, which have become unusable because of knee-deep water.

School food

“There are many children who can’t come to school if there is no subsidized food. If they eat, and if parents receive help and starter packs for their children, they will come. If not, the children will be kept at home, or sent out to the streets to beg or work,” she said.

Starter packs include stationery items like pens, notebooks and rulers, but the supply of these has also become inconsistent.

A $730 grant from the education ministry fed the school’s 580 learners beyond the prescribed 60 days and reduced absenteeism, Ramanandraitsiory said. Four of the 12 educators at Manakambahiny primary are community teachers

In 2008 there was a proposal to provide training to all community teachers, but this has yet to materialize. Focas Licht said the ministry of education used to have the capacity to train about 2,800 teachers annually, but the teacher training system was “dysfunctional at the moment”.

“The local coping mechanism is to hire community teachers locally and pay them,” Focas Licht said, and this was why public schools had instituted registration fees, effectively ending free primary school education. “There would be a serious risk of sector collapse if two-thirds of the primary school teachers were no longer paid,” she said.

After donors froze funding in the wake of the 17 March 2009 coup, UNICEF assumed management of the $64 million Education For All – Fast Track Initiative, previously the domain of government under supervision of the World Bank, which still maintains its supervisory role.

In the 2009/10 school year 15$ million was used, in the 2010/11 academic year $22 million will be spent and $26 million remains for the 2011/12 school year, but beyond that no funding has been allocated.

Focas Licht said the money was being used to pay community teachers, maintain school feeding schemes with the assistance of the World Food Program (WFP) in the food insecure south of the island, fund school construction projects in partnership with the International Labour Organization, and reduce disparities in schools.

Last year the only money that 10,000 schools in 10 regions of Madagascar received was sourced from the Education For All Initiative.

The WFP supports 1,200 school canteens in the southern rural areas of Madagascar, feeding 215,000 beneficiaries in the drought-affected regions of Anosy, Androy and Atsimo Andrefana. UNICEF has a separate $13 million budget for supporting schools in seven other regions.

Fewer enrollments

Although there is no formal data available, Focas Licht said spot checks by UNICEF at schools in October 2010 indicated that enrollments were experiencing a downward trend.

“What we are noticing… on weekly visits to the poorest neighborhoods, is that the number of families that are no longer in a position to pay enrollment costs for their children in public primary schools is increasing,” Céline Guillaud, coordinator of Graines de Bitume (Pavement Seeds), an NGO in Antananarivo supporting poor and homeless children, told IRIN.

The NGO provides day care centers, assists in enrollment of primary school children and helps with school equipment, meals and medical expenses.

Although the NGO usually focused on families living on the streets, she said “non-single parented families, living in proper houses, where both parents work but can’t meet the expenses linked to schooling for their children,” were now seeking their help.

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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan recommended Wednesday an overhaul of the No Child Left Behind law because of shortcomings. According to Duncan, more than 80,000 of 100,000 public schools in the U.S. could be classified as failing, based on the law.

Duncan gave the estimate based on analysis of testing trends and the impact of the law’s pass-fail school rating system. Duncan told Congress that some of the country’s best-run schools would likely fail the No Child Left Behind fast-rising standardized testing targets.

While some experts challenged Duncan’s projection, educators said the secretary’s statement confirms their conclusion that the average American public school will never reach the standards in the law, introduced by President George W. Bush and passed in 2002, that aimed math and reading proficiency for all students by 2014.

The law requires all public schools to hold yearly testing of reading and math skills from third to eighth grades and once in high school. Average results for all students and results by ethnic groups and other criteria must be published. States were mandated to outline their statistical paths for the next 12 years.

Duncan stressed the law is fundamentally broken and needs to be fixed this year, otherwise he forecast 82 percent of the schools could miss testing targets. That would be up from 37 percent in 2010.

Many educators have complained that they are unfairly penalized even if only few of their students perform poorly. The law placed a school on probation if students from any ethnic groups miss the targets. Schools that miss targets for two straight years are classified as “needing improvement” and face sanctions such as staff changes or shutdowns.

President Barack Obama favored loosening accountability rules for most schools, but tightening regulations for the lowest performers. Although Obama made public his recommendation in 2010, Congress has not acted on the president’s proposal although a substantial number of key Republic and Democratic legislators agree the law is due for amendment.

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Boise, ID, United States (AHN) – A bill ending tenure for teachers and limiting collective bargaining rights is poised to be enacted in Idaho. The measure is part of larger legislation on education reforms, such as merit pay and layoffs, that unions and some parents and students oppose.

The Idaho state House voted 48-22 late Tuesday to pass Senate Bill 1108 despite the concerted efforts of protesters. The bill removes tenure, restricts collective bargaining to wages and benefits, and limits contracts to one year.

Nine Republicans refused to toe the party line and joined the chamber’s 13 Democrats in voting against the measure, which has been sent to Gov. C.L. Butch Otter’s desk.

Otter campaigned for the reforms and is expected to sign the bill into law. Unions and Democrats, nonetheless, are urging him to veto it.

The measure is part of a proposal from Education Superintendent Tom Luna, dubbed the “Luna plan,” that he said would save the state $500 million over the next five years.

Two other sections of the reform package, SB 1110 and SB 1113, are in the final stages of approval in the legislature.

SB 1110 introduces a pay-for-performance plan that Luna says could give teachers $8,000 in bonuses a year.

Merit pay, however, is vigorously opposed by unions nationwide. The National Education Association cites studies showing that teachers of wealthy students would unfairly receive more pay than equally effective teachers of students from low-income families.

The NEA, which has more than 3 million members, also casts doubt on value-added test scores, which are supposed to adjust student test scores for factors such as poverty.

The Idaho Education Association also criticizes SB 1110 for being unfunded.

The state House on Tuesday postponed its vote on the measure for a day due to a budget hearing. The state Senate voted 20-15 to pass it together with SB 1108 last month.

The third portion of the Luna plan, SB 1113, is still under debate in the state Senate Education Committee, where Luna said improvements are being made to the legislation.

The measure increases class sizes and removes 770 teaching positions. The bill requires every student to take four of the state minimum of 46 credits online before graduating high school. It also appropriates an unprecedented $53 million for school software and equipment.

Teachers, students and parents have been testifying in legislative hearings and rallying statewide against the reform package.

Unions say the proposal would obliterate collective bargaining rights and leave proven teachers in danger of “arbitrary firings” that do not require school districts to give a reason for the removal.

The plan “would ban negotiations regarding class sizes, lesson planning, safety, and other issues that help schools work better for everyone,” the Idaho Education Association warned.

Luna argues that his proposal does not curb labor rights but “return[s] authority and flexibility to locally elected school boards.”

According to Luna, the cost-cutting measures would ensure Idaho had “21st century classrooms” and would save $250 million that will be used to raise pay for teachers.

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Miami, FL, United States (AHN) – President Barack Obama was the guest of honor Friday afternoon at one of Florida’s formerly failing high schools to deliver a speech pushing America to refund and reform education.

Obama spoke alongside Education Secretary Arne Duncan and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, but only after cheering students from Miami Central Senior High, a majority African American school, gave a heartfelt welcome to America’s first African American president.

“How do we attract new jobs, new businesses, new industries to our shores?” Obama asked the crowd. “How do we grow our economy and out-compete our competitors? In today’s economy, companies are making decisions on where to locate, who to hire, based on key factors [including where to find] highly skilled, highly educated workers – that’s what they’re looking for.”

“I decided to come to Miami Central to kick-off ‘Education Month’ because you’re doing what I challenged states to do when I took office, and that’s turning the lowest performing schools around,” Obama said.

In his address, Obama outlined plans to increase funding for failing schools, citing Miami Central as proof federal assistance aimed at turning around “F” institutions can produce real results. The Department of Education has been giving states School Improvement Grants (SIG) since 1965, but Obama boosted funding as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Duncan pushed for $3.5 billion in SIG funding in 2009 and Obama has added an additional $545 million in funding for 2011.

Obama toured Miami Central, making a surprise visit to spill-over students who couldn’t fit into the gym and thought they were going to see the president speak from a television. Awaiting the Commander-in-Chief’s speech in the school’s library, the students were given a surprise visit from Obama, who received a warm welcome. Other students showed the president their work in creating robots in the classroom.

“This used to be a place where problems on the streets followed children into the classrooms,” Obama explained. “Where there was a culture of failure that brought everyone down. Now, turning around these schools isn’t easy… we have to reform how things are done. It isn’t easy to turn around an expectation of failure, and turn that into an expectation of excellence.”

In Florida, SIG funding totaled $170.2 million, with almost $14 million going to 19 embattled schools in Miami-Dade County, home to America’s fourth-largest public school district serving more than 380,000 students. One SIG success story is Miami Central High School. Miami Central earned an “F” the year Obama took office, but after receiving federal SIG funding, the school improved to receive a “C” this year.

“Here’s what I say; I’m not willing to give up on any child in America. I’m not willing to give up on any school in America. I do not accept failure here in America. I believe the status quo is unacceptable. I believe it’s time to change, and it’s time we come together. Just like Jeb [Bush] and I are doing today – to give every child in America the chance to live up to their God-given potential.”

“A good education equals a good job,” Obama explained. “If we want more good news on the jobs front, we need to make more investments on the education front.”

“Educational achievement is an issue of national priority,” added Bush, whose father and brother have both served time as Republicans in the White House. “Every child, regardless of their zip code or family income should have access to a quality education.”

Aboard Air Force 1 enroute to Florida, newly installed White House Press Secretary Jay Carney explained Obama’s had his eye on Miami Central for a while. “The president very much wanted to go to this particular high school to highlight the dramatic turnaround they have accomplished there and still in the process of accomplishing, and also to make the point that by having former Gov. Jeb Bush join him at this event that he firmly believes what I think most Americans believe and that certainly former Gov. Bush believes, and that is that education and education reform are not Democratic issues, they’re not Republican issues, they’re American issues.”

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Boise, ID, United States (AHN) – Hundreds of teachers rallied across Idaho on Presidents’ Day to protest a bill that would make drastic changes in education, including investments in technology and cuts to teaching positions.

Teachers, parents and students gathered in Boise, Twin Falls and other locations to call on lawmakers not to approve state Senate bills 1108, 1110 and 1113.

The measures outline a proposal from Education Superintendent Tom Luna called “Students Come First” that would save the state $500 million over the next five years.

Unions say the plan would “nearly obliterate” their collective bargaining power and replace teachers with computers. They question how the quality of education will improve by increasing class sizes and removing teacher tenure.

In addition, they cite reports the plan would profit companies that financially supported Luna’s re-election in 2009.

The education department says “all the credible research available… [has] no substantial correlation between class sizes and student outcomes.” The agency, which Luna has headed since 2007, lists as one of several “myths” the warning that laptops would replace teachers.

Luna’s proposal invests an unprecedented $53 million in software and equipment to enhance learning. It also requires every student to take four of the minimum 46 credits online before graduating high school.

The plan would require 770 teaching posts to be cut but would use $250 million to raise pay for teachers. Teachers would get compensation in addition to their salary for strong performance, which is tied to the achievements of her students.

Merit-pay is an issue even President Barack Obama has attempted to introduce into his national education overhaul, with little support and vigorous opposition from unions. Opponents of pay-for-performance plans cite studies about the inaccuracies and logistical difficulties of linking student test scores to teacher performance.

Gov. C.L. Butch Otter, however, has invoked his experience as a former teacher to push for the proposal. “If I was still in the classroom, I could earn up to $8,000 in bonuses a year. We have great teachers all across our state. It’s time we showed our appreciation,” he said over the weekend.

The Idaho Education Association has warned the plan would drastically cut the ability of unions to bargain.

The process of fact-finding and mediation allowed by state laws would change, allowing only for mediation if the local school board and the union agree. Without agreement between the two parties, the board can impose a compensation package.

Officials argue that Luna’s proposal gives local school boards and parents greater control. “Local school boards–those elected to make education decisions in their local community–will continue to implement objectives defined by the Legislature, as is the practice today,” according to the education department.

The debate has formed along party lines, with Republicans and Tea Party conservatives rallying behind Luna.

Democrats are on the other side with unions citing reports that tie Luna’s plan to his campaign contributors, including K12 Inc. of Virginia, operator of the Idaho Virtual Academy, and the Apollo Group of Phoenix, parent company of an online university.

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Australia is known for being a preferred destination not just in terms of travel and work but also of education. This land down under is said to attract the third largest number of foreign students in the English-speaking world after the US and the UK. Australia is the first choice of destination in some other countries. One of the advantages of owning a student visa Australia is that the country offers an educational experience that makes a real difference from other nations. It gives every international student a unique kind of education and a learning style that encourages one to be more innovative, creative and think independently. Students learn to work as a team, communicate effectively with others and develop their practical skills and intellectual abilities you need for worldwide success.

Teachers and professors encourage students in using their initiative and teach them with practical solutions in facing the real-world problems. Qualifications of students will make highly sought after by Australian and International employers upon graduation. It has been a trademark of Australia to bring in students success in finding jobs and hold prominent positions worldwide once graduated in college. Another thing is the country readily accepted students for postgraduate study at leading international universities. In this country also known as the “land of kangaroos”, students have the freedom to choose a path that suits your particular goals as they have thousands of courses on offer.

The Australian education system is known for its strong international reputation. Its education is also famous for its effective structure and innovative policy developments. Other countries wanting to improve their education systems turn to Australia for effective and reliable advice. Furthermore, the country’s approach to vocational and technical education has been already recognized as among the best and most innovative in the world. Its education system is excellent in all areas of both education and training. International and national students enjoy unparalleled level of service and financial protection in their stay in the country. This is provided in the terms and conditions on any visas such as work visa Australian or travel visas to Australia.

The country is committed to provide quality education to students. On the other hand, Australia also offers research opportunities to qualified professionals who are willing to enhance their career. The biggest advantage of studying in Australia is that it offers a country-based research that is spread all over the continent. There are more scholarships are given compared to the United States of the UK. Australia is a less populated yet vast country, so keep in mind that employment opportunities fit in at a rate faster than any other part of the world. Australia has been one of the best places to live, work and most of all study. Its young, friendly and vibrant country makes more students to come in to live, learn and grow. So if you want an excellent education and a good lifestyle don’t hesitate and choose Australia the place to be. You apply for travel visas initially just to try out living in the country and discover its unique lifestyle.

Jerusalem, Israel David E. Miller – Arab residents of Jerusalem on Tuesday welcomed an Israeli Supreme Court decision ordering the city to provide their children with public schools or pay the tuition of private schools, but they remained skeptical that City Hall would be able to carry out the ruling.

The Supreme Court ruled that the state had five years to implement the ruling.

“This verdict will make the state responsible and accountable for what is going on in east Jerusalem,” attorney Tali Nir told The Media Line. “We know that there are thousands of children who try to get admitted to the public schools every year.”

Nir represented the Association for Civil Rights in Israel that filed the claim against the Ministry of Education and Jerusalem’s municipality. She said only half of Jerusalem’s 90,000 Palestinian pupils are registered in the city’s public school system due to lack of classrooms, forcing parents to pay hundreds of dollars a year in private tuition for education they should legally receive for free.

Nir said that in east Jerusalem, some 15,000 students attend schools funded by the Palestinian Authority, but 30,000 others had no other option but to resort to private schools.

“The socio-economic situation in east Jerusalem is very poor. Some 75 percent of families live below the poverty line,” Nir added. “Many families are paying for education which is a very basic human right, currently violated by the state of Israel.”

Huda Abu-Libdeh, a resident of the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Shuafat, grudgingly welcomed the decision. A mother of two boys who were refused admission to Jerusalem’s municipal schools, she said that despite the ruling she was not optimistic.

“The city should be able to solve the problem within one year, not five,” she told The Media Line. “Many mothers like me cannot find space for their children in schools, and today there’s no pressure on City Hall to act. They’re only kids, why should they suffer because there’s no space?”

As of 2009, some 61,000 Arab students learned in just over 2,000 classrooms in Jerusalem’s recognized school system, according to data collected by the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies (JIIS), a local think-tank. Only 47 new classrooms have been built annually for Arab pupils between 2006 and 2008, in contrast to the 81 classrooms built during the same period for Jewish educational institutions.

“For years, insufficient funds were allocated by the state and the municipal council to close the gap between the current situation and what is needed,” Chief Justice Dorit Beinisch wrote in the verdict.

Approximately 300 classrooms have been built by the Jerusalem municipality in east Jerusalem over the past 10 years, Nir admitted, but said that more than 1,000 classrooms were still missing to fulfill the need.

“It will be very difficult for the state to provide all the pupils’ needs within five years,” Dr. Maya Hoshen, a researcher at the JIIS told The Media Line. “However, the state can go a long way in closing the gaps.”

The Jerusalem municipality acknowledged the disparity between east and west Jerusalem, but said it would take time to fix.

“City Hall is aware of the existing gaps and the needs of east Jerusalem residents,” a spokesman for the Jerusalem Municipality told The Media Line in a written response. “The current situation is the result of decades of neglect. The Jerusalem municipality invests huge budgets in many issues regarding east Jerusalem, much more than in the west.”

The spokesman said that lack of zoning permits for educational institutions in east Jerusalem was the main cause for the shortage of classrooms. He added that the municipality has been tackling a shortage of 700 classrooms by renting existing buildings and hauling in mobile classrooms. The city is in the midst of planning the construction of 248 additional classrooms, the spokesman said.

Most of Jerusalem’s 270,000 Arab residents, or 35 percent of the city’s population, were incorporated in the city’s municipal boundaries following the 1967 Six-Day War. The “Jerusalem Law” passed by Israel’s legislature in 1980 established Jerusalem’s status as Israel’s undivided capital city, but most countries do not acknowledge the annexation of post-1967 territories to Jerusalem. Palestinians have also claimed it as the capital of their future state.

Critics say that deep cleavages in municipal investment between mostly Arab east Jerusalem and largely Jewish west Jerusalem have left the city divided in practice. But Dr. Hoshen of JIIS said that the municipality has recently allocated significant funds to build cutting edge schools for residents of east Jerusalem.

“There are some special education schools, such as one in the neighborhood of Ras Al-Amoud, that are the latest word in education,” she said. “In Sur Baher, a minefield was cleared to build a new school which is truly state of the art.”

Huda Abu-Libdeh, whose children were included in the lawsuit against the state, said she would not give up the cause even after her children are entered in the public system.

“I want to help other mothers in my situation,” she said.

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