Archive for category: Education

Information and stories on education.

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Female Activists Protest for Free Education in Zimbabwe

Free Education in Zimbabwe
Upon gaining independence in 1980, Zimbabwe mandated free education. Today, however, fees for education in Zimbabwe are at an all time high.

On August 18, nearly 2,000 women activists protested for free education in Zimbabwe in the country’s second largest city, Bulawayo. Only one day later, the protests moved to the Ministry of Education in Harare, the country’s capital. These protests come at a time when citizens are struggling to find jobs and children are being forced to drop out of school because their families cannot afford it.

Organized by Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), the protests follow a string of public demonstrations that have occurred within the last two months. In Bulawayo, the protesters presented a petition to the resident minister, declaring the right to free education in Zimbabwe. A similar petition was given to Sylvia Masango, a permanent secretary in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.

Only 12 percent of the Zimbabwean government’s national budget is allocated to primary and secondary education, according to UNICEF. Of that 12 percent, most of the money only covers administration and teacher salaries. In August, the government reported it would not be taking new hires as it scrambles to pay the salaries of its current public workers.

According to UNICEF, over one million Zimbabwean secondary-school-aged children are not attending school. The number of school dropouts is increasing as the disparity in education grows. Children whose families rank in the top five percent of wealthiest people nationally are three times as likely to attend secondary school as children whose families rank in the bottom five percent.

Fifteen percent of children in Zimbabwe are not attending school due to the high cost of school fees, according to the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Committee. Many impoverished people in Zimbabwe live in rural areas, and Zimbabwe’s rural population makes up 67 percent of the country’s total.

The international community is working to fight school dropout rates. In 2010, through the Education Transition Fund (ETF), UNICEF provided 23 million textbooks to students in Zimbabwe, helping the country reach a one-to-one student-textbook ratio. The fund also helped Zimbabwe create national school grants to help students overcome financial barriers. Through the Second Chance Education Program, the fund supported alternative education opportunities for at least 50,000 children.

In 2015, the U.K. announced it would give $37 million from its Department for International Development to support Zimbabwe’s education sector. Part of the funds goes toward providing quality education for children in rural areas through the School Improvement Grants program.

There are high hopes that support from the international community and pressure from its population will allow Zimbabwe to provide free education once again.

– Erica Rawles

Photo: Flickr

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Education in Italy: A Progressive Step Forward

Education in ItalyItaly has gone through several political and social revolutions in its extensive history. However, one aspect has remained constant: Its focus on education. Italy is home to some of the oldest higher education institutions in the world. The University of Bologna, established in 1088, is believed to be the first and oldest university in the world.

Today, the value of education in Italy is written in its constitution: it mandates that each individual must access freedom of art, science and teaching. The Italian government also requires that children between the ages of 6 and 16 attend school.

While the fundamental principles of the system of education in Italy reflect a majority of its Western counterparts, Italy has been focusing on major reform in recent years to make education more inclusive.

Since the 1970s, most students with disabilities have been integrated into general education classrooms. The Italian government made history with this reform, but there has been skepticism regarding its success. However, research has shown that a majority view the reform favorably. Many advocates in the United States have even looked to Italy’s inclusionary education as a model of accomplishment.

More recently, some schools have taken inclusionary education a step further and are challenging gender stereotypes in the curriculum. Game of Respect, a memory game intended for children ages 3 to 6, was created in 2013 in order to teach young children about gender stereotypes. Students are expected to match cards that show men and women in nontraditional roles.

Creative director Benedetta Gargiulo began this program in order to address gender inequality, which is a significant social and cultural issue in Italy. According to the European Gender Equality Index, Italy has one of the lowest rankings for gender equality in the European Union. Italian women earn an average of 20 percent less than men for performing the same job.

Game of Respect has been met with some backlash from right-wing politicians. In responding to the criticism, Gargiulo commented, “Probably, the adults need it more than the kids.”

Garguilo and other supporters of inclusionary education continue to stress the importance of getting to the structural root of the problem in order to inspire societal change — in Italy’s case, it’s the classroom.

– Laura Cassin

Photo: Flickr

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Five Countries with the Strongest Education Systems

Strongest Education Systems
Over the last few years, major changes have occurred in the world ranking of nations’ education systems. Five countries that claim the strongest education systems have successfully implemented methods that may help countries with high poverty rates and weak education systems.

In descending order, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Finland claimed the top five rankings for strongest education systems in 2015. Four of the top five are Asian countries or territories.

According to MBC Times, these countries outperform others because they value engagement and accountability culturally and their education systems emphasize effort over “inherent smartness.”

Each of the top five initiated unique tactics that have increased the quality and accessibility of education:

  1. South Korea
    South Korea emerged as the number one ranked education system in 2015. With a yearly budget of just over $11 billion, South Korea spends more money on education than many countries.
    Children attend school seven days a week and are expected to work very hard from a young age. As a result, South Korea has made impressive strides in literacy rates. According to Fair Reporters, nearly 100% of the population — 99.2% of males and 96.6% of females — is literate.
  2. Japan
    Japan experienced great success in recent years by incorporating technology into its education system, providing its students with tremendous resources. In addition to demanding hard work from students, Japanese educators value extracurricular activities highly. According to Fair Reporter, students in Japan are generally expected to participate in extracurricular activities.
  3. Singapore
    Impressively, Singapore ranks third with a school system that the Singaporean government made up from scratch. Singapore’s school system values deeper education through conceptual learning over traditional schooling methods, which often encourage simple memorization and repetition. Singaporean educators focus on training students to be problem solvers and thorough thinkers.
  4. Hong Kong
    With a 94.6% literacy rate, Hong Kong has an education system similar to the United Kingdom’s. The Social Welfare Department oversees education, ensuring that each level of schooling works together to produce a fluid education experience. According to the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong has more top-200-rated universities than any other Asian country or territory.
  5. Finland
    Finland, who lead in the ranking for years, has dropped below Asian countries since 2012 but is still notable for its holistic, free education system. The Finnish education system values education outside of the classroom; school days are kept short and followed by school-sponsored educational activities. Finland’s teachers are some of the finest, most educated in the world.

Although major educational improvements have been made worldwide, many poor countries still have weak education systems that need systematic reform. Education systems like those of South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Finland are guiding the way forward.

Their methods, such as incorporating out-of-classroom education, requiring extracurricular activities, increasing education budgets, valuing conceptual learning, using technology and hiring well-educated teachers, could contribute to educational growth in poor countries worldwide.

– Alex Fidler

Photo: Flickr

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Bridging the Global Youth Skills Gap

Youth Skills Gap
On July 15, the U.N. celebrated World Youth Skills Day. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for sustained investment in youth skills to help achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Across the world, a huge generation of young people is entering the workforce.

Unfortunately, many of them lack the skills necessary to have successful and engaging careers or even to be gainfully employed. Those aged 15-24 make up 40% of those unemployed worldwide, even though they only make up 18% of the global population. Many of those who are lucky enough to be employed are working jobs that provide little in the way of remuneration or protection.

The inability of young people to find good jobs is a major contributor to continuing poverty. This poverty, in turn, plays a powerful role in breeding both localized violence and global extremism. Addressing this situation calls for many responses, one of which is attacking the global youth skills gap.

In today’s economy, digital and communicative skills are in demand but schooling, especially in poorer countries, often emphasizes traditional skills, meaning that educational models that may have been successful in the past are in danger of becoming outmoded. According to a survey from the Asian Development Bank, communicative and language skills are seen as being most valuable. More broadly, in many places, there is a significant mismatch between the skills needed for work and the skills that people have.

Fortunately, there are many steps that can be taken to address the youth skills gap head-on. According to the World Economic Forum, social and emotional learning (SEL) provides children with the framework they need to adapt to a wide array of situations in their future careers. Training children to adapt to different situations, rather than over-focusing on specific skills that may or may not be useful, increases their readiness to participate in a wide range of careers.

The World Bank has sought to address the issues of the youth skills gap and youth unemployment head-on through a variety of individual programs. From the Caribbean to South Asia to Sub-Saharan Africa, these programs have helped increase employment and provided youth with skills of lasting value.

Efforts to improve the effectiveness of education, direct job training projects and job-search assistance are just a sampling of the work being done to bridge the gap.

Like so many contributors to global poverty, the youth skills gap is anything but an intractable problem. Rather, with the concerted effort of individuals, governments, businesses and multilateral organizations it can become less and less of an obstacle to shared prosperity.

– Jonathan Hall-Eastman

Photo: Flickr

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How the UN Plans to Achieve Global Education Goals

How the UN Plans to Achieve Global Education Goals?
In 2015, the international community came together to set new goals for development. These consisted of 17 main goals to be achieved by the year 2030. These goals are built to transform the world and lead it faster towards further development. Goal Four of the Sustainable Development Goals is to ensure inclusiveness and quality education for all and promote life-long learning.

The United Nations believes that global education goals are important to improving the lives of individuals, particularly in developing countries. This is essential as it would lead to sustainable development for future generations.

A lot of progress was made in terms of enrollment rates, particularly for girls. Basic literacy rates are on the rise and there is a general desire toward achieving universal education goals. The 2030 goals will further work on providing free, accessible and equitable education while removing disparities based on poverty, gender and skills.

At the World Education Forum in 2015, UNESCO adopted the Incheon Declaration. This declaration affirms the global community’s dedication to achieving global education goals. UNESCO is mandated to work and supervise the goals. This includes country level and partnerships with governments by involving multi-stakeholders into the process.

On the other hand, a study by the UNESCO discussed the student-teacher gap in different communities. The study found out that on the global level the gap was the worst in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. To fill this ratio gap between students and instructors, 69 million teachers need to be recruited globally by 2030. Both regions mentioned above will need 32 million teachers alone.

This is the necessary number to meet global education goals. Currently, low pay is a challenge. However, an increase in pay is known to improve student performance. Thus, there are hopes in the international community to fund such an initiative.

– Noman Ahmed

Photo: Flickr

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Education for Refugees is Essential for Development

Education for Refugees is Essential for Development
In Jordan, many Syrian refugees are struggling to settle in. The refugees went there to avoid a difficult war but it is challenging to start a new life away from home. Muzoon is a 16-year-old “champion on education” in her community. She is determined to stop the current situation from destroying the future for her people.

Muzoon believes in chances and creating opportunities. She wants to build enthusiasm toward education for refugees in her generation. She is also keen on promoting values and being independent in her thoughts and practices. Muzoon was referred to as the “Malala” of Syrian refugees.

Muzoon appreciates and acknowledges the value of education. As a refugee in a camp managed by the United Nation’s Refugee Agency, she understands that education for refugees is a key component for development. Furthermore, it is also a basic human right and the United Nations strives to provide it to all refugee children.

Currently, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) takes care of 20 million refugees. Among these, 50% of the children are enrolled in primary education, 25% have access to secondary education and only 1% have access to tertiary education.

The UNHCR realizes that education is crucial for displaced communities. It serves the need for life skills and psychosocial needs. In addition to that, education promotes cohesion, provides access to valuable information and offers a safe environment.

Education for refugees is a great enabler. It provides capacity and opportunity for growth. With Syria’s war, there is a massive human crisis that requires a quick response. If refugees, especially the young generations are not educated, there is a chance of these children encountering future disadvantages such as poverty.

Just like any other major natural disaster, education deserves to be treated as of equal importance. However, providing education for refugees is a long-term cause and it will require long-term funding to achieve the development of the refugee community. An investment in education is even more important to girls. It reduces the chances of forced labor, early marriage and extremism. This investment will help young girls and refugees in general to avoid such risks and develop a purposeful life.

Furthermore, the British Council believes that the refugee community needs to be taught about hope. As an epic tragedy, the problem could have massive spillovers. Ensuring education for refugees is a key response to such a crisis.

The British Council works on integrating refugees into their new communities, especially the refugees moving to Europe, by providing language training to cope with the challenges in the new communities.

The British Council has a firm belief that humanitarian relief is very essential, but aid goes beyond simple relief. Since the scale of the crisis is huge, education will make a lasting difference.

– Noman Ahmed

Photo: Flickr

The Importance of Montessori Education

Montessori Education
Montessori education is a different method of education that focuses on student development rather than learning. In other words, it does not emphasize exams, quizzes or grades. In fact, it aims to create mature and socially adept students. The system was invented by Maria Montessori around 1900 in Italy to educate poor children.

In a study in the U.S., students following the Montessori system performed better than traditional students. The biggest differences were in social skills and behavior. There is also more beliefs of justice and fairness in Montessori Education and emotionally positive feelings.

The Montessori education believes that children learn best when they choose by themselves what to learn. In Montessori classes today, there are children from different age backgrounds who participate in various activities. Teachers are only there to guide the children through the activities.

In Montessori classrooms, children learn the value of independence. This makes them capable of making the right decisions and seeking knowledge by themselves. Also, they learn to support and help each other which builds a sense of responsibility. Tracy Yarke, a teacher who uses Montessori style at Rasmussen College says the style uses the child’s interests to spark learning and develop at their own pace.

By focusing on multiple activities with different paces for every child, Montessori education helps build leadership, coordination and concentration skills. This is a lot of freedom for the students to pick up their own activities but they are all performed with specified parameters. Students are also taught in a family based environment. It gives them the support and the encouragement to seek knowledge by themselves.

A recent report by Dr. Elliott Landon, a superintendent of schools in Long Beach, explained that improving the quality of education in both local and national levels is associated with providing a good pre-school education. The number of Montessori school in the U.S. has increased by 33 percent since 1981.

On a global level, Montessori schools have opened in various locations around the world. There are schools in Egypt, Thailand, Tanzania, Mexico and Argentina. Most of these schools started operating quite recently in the twenty-first century. The schools have gained support among refugee communities in those developing countries. Montessori education in developing countries also aims to give better chances for disadvantaged children who face problems to acquire basic traditional education.

– Noman Ahmed

Photo: Flickr

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Education in Rwanda: Adieu Français, Hello English

Education in Rwanda
Education in Rwanda has blossomed in the years following the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, currently boasting the highest primary school enrollment rates in the entire continent of Africa. The challenge now is to increase secondary school enrollment, which was only 28 percent in 2011 and get more students to enroll in higher education.

Rwanda’s educational system operates on a 6-3-3-4 system; there are six years of primary school, three years of junior secondary school, three years of senior secondary school and four (optional) years of university to obtain a Bachelor’s degree.

Children are instructed in three different languages in Rwanda: Kinyarwanda, English and French. Kinyarwanda is a Bantu language spoken by around seven million people in Rwanda. These official languages were established after the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) gained control of Rwanda’s government in 1994; many of the RPF’s members grew up in English-speaking Uganda and Tanzania.

Kinyarwanda is the primary language of instruction during the first three years of primary school. When children enter secondary school, most of their classes are taught in English. Prior to 2009, French was the principal language of instruction after year three of primary school. Now, French can be taken as an elective in both primary and secondary school.

Fluency in English, Claver Yisa of the Rwandan education ministry said, will help strengthen Rwanda’s ties with their English-speaking trade partners Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, as well as help attract foreign investors in education in Rwanda—most of whom will speak English.

The switch from instruction in Kinyarwanda to English is difficult for some teachers, which is why Rwanda launched STEM (Supporting Teachers’ English proficiency through Mentoring). For effective learning, teachers themselves needed to be more fluent in the language they must teach. Their innovative and effective program earned Rwanda the prestigious Commonwealth Education Good Practice Award in 2015.

Yet there is still a long road ahead of Rwandan teachers, as they work to improve the English skills of students and themselves so more students can go on to further education in Rwanda and abroad. Students’ immersion in the English language has positioned them to be larger contributors to the global economy and will no doubt play an important role in defining Rwanda in the coming years.

– Bayley McComb

Photo: Flickr

Education in Finland: A Model for Equality

Education in Finland: A Model For Equality
Education in Finland is prestigious and public. After 40 years of education reform to propel the economy, Finland has created some of the finest students in the world. In 2000, they led in reading, in 2003, in math and in 2006, in science. Since 2009, they consistently rank at the top for each subject in the Programme for International Student Assessment.

Not only does education in Finland produce top tier students, but the country has also created an education system that works for everyone. About 93 percent of Finns graduate from high school, 17.5 percentage points higher than the US, and 66 percent go to college, the highest rate in the European Union. Yet, Finland spends 30 percent less on education than the US.

Even with their amazing achievements in education, however, Finland has not yet found a popular following in implementing similar policies within other countries. In Finland, there is only one standardized test, unlike the U.S. and many Asian countries, where standardized tests are taken every year to measure students. Science classes are capped at 16. In the U.S., however, poorer public school systems pack many students into underfunded science classes. Teachers are also required to have master’s degrees, which are fully subsidized by the government, while the U.S. expects a bachelor’s degree without providing subsidies.

Although Finland may strive for excellence in education, they primarily value equality, a value missing in many American and Asian education systems. Whereas gifted students are separated into higher level classes in the U.S., Finland keeps all students in the same classrooms, providing extra help to those who need it. There are no private schools in Finland as all schools are 100 percent publicly funded. Each student has equal access to free school meals, health care, psychological counseling and individual student guidance, regardless of socioeconomic background.

As opposed to the U.S., where a good education generally means sending your kids to private or charter schools if you can afford it, Finland provides an equal education for everyone. Rather than creating a market for certain individuals to buy the best quality education, Finland created the base of its education system to help everyone. As opposed to Asian cultures that stress constant studying and competition between students, Finland prioritizes the students’ learning desires and fostering cooperation. There are no rankings for best schools or students.

Among other factors, Finland also selectively chooses its teachers; there is a 7 percent acceptance rate in Helsinki, which encourages constant retraining for teachers, creates broad curriculum guidelines and focuses more on quality time in the classroom. Education in Finland is clearly more relaxed and equitable, yet they still consistently boast the best scores. Although expensive private schools and exhaustive studying may produce similar results, they are not the most efficient strategies for a both equitable and robust education system.

– Henry Gao

Photo: Flickr