“A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.” 

“Give a girl an education and introduce her properly into the world, and ten to one but she has the means of settling well, without further expense to anybody. ”

The best thing for being sad," replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow, "is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn

“The past has no power over the present moment.”

“Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.”

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” 

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.

“You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation.”

“You can never be overdressed or overeducated.

“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” 
― Mark Twain

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever

The Education Intelligence Agency is proud to present the 2013 Public Education Quotes of the Year, in countdown order. Enjoy!

10) “A lethargic membership is more cancerous than reforms, charter schools, and excessing. Members’ expectation of any president must be tempered with what they are willing to do for themselves.” – Nathan Saunders, outgoing president of the Washington Teachers Union. (July 31 letter to members)

9) “We’re not about picking a mayor. We’re about making a mayor, making the winner. And that’s what we’re gonna do…. I talk to them (the mayoral candidates) constantly. All of them. I know all about all of their families. I know about their dogs and this and that.” – Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, two weeks before the union endorsed Bill Thompson for mayor of New York City. (June 4 Politicker)

8) “Once at City Hall it became clear that the union — especially under its current leadership — was an enormous impediment to reform. Watching the parade of candidates genuflecting before the UFT and pledging fealty to its positions is an embarrassment. The prospect of the next mayor handing the keys of Tweed over to Michael Mulgrew makes me fear for the future of the city.” – Howard Wolfson, deputy mayor of New York City and former consultant to the United Federation of Teachers. (June 19 Capital New York)

7) “Where is the line in terms of how far the government gets involved in the operation of a private business, which is what MEA in its essence is.” – Doug Pratt, the Michigan Education Association’s temporary director of member benefits, testifying before a state senate committee about the union’s compliance with the right-to-work law. (December 5MLive.com)

6) “As we celebrate the 150th Anniversary of CTA, we must remember that we were founded for one reason – and one reason only – and that was to engage in politics. We were founded to engage in the political process in order to create an organized system of public instruction and to elevate the profession of teaching in California.” – Carolyn Doggett, executive director of the California Teachers Association, in a January 27 speech to the union’s State Council. 

5) “Anytime there’s an audit of Title I dollars, you’re going to see errors at the school level because schools spend money for what they need, and then sometimes they worry about if it fits the parameter of the grant later.” – Andres Alonso, CEO of the Baltimore City Schools, after a federal audit revealed that Title I and stimulus dollars were used for dinner cruises, meals, theater performances and a mother/daughter makeover. (May 23 CBS Baltimore)

4) “We don’t blame the firefighters when there’s a fire, and we don’t blame the police for crime! Why would we? Then why are educators being blamed for the struggles of our public schools? Let’s look at the policies and the policymakers instead of the people doing the work every day.” – Earl Wiman, current member of the National Education Association Executive Committee. (April 12 speech to the Virginia Education Association Delegate Assembly)

3) “It would be akin to making you and your wife redo your marriage license every year.” – John Havlicek, president of the La Crosse Education Association, describing Wisconsin’s annual recertification requirement for teachers’ unions. (November 27 La Crosse Tribune) 

2) “Because maybe these teachers have an ungodly fear of interviews. Or maybe they’re on vacation in the Netherlands and don’t want to return for an interview. Or maybe they think interviews are a sham. It doesn’t matter.” – Lynn Nordgren, president of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, explaining to school district negotiators why unplaced tenured teachers who refuse to show up for job interviews should not be dismissed. (September 27MinnPost)

1) “Since a teacher’s working conditions are a child’s learning conditions, attacking teachers is the same as attacking children.” – Randy Mousley, president of United Teachers of Wichita. (February 9 Wich

Muslims told not to fear secular education

Alhaji Baba Yahya Khalid, General Manager of the  Islamic Education Unit, at the weekend asked Muslims not to “fear” secular education.

“Time was when Muslims feared secular education because of the imposition of Christian names on Muslims but things have changed. Muslims must pursue knowledge wherever they are,” he said.

Alhaji Khalid said this at a conference in Ho to deliberate on the future of Islamic Education in the Volta Region, on the theme, “The future of Islamic schools in Volta Region: The role of stakeholders.”

He said seeking knowledge was compulsory for all Muslims, and therefore, charged Muslim parents to value education and invest in it.

Alhaji Khalid called on parents, past students and Muslim communities in the Volta Region, to help build the 41 Islamic schools in the Region and position them to compete with other mission schools.

Hajia Nasiba Taahir-Swallah, a Lecturer at the  Islamic University College and a Clinical Psychologist, said the “acquisition of knowledge is worship,” and recommended integrated education (Islamic and secular) for Muslims.

She pointed out  that integrated education better prepared Muslim children to be independent and well disciplined.

Hajia Taahir-Swallah urged Muslim parents to “infuse” faith and the fear of God in their children so people could see the “beauty of Allah” in them.

She asked parents to show concern in the education of their children and regularly visit them at school.

Nii Laryea Afotey Agbo, Volta Regional Minister, in a speech read on his behalf, said government was making education “almost free” hence; there was no excuse for children of school going age to be kept out of the classroom.

He underscored the importance of secular education, and said while spiritual education was useful, it needed to be balanced with physical and psychological development attainable through secular education.

Mr Dickson Ogordor, a Director at the Volta Regional Education Directorate, called for the re-direction of energy towards the education of children in the Region, and especially in Muslim communities.

He observed a downward trend in the academic performance of the Region, and called for transformational change in the sector.

- See more at: http://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2014/01/13/muslims-told-not-to-fear-secular-education/#sthash.eXL2YG7N.dpuf

 

Islamic finance edin Malaysiauction

Malaysia is one of the nation that has invested a lot to develop human resources for the Islamic financial services industry.

By Dr Humayon Dar

PETALING JAYA: While there is no unique mix of qualifications, experience, training and skills, those who have the right and rigorous education nevertheless stand a better chance of succeeding in any career, including in Islamic banking and finance.

Malaysia has invested heavily in developing human resources for the Islamic financial services industry. Almost all the institutions of higher learning in the country offer at least some specialised modules if not full-fledged programmes in Islamic banking and finance.

A dedicated university — International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (commonly known as INCEIF) — was also set up in 2005, with an explicit objective “to produce world-class talent for the global Islamic finance industry.” In total, there are 50 course providers and 18 universities offering degrees in Islamic banking and finance.

This year’s Global Islamic Finance Awards, held at Dubai on Nov 26, picked up Universiti Utara Malaysia’s Bachelor of Islamic Finance and Banking (BIFB) as the Best Qualification in Islamic Finance, following the 2012’s winner of Certified Qualification in Islamic Finance (CQIF) offered by IBFIM.

There is no doubt that high quality education in Islamic banking and finance is a prerequisite for starting a successful career in this field. This was obviously not the case during the first phase of development of Islamic banking and finance, when any banker and finance practitioner who had interest and passion for Islamic banking and finance had opportunities to excel in the then newly emerging industry.

The situation has changed now, as Islamic financial institutions are required, particularly in Malaysia, to employ personnel with the right and relevant qualifications. However, it seems as if the gulf between academia and industry is playing a trick, as many of the graduates of universities (including INCEIF) get confused by their own professors who seem not to be fully convinced with the practice of Islamic banking and finance.

This is particularly true in the case of the departments of economics and finance (or business schools) offering programmes in Islamic banking and finance.

The story is different in the departments of law though, if some members of their staff happen to sit on Shariah advisory boards of Islamic banks and financial institutions. The Shariah and law professors happen to have greater and better understanding of the practice of Islamic banking and finance than the academic community at business schools and economics departments.

This may lead someone to conclude that for a successful career in Islamic banking and finance, strong Shariah and law background is helpful.

This view may be supported by the dominance of Shariah scholars and the central role of Shariah advisory in Islamic banking and finance.

A close scrutiny of the academic and professional qualifications of the top management of Islamic banks in Malaysia (eg CEOs) gives a completely different story, as most of them come from an economics or business and finance background. Almost all of them have a common denominator — a foreign degree. This might be seen as a prerequisite for success in Islamic banking and finance but then it cannot be a differentiating factor as most of the successful executives and businessmen in Malaysia are foreign qualified anyway.

Thus, strong education in economics and finance seems to be the most appropriate qualification to succeed in Islamic banking and finance. Ironically, a significant proportion of economists and finance professors involved in the teaching of Islamic banking and finance happen to be sceptics.

While a lot of scepticism of such professors is based on genuine concerns, many of them certainly lack an in-depth understanding of the practice of Islamic banking and finance on a transactional level. If the authorities really want to improve the quality of instruction in Islamic banking and finance, then it should invest in these academicians to expose them to the practice of Islamic banking and finance. Failing to do so will result in inefficient use of resources, which has already been evident from the discontent of the Islamic banking and finance industry with the academic institutions and other specialised institutions offering instruction in this field.

Prof Humayon Dar is chairman of Edbiz Corp London and a visiting professor of Islamic Finance at Academy for Contemporary Islamic Studies, UiTM

“Anyone can design,” says Reem Buqais during an interview at Bahrain’s Capital Club, “but if you want to be original, getting the proper education” is critical to understanding what it takes to succeed in the fashion industry, in the Middle East and beyond.

After moving to Bahrain having graduated from fashion school in New York, winning the Bahrain’s Top Stylist competition gave this 24 year-old her start in the fashion business. The prize winnings included the opportunity to produce and sell her designs in a boutique in Bahrain; once she had this push, as she describes it to Wamda’s Nina Curley, she didn’t have a choice not to continue.

Transitioning to the Gulf’s limited fashion infrastructure from the swirl of New York has been a challenge for the young designer, but having to adapt to difficult conditions has only made her stronger, she says.

Buqais’ tip for success? “You have to really want something,” she concludes, “you’re the only person who can make it happen.”

Raffles in 'Top 50 Fashion School in the World'

Dec. 29, 2013 (LBT) - Raffles Colombo, a unique education provider in Sri Lanka specializing in Design, is celebrating a highly successful year as a record number of students enrolled over 100% this year. Raffles

Colombo also reached a milestone of its 3rd anniversary of operations in Sri Lanka earlier this year. Adding another feather in its cap Raffles Singapore has been listed in the “Top 50 Fashion Schools in the World 2013” by New York-based Fashionista.com, one of the largest independent fashion news sites in the world.

Raffles Colombo, registered in Sri Lanka as Raffles Design Institute Private Limited, is the local arm of Raffles Education Corporation Limited (Raffles Education Corp), a premier tertiary education provider listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Singapore.

This has been a very busy and successful year for us added, Alex Quah, the Director of Raffles Colombo with the ongoing “Are You Beautiful” campaign in Sri Lanka. He further said, “2013 has witnessed the education giant make significant progress across several fronts. The first step towards the establishment of Raffles American School in Iskandar, Malaysia was made in January. In March, Raffles Education Corp’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Raffles Assets (Private) Limited, signed an investment agreement with the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka to establish Raffles University Sri Lanka. In April, Raffles Education Corp’s headquarters and Raffles College of Higher Education, Singapore moved into a new building named Raffles Education Square. Raffles established new colleges in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Batam and Medan, Indonesia in July. These are exciting times and the future looks much brighter with major investment plans in Sri Lanka”.

The Raffles Education Corp’s journey began in the year 1990 with the establishment of Raffles Design Institute in Singapore. The institute expanded to two other countries during the '90s - to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia (1992) as well as to Shanghai (1994), Beijing (1996) and Jilin Province, China (1999). 2001 saw Raffles Education Corp expanding to Bangkok and Guangdong Province, China. Having listed on the SGX-SESDAQ with a market capitalization of S$16 million in 2002 and the Mainboard of the SGX in 2005, Raffles Education Corp continued to expand its network in the Asia Pacific with new institutes in Jiangsu Province and Langfang in China; Mumbai, Bangalore, New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Hyderabad in India; as well as in Australia (Sydney), New Zealand (Auckland) and Indonesia (Jakarta).

Raffles students have continued to excel at various competitions held locally and regionally. Some of the most notable regional winners are Peggy Hartanto (Indonesia), Rebecka Vavouzos (Sweden), Silas Liew (Malaysia), Sven Tan (Singapore), Pual Nathapol (Thailand), Joe Chia (Malaysia), Zhang Longhui (China), Hangma Limbu (Hong Kong) and Oh Jang Mi (South Korea). Scores of others students have won accolades in competitions such as Fashion Design, Interior Design, Visual Communication Design, Digital Media Design, Animation Design, Graphic Design and Photography.

Raffles Education Corp is the largest private education group in Asia-Pacific and a Top 50 fashion school in the world. Raffles Education Corporation operates 34 colleges in 31 cities across 12 countries with over 30,000 students in the Asia-Pacific region.  With a heritage of close to 30 years, the Group has today three university-level institutions that are in Australia, China and Malaysia. These establishments are fully recognised as degree-awarding establishments in their respective countries having obtained the necessary approvals from their host countries and having complied with the quality assurance agencies in their respective countries.

LAHORE

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between British Council and Punjab Higher Education Department here on Tuesday to collaborate in attracting the world reputed educational institutions and ICT companies to invest in the proposed Knowledge Park to be established in Lahore.

It is mutually understood and agreed by the Punjab government and the British Council that both organisations will work together for the promotion of higher education in Punjab. British Council will also help strengthen the idea of Knowledge Park, Lahore which will bring academia and industry together to work for education and economic growth. The proposed Knowledge Park covers an area of 852 acres and is located at close proximity of Defence Housing Authority (DHA), Lahore. The MoU was signed by Punjab Minister for Education Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan and Richard Weyers, Director Punjab, British Council.

On this occasion, Richard Weyers said, “the Punjab government’s initiative to start a Knowledge Park is hugely exciting, a great opportunity to bring the academic skills of the higher education sector together with the wealth creation role of the private sector. The UK has excellent experience of developing Knowledge Parks and the British Council is committed to helping Pakistan to benefit from that experience.”

Rana Mashhood expressed his resolve to make a synergy between economy and education through the proposed Knowledge Park in which educational complexes of world acclaimed universities as well as the market-oriented disciplines of local universities will be established besides setting up the offices of information and communication technology companies.

The minister stressed the need to promote knowledge to enable youth to excel in every sector and play their role in making Pakistan a more prosperous country. He informed the participants of the ceremony that Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had given a standing instruction to extend maximum facilitation to the genuine foreign universities and ICT companies interested in investment at Knowledge Park Lahore and hoped that collaboration with the British Council in this regard would be fruitful in every aspect.

The recent Bipartisan Budget Act passed by Congress and signed by the president is a significant step for our federal government for long-term deficit reduction, and it unwinds some of the damaging sequester cuts that have harmed students, seniors and many Americans across the country.

It will also help to begin a path for critical investments that have proven to help our economy grow and strengthen our communities.

Despite these positives, the bill continues to leave education financing programs, research funding and other higher education initiatives on uncertain ground.

For research and development at universities, sequestration has cut federal funding by more than $1 billion. As a result, dozens of university presidents, including University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto and Harvard President Drew Faust, have indicated that this approach by leaders in Washington is having a devastating effect.

A survey conducted in October revealed that seven out of 10 universities are encountering delays in research projects and that the same share of schools are obtaining fewer new research grants. Furthermore, undergraduate student research and new federal training grants have been cut by as much as 30 percent. Over a third of research projects have been canceled.

As a former Kentucky secretary of state and current director of the Harvard Institute of Politics, I can attest that investments in higher education have a positive effect on economic growth and contribute greatly to Americans’ overall prosperity. Higher levels of education attainment directly impact one’s employment opportunities and earnings over the course of their career.

Earlier this year a study released by the Pew Center on the States noted that, during the recession, college graduates 21 to 24 years old were far less likely to lose their jobs or have their pay cut than high-school graduates of the same age. Overall, unemployment rates for individuals with at least a bachelor’s degree are three times less than for those without a high-school diploma.

In a bid to improve technical education in the State, the Department of Employment, Technical Education and Training (DoET&T) has drawn up an ambitious plan of  Rs  500 crore for 2014-15.

The plan includes infrastructure development of polytechnics and setting up more universities, industrial training, employment exchanges and other institutions. Sources said part of the funds will be provided for the programme in 2014-15 budget.

According to sources, as part of the infrastructure development of the educational institutions, Rs  200 crore will be provided during 2014-15. While Rs 50 crore each will be provided to the Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) and Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT), ` 100 crore will be earmarked for all the five Government engineering colleges.

Similarly, in order to develop the  infrastructure of polytechnics, Rs  138 crore will be spent as the demand for such institutions is on the rise. Infrastructure of the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) will be strengthened with utilisation of Rs  148 crore.

The State Government has decided to set up 24 more ITIs in the State besides the existing 29.

While there are 12,352 seats in 29 Government run colleges, it will go up to 23,400 with inclusion of these new institutions.

The State Government is harping on improvement of infrastructure and introduction of new and innovative subjects in these ITIs so that more students are attracted to the institutions.

Hong Kong is lagging behind on inclusive education, while most advanced economies are moving ahead. Many students with special educational needs are not getting the support they require and deserve.

Last year, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child issued its concluding observations following China's combined reports under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Not surprisingly, the committee expressed its deep concern over children with disabilities in Hong Kong. It urged the government to "promptly identify and remove all the barriers, including physical, that prevent students with disabilities from entering and staying in the mainstream system … and reallocate resources from the special education system to promote the inclusive education in mainstream schools".

The benefits of inclusive education are well documented, not least because it imparts to all children the importance of empathy and acceptance, while enabling those with disabilities to form a positive sense of self. An inclusive classroom exposes children to communication with different groups, which trains them in multiple modes of expression and understanding. These are important skills in this age of globalisation, where cross-cultural competence is vital.

In short, with the right support, children learn better together. In adulthood, they will be more likely to embrace diversity, respect differences and fight for equality, not only for themselves but also for others. This is the foundation we need to foster a truly inclusive society.

Yet, despite these obvious gains, support measures to promote inclusive education remain woefully inadequate in this city. Indeed, the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has long voiced our concern that students with disabilities should have access to equal learning opportunities through inclusive education.

Our study on this issue in 2012 found that the system is far from satisfactory. Nearly half the teachers had not received any training in this area, and over 60 per cent of principals felt that schools do not receive enough government resources to implement inclusive education. Given the current situation, this will be one of our priority areas over the next few years.

More must be done. Access to quality education for all is fundamental to Hong Kong's competitiveness. Our children who are not able to adapt to the mainstream system should be given support according to their individual needs. Otherwise, the barriers they face will affect their ability to participate in society later in life, including in higher education and employment.

For students with learning disabilities, this must begin with early assessment, which specialists and professionals agree is crucial to provide timely intervention.

We recommend that assessments should be taken at the pre-school level, to enable early identification of a child's specific requirements, which is why access to early childhood education is so vital, particularly for children with special learning needs.

A detailed assessment report should be made available to the parents, school and relevant experts. Parents and carers can use the information to better understand the child's developmental needs and equip themselves to address such needs at home, as well as share their experiences and work closely with professionals on holistic support measures and strategies.

The report can also help to ensure a seamless transition between pre-school, kindergarten and primary school, whereby children with special educational needs can continue to receive appropriate services and assistance. Above all, any education policy should take the diverse needs of students into consideration.

Another critical component of inclusive education is the availability of educational psychologists, occupational and speech therapists, and counselling professionals to support the progress of students with special learning needs in mainstream schools.

In Hong Kong, there remains a manpower shortage in this area, which must be promptly addressed by the Education Bureau, higher learning institutions and other relevant professional bodies.

The success of integrated education also depends on teachers' attitude and training. Unfortunately, misconceptions and a lack of understanding on this front remain common. The EOC's study found that more than half of the surveyed principals, teachers and professionals believe that excluding students with special learning needs from regular classes was not discriminatory. Such views only serve as additional obstacles to ensuring that all children can access quality education.

To encourage teachers to embrace inclusive education, they must be provided with appropriate training. Pre-service and in-service teacher training programmes in tertiary institutions should include special education and inclusive education as core components. A monitoring process and appropriate audit are also necessary to ensure such training is relevant for real-life application.

Teachers and principals should also be educated on equal opportunity principles. In particular, the benefits of inclusive education should be emphasised and clearly communicated to parents, in order to break down stereotypes and clarify misunderstandings.

Teachers and principals must take the lead to implement a caring and safe campus for all students regardless of their disability.

Our recent meetings with the leaders of the city's tertiary educational institutes showed there is both acceptance and support to embrace an inclusive policy for tertiary education.

All institutes are ready to admit students with special needs, and are willing to share expertise and experiences in making university life accessible to students who need further assistance.

As a community, we must come together to build a truly inclusive education system, with the recognition that every child, given the appropriate support and care based on their individual needs, can reach their full potential and achieve their dreams.

We must acknowledge that many of the barriers standing in our way are not merely physical, but also social and attitudinal. Undoubtedly, they are within our power to change. What we need is commitment. Our children deserve the chance to learn together and from each other. As role models, we must enable them to access these opportunities.

Dr York Chow Yat-ngok is chairman of the Equal Opportunities Commission

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as The inclusive way

Education officials in Papua’s Jayapura district have set a target of ensuring that all children enrolled in the sixth and ninth grades this year finish primary school or junior high school, in a province where up to a quarter of school-aged children don’t have access to education.

Alpius Toam, the head of the Jayapura Education Office, said on Saturday that the move was part of efforts to improve the quality of education in the district.

Papua province has one of the lowest school attendance rates in the country, with up to 15 percent of primary school-aged children and 25 percent of junior high school-aged children not going to school, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). The figures were from 2012, the latest year for which statistics are available.

Alpius attributed the higher rate of attendance in junior high school on the large number of students dropping out because the poor quality of education they received at primary school left them unable to cope beyond sixth grade.

“We need to improve [the school system] so that a student can get a good education in primary school and continue on to junior high school with no problems,” he said as quoted by state news agency Antara.

He added his office had received multiple reports of students struggling in junior high school because they could barely read or write.

“This puts extra pressure on the educators and eventually affects the education process for all students, all because some students aren’t get a proper education in primary school,” Alpius said.

He added the push to get students to complete junior high school was also part of a campaign by the Education Ministry to ensure that all Indonesians finish at least the ninth grade.

Hardship posting

Part of the ministry’s wider efforts to improve the quality of education nationwide will focus on the introduction this year of a program in which candidate teachers must spend a year teaching in regions such as Papua and other underdeveloped or remote areas, in order to qualify for civil servant status.

Supriadi Rustad, the Education Ministry’s director responsible for teacher training, said last month that those that completed the program would get a “bachelor’s degree in teaching in frontier, outlying and underdeveloped regions,” or SM3T.

He said the program was initially conceived in 2011 to induce university graduates looking to become teachers to take a posting in so-called hardship areas, and although participants would get civil servant status at the end of their period, it was not at the time a requirement for attaining such status.

Among the inducements for getting young people to teach in remote areas is higher pay than in urban or developed areas.

“Since the advent of the SM3T program, regions that have long had a shortage of teachers because of their isolation are now seeing a gradual but definite increase in the quality of education,” Supriadi said.

“That’s why we’ve now decided to make this program mandatory for all candidate teachers.”

Civil servant status for teachers typically entitles the holder to a higher salary than non-tenure teachers, a range of benefits, and a guaranteed pension for life upon retirement.

Supriadi said some 2,400 people entered the SM3T program when it first rolled out in 2011. The following year, there were 2,600 new candidates, and last year the number of new entrants was up to 2,800.

All those taking part were graduates of the 12 nationwide campuses of the Indonesian Teaching Academy (LPTK).

Supriadi said some of the provinces where the candidate teachers were assigned included Papua, West Papua, East Nusa Tenggara, Aceh, Riau Islands and East Kalimantan.

“In Papua specifically, they were assigned to teach in the hinterland regions of Asmat, Paniai and Yahukimo,” he said.

One year of the new curriculum

In addition to the SM3T program, this year will also mark the completion of the first year of a controversial new curriculum introduced last year by the Education Ministry for primary schools.

The curriculum emphasizes a shift toward “softer” subjects like Islamic studies, civics and culture, at the expense of English, computers and science in some schools, which has been a focal point of critics, who argue that it risks churning out a generation of young people less capable than previous generations of competing on the global level.

The ministry, however, counters that the number of subjects that primary school students were learning needed to be distilled down to alleviate the pressure on students, and given a more local spin.

The ministry also says subjects such as English have not been scrapped completely, and that students who wish to study them can still do so after school hours.

For its first year of implementation, fewer than 6,400 out of more than 148,000 primary schools nationwide adopted the new syllabus, with the ministry saying it would take time to train all teachers on the new curriculum.

Mohammad Nuh, the education minister, said last month that his ministry was seeking to train some 1.3 million teachers this year, out of the nearly three million nati

KARACHI: 

The educated in Sindh worry about the education system across the province. They feel that while the biggest chunk of the blame goes to political influences and agendas, everyone needs to be held responsible for the dire situation.

Speakers at a conference titled ‘Education: The Way Forward’ organised by Sindh Association of North America (Sana) at the Pearl Continental Hotel on Saturday critically discussed the educational challenges faced by Sindh.

Despite repeatedly criticising previous governments – both military and democratic- the speakers were quick to point out that teachers, bureaucrats and parents themselves need to take responsibility.

Sukkur Institute of Business Administration director Nisar Ahmed Siddiqui called for a drastic overhaul in school curriculum and criticised the ‘cheating culture’ that plagues students of most colleges.

Senior educationist Fazlullah Qureshi, felt that private organisations need to come forward if the government fails to do anything to improve the education system.

Prominent economist and Balochistan government adviser Kaiser Bengali said that the government needs to revamp the whole education system. “There is no need for 50,000 schools in the province,” he said. “Only 15,000 are enough to provide quality education.” He was also critical of the role that teachers play during elections and called for the Election Commission to address it.

Sana president Jamil Daudi said the organisation wants to help bring about change in the province’s education system.

Government viewpoint

The total education budget for the province is Rs134 billion, revealed Sindh education minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro. Out of this, Rs121 billion is spent on staff salaries, he added.

“We have nearly 49,000 schools in Sindh while Punjab has around 60,000,” said Khuhro. “However, we also have around 25,000 private schools.” The education minister then went on to talk about what the government is doing in terms of education. “We have established 40 universities in the last 10 years and we are providing free education to children between the ages of five and 16,” claimed Khuhro, before quickly admitting that a lot of work is still required. “Despite all of this, education quality in the province leaves a lot to be desired.”

The minister claimed that some senior teachers are better paid than certain ministers, adding that the system has not improved despite facilitating the teaching staff financially. In order to highlight the dearth of competent teachers, he said that while thousands of candidates applied for the 1,200 vacancies, only 700 passed the written test.

“We need to ensure that political agendas do not influence management of Sindh’s education,” said chief secretary Sajjad Saleem Hotiana. “However, it is important to remember that these influences exist all over the country and not just in Sindh.”

Education secretary Fazlullah Pechuho was also critical of Sindh’s education system. “There are 10 schools in certain areas while there are none in others,” he claimed. “We need to increase our pace in order to achieve the goals that have been set for 2015. Let’s confess that we are all responsible for the current predicament.”

US Consul General

The United States (US) consul general Michael Dodman said that education is the first step towards the development of a country. “To provide support for education in Pakistan is one of US government’s top priorities,” said Dodman during the inaugural session. “Education is vital for economic growth.”

Dodman claimed that many education initiatives are underway and added that 5,000 high school students are being provided English language classes across the country – out of these,1,700 students are from Sindh with a majority of them being from Karachi.

“The key is sustainability,” he felt. “While we hope that US funded programs will make a difference, the effort to create sustainable improvements in the quality of education must come from Pakistan.”

The coming year will witness multiple attempts—in the form of lawsuits, ballot initiatives and state-sponsored legislation—all of which are aimed at removing job protections and democratic rights for teachers. The aim of these initiatives is to punish teachers and students for the crisis of capitalism and funnel ever-greater amounts of public funds meant for public education into the pockets of the ultra-rich.

Billionaire-backed education reform groups, having failed to enshrine antidemocratic teacher dismissal procedures into law using the state legislature, are now seeking approval for two ballot measures which, if passed in the November 2014 election, would lead to mass teacher layoffs and lay the foundation for further public school closings and charter conversions.

The first measure, proposed by the organization EdVoice, makes use of recent teacher sexual abuse scandals to create a two-tier dismissal process for teachers. In a blatant attack on democratic rights, those teachers accused of more egregious types of misconduct would actually be subject to an accelerated dismissal procedure regardless of any actual legal findings or the veracity of the accusations made against them. EdVoice is among a number of pro-charter school organizations operating in California backed by large corporate interests. The group was founded in 2001 by Reed Hastings, founder and CEO of Netflix and also a founding member of Green Dot charter schools, which is among the largest charter school operators in the state. Also active in the organization’s founding were Los Angeles billionaire Eli Broad, former GAP CEO Don Fisher and former state assembly members Ted Lempert and Steve Poizner, the latter of whom mounted an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 2010. The group receives significant backing both from the individuals above as well as the Walton Family Foundation.

Bill Lucia, former executive director of the state board of education and current president of EdVoice, made the ballot initiative’s antidemocratic aims explicit in a recent comment to the Sacramento Bee: “As we’ve witnessed over the last two or three legislative cycles, the Legislature has gotten caught up in trying to make the issue of improving the law contingent on treating everyone the same,” he said. According to Lucia, the proposal draws a “bright line about the type of the more egregious version of misconduct.”

The proposal makes clear the antidemocratic character of the “education reform” movement, backed by billionaires and the Democratic Party.

The initiative would allow dismissal hearings involving more severe types of misconduct to be conducted solely by an administrative law judge. It would also make the accused teacher responsible for all legal fees involved with any appeal regardless of outcome. Written charges against teachers could also be continuously amended during the course of the hearing. Complaints, reprimands, punishments and other disciplinary actions would become a permanent part of teachers’ personnel records regardless of their actual validity or length of time passed.

The initiative arrives on the heels of Assembly Bill 375, a similar measure that had passed the state legislature before being vetoed by the governor in late 2013. AB 375 mandated the completion of all dismissal cases within a period of 7 months, would have restricted teachers’ right of appeal to the administrative court itself and would have allowed teachers to be suspended from their positions at any time of year.

Despite the failure of AB 375, the education reform movement was still able to garner significant anti-teacher victories during the course of the year, including the passage of Assembly Bill 449.

AB 449, also known as the California Teacher Accountability Bill, (see“California state legislature passes new attack on teachers” ) punishes school superintendents who do not report teachers who are disciplined or found guilty of misconduct to the state credentialing board within 30 days, which effectively bars them from future work as teachers.

Both of these reactionary bills received full support from the state’s teachers unions.

The California Teachers Association (CTA) issued a press release in 2012 fully supporting the passage of AB 375. It read, in part, “CTA supports streamlining and expediting the dismissal process to keep students safe and safeguard the integrity of the profession.” The union’s press release also brazenly claimed that the bill would “protect the rights of educators.”

As far as AB 449 was concerned, the CTA applauded it as well, claiming it “will go far in ensuring that persons who pose a threat to students will be removed from the classroom and barred from working in any school in the state.” The United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA), representing teachers in the state’s largest school district, also welcomed the bill, as it would, according to UTLA president Warren Fletcher, “ensure district superintendents are held accountable.”

Last month, the UTLA also staged candlelight protests against so-called “teacher jails”—a system in Los Angeles schools which removes teachers facing charges from classrooms at their regular salaries while disciplinary proceedings are underway. Aside from claiming that the teacher jails were a form of “harassment,” the union provided no justification for its decision to launch the protests. Given the protests’ timing, however, one can fairly infer that they’re meant to confuse and disorient membership so that quicker teacher dismissal procedures can be put in place instead.

In addition to the EdVoice proposal, a consulting firm associated with former Washington DC School Chancellor and current head of the anti-teacherStudents First organization Michelle Rhee, is advancing another. This proposal, which also contains teacher dismissal language similar to theEdVoice plan, seeks to remove seniority and teacher tenure as a factor when school districts fire teachers. The measure would base such decisions solely on teacher performance evaluations and student test scores. Students Firstattempted to push a similar measure through the California Legislature in 2012 before that bill died in committee. One of the bill’s champions in the state senate was Ron Calderon, currently the subject of an FBI inquiry into claims that he has accepted more than $88,000 in bribes from hospital executives and film studio heads.

The ballot proposal is in line with the political mission of Students First and other billionaire-backed education reform organizations to end teacher tenure and depress wages.

Should the bill fail to make it onto the November ballot or should voters reject it, other avenues are vigorously being pursued.

One of these is a lawsuit scheduled to be heard in the California Superior Court of Los Angeles County on January 24. Vergara v. California would strike down five provisions of the state’s education code related to teacher dismissal including teacher tenure provisions. The lawsuit is being initiated byStudents Matter, a group created by the education reform movement for the purpose of litigating attacks against teachers and public education.

The law firm of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher, which represents Students Matter, claims the continued presence of underperforming teachers in public schools represents a violation of equal educational opportunities for children as individual teacher effectiveness is considered to be the only significant factor in determining students’ educational and career outcomes.

Entirely absent from the proposals of EdVoice, Students First, and Students Matter, is any mention of billions in cuts to public education, increased class sizes and massive financial hardship for working-class students and families making a quality education nearly unrealizable for all but the children of the very wealthy.

The idea that these initiatives are being launched out of concern for children is a colossal and absurd fraud. Private schools and charters stand to gain billions from new legislation passed at the state and federal level. The Obama Administration’s Race to Top Initiative along with its newly created “Economic Promise Zones” are designed to pump billions of dollars into school districts which implement such anti-teacher initiatives providing a financial bonanza for charter schools in those areas.

Similarly, the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) of state Governor Jerry Brown is poised to bring in nearly $2 billion in the next fiscal year into economically depressed school districts with little state oversight over how the money is being spent. The implementation of the LCFF is based around the same anti-teacher agenda as promoted by the education reform groups. It will mean a full-scale assault against teacher and school staff salaries. For all of its railing against ineffective teachers, the education reform movement and its backers in the Democratic Party rarely, if ever, discuss plans to train and hire effective teachers as an alternative.

Teachers have no friends within the Democratic Party and their own trade unions are making every effort to implement and buttress the political attacks against them. They must organize completely independently of the Democrats and the unions and organize with other sections of the working class both in the United States and internationally to break the stranglehold of profit over education. This is the only way forward for teachers and student youth.

The argument about what is adequate and what is equitable has been waged since the state first gave serious scrutiny to the inequalities in the cost of educating children in 1949, under the Gilmer-Aikin Law. At the time, the law was an attempt to address the dire straits schools were in following the Depression and World War II. The law's chief architect, state Sen. A.M. Aikin Jr., once said of his days as a legislator, "I came here thinking a child ought to get an equal educational opportunity whether he was born in the middle of an oil field or in the middle of a cotton field."

Despite considerable progress in the past 50 years, Aikin's vision has not been fully realized. And it will not be as long as the quality of a child's education and available resources is determined by the ZIP code in which they happen to be born.

At one point, the state's share of public education funding was 87 percent. Today, it is a paltry 44 percent. This is simply unacceptable. As a state, we must invest in public education. It would be misguided to suggest that, because fewer tests are given, the curriculum will somehow become less rigorous.

The notion of giving all children access to the best resources is even more critical, given the state's changing demographics. For more than a decade now, urban school district student populations have been largely made up of minorities. A few years ago, that demographic shift became the reality in Texas public schools as a whole: Ethnic minorities have become the majority.

Conversely, it is those same minority students who all too often are taught by the least experienced teachers and have much less access to technology and other advances necessary to prepare them for the careers of tomorrow.

Texas needs to find a long-term, reliable solution to public school funding. The time for management by crisis - placing Band-Aids on problems to buy a few years between lawsuits - has long since passed.

Texas can do better, and it's time we did.

When the Texas Legislature cut $5.4 billion from school coffers in 2011, school districts and other interested parties filed suit claiming that, as a result of the cuts, the state is failing to live up to its constitutional obligation to provide an adequate public education to all students.

After several weeks of arguments, state District Judge John Dietz agreed. In a ruling from the bench in February, Dietz determined that the Texas school finance system is unconstitutional, but he did not make a formal, final ruling.

Since then, the 83rd Texas Legislature restored $3.4 billion of those funds. And during that same session, lawmakers passed legislation greatly reducing the number of end-of-course exams required in high school. Beginning Jan. 21, Dietz will hear from all sides regarding the impact of restoring those funds.

You can expect the state to argue that because testing requirements have been loosened, educational standards have been lowered, and thus the current funding level is adequate. Nothing is further from the truth.

If we are to prepare students for college and the workforce, academic rigor must be increased.

Texas ranks in the lower 20th percentile among all states in per-pupil spending for public education. Some say Texas ranks 49th, others claim it's closer to 40th. Either way, one could argue that even before the 2011 cuts, schools did not have the sufficient funding necessary to prepare students for college and careers in a highly technological age.