Education takes a hit in Myanmar’s Kachin State
“The biggest problem is we need more teachers. However, many who are qualified are afraid to work in the area because of the ongoing conflict and the recent attacks,” Haundang said.
Some 47,000 people are in IDP camps in KIA-controlled areas, with thousands more staying with host families, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on 18 April.
Thousands of school-age children have been affected by the conflict, with varying access to education facilities.
In KIA-controlled areas, volunteer teachers have been used to maintain education services for the displaced. However, financial support for this effort is lacking. A comprehensive assessment of the education sector is urgently needed to better determine the number of children in need of education support, gaps in school supplies, and the absorption capacity of existing schools, OCHA said.
23 April 2013 – Calling for quick action by authorities in the Central African Republic (CAR), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today warned that education was becoming another casualty of the months-long conflict, with half the country’s schools shuttered and hundreds of thousands of students at risk of missing out the entire year.
At least 250,000 children who started the 2012-2013 primary school year, and 30,000 who were in secondary school at the start of the crisis, could lose the entire school year if schools do not re-open in the coming weeks, the agency said in a news release. (via United Nations News Centre - Children’s education in Central Africa Republic devastated by conflict, UN says)
[Viet Nam] Weekly boarding schools provide education and security for vulnerable children
“Many ethnic minority children come from very poor families and do not even have education, healthcare, good nutrition or water and sanitation,” says UNICEF Viet Nam Education Chief Mitsue Uemura. “Oftentimes, they are also neglected, abused or forced into child labour and early marriage.”
This support is reflected at the national level where, thanks to UNICEF’s advocacy, the government has issued a new policy that provides support to children in boarding schools – such as meals, accommodation and a small allowance for entertainment activities and sports.
[NEW ZEALAND] Cyber bullying is reaching epidemic proportions in secondary schools, prompting principals to throw their support behind extraordinary measures that could give them the powers to search and seize pupils’ phones and iPads.
Palmerston North’s principals want stronger tools to combat cyber bullying in schools, and are backing the Ministry of Education’s push to give teachers the right to confiscate pupils’ internet capable devices to find evidence of foul play in text messages, photographs, or online, in changes proposed within the Education Amendment Bill.
![[US] Galloway, a mostly middle-class community northwest of Atlantic City, is part of a wave of districts across the nation trying to remake homework amid concerns that high-stakes testing and competition for college have fueled a nightly grind that is stressing out children and depriving them of play and rest, yet doing little to raise achievement, particularly in elementary grades. (via In Homework Revolt, More Schools Districts Cutting Back - NYTimes.com)](http://24.media.tumblr.com/1ef5977c66a71b7a19199e7ca82d64c9/tumblr_mkvuklTsRx1qb8rnio1_500.jpg)
[US] Galloway, a mostly middle-class community northwest of Atlantic City, is part of a wave of districts across the nation trying to remake homework amid concerns that high-stakes testing and competition for college have fueled a nightly grind that is stressing out children and depriving them of play and rest, yet doing little to raise achievement, particularly in elementary grades. (via In Homework Revolt, More Schools Districts Cutting Back - NYTimes.com)
[HOMS, SYRIA] In an unfinished housing complex in Al-Wa’ar neighbourhood, where many displaced families from other parts Homs have taken shelter … young boys and girls huddled closely together in the heated rooms, the sound of children’s laughter bouncing off walls decorated with brightly-coloured drawings and educational posters.
These makeshift classrooms are often the only form of education available for displaced children in Homs. “I wake up every morning excited to come to class,” said Oula, an 8-year-old girl. “I miss my old school. But at least here I can learn, draw and play with friends.”
(source: Children find a safe space to learn in conflict-torn Homs, Syrian Arab Republic)
Teachers join Rally in Fukushima | Teacher Solidarity
Fukishima Teachers Union members were among the participants at a rally in Fukushima earlier this month. The rally was called to commemorate the second anniversary of the nuclear disaster in Fukushima on March 11th 2011, which left the area contaminated by radiation. Teachers and children are having to work in schools whose grounds are radioactive and the first reports of sickness as a result are beginning to emerge.
… I simply asked the students to tell me their experiences, and they bravely and honestly did – even with a video camera in the room. They talked about the family members they have lost – every single one of them knows someone who has been shot. They talked about their fears that an unspeakable tragedy like Newtown could happen at their own school, and their doubts they would survive to live a full lifetime. And they talked about the senselessness of the violence—people getting shot over a pair of shoes.
These are kids who deserve the best. They’re trying to do all the right things, and they deserve more than we adults have done for them. It’s our job to create a climate where they can grow and learn free from fear, and as you will hear, we are far from succeeding at our task. We need to do better.
(via The Impact of Gun Violence: A Conversation with Students | ED.gov Blog)
The Singapore Ministry of Education has been surveying educators and parents about their concerns with the Singapore education system. The results reveal worries about a perceived over-emphasis on exams and grades that contribute to a high stress education system that overlooks non-academic talents.
