Religious extremists are using schools to narrow children’s horizons and “pervert education”, England’s chief inspector of schools has warned. Amanda Spielman said some community leaders see schools as vehicles to “indoctrinate impressionable minds” – with extremist ideology in some cases.
Ofsted inspectors are increasingly coming into contact with such extremists, she said.
She is asking head teachers to confront those who foster extremist behaviour.
It comes after an east London head teacher who tried to stop girls under the age of eight from wearing a hijab in the classroom was subjected to a campaign of abuse.
“Rather than adopting a passive liberalism that says anything goes, for fear of causing offence, schools leaders should be promoting a muscular liberalism,” Ms Spielman has said at a conference held by the Church of England in London.
Source : BBC
Federal Government would declare a state of emergency in the education sector in April
Malam Adamu Adamu, Minister of Education says Federal Government would declare a state of emergency in the education sector in April. He made this disclosure when he received Gov. Abubakar Sani-Bello of Niger and some members of his cabinet at the Federal Ministry of Education Headquarters in Abuja.
Adamu requested the support of all states governors to do the same in their respective states. “By the end of April, we are proposing there will be a declaration of state of emergency in the education sector all over the country. We request all the state governors to do same in their states and we hope that once this is done our educational sector will improve.
“I will also meet with the governors to appeal to them to give special emphasis to address the problem of low standard of education especially at primary level,” he said.
The minister said the ministry was planning to present a proposal to the National Council of State for graduates of education to henceforth be employed on Grade Level 10 of eight. He said the proposal would also include offering employment to students studying education in tertiary institutions.
Saving the Environment through Education
In line with its believe in sustaining the environment through continuous research, Chevron Nigeria Limited has since 2006, through the S.L Edu Research Grant, awarded scholarships to doctoral candidates whose research works are on environmental conservation and sustainable development in Nigeria.
The company recently added two more scholars to the list of beneficiaries during the 16th Chief S.L Edu Memorial Lecture. Uchechukwu Nnaike reports
The earth is being polluted on a daily basis as a result of the activities of man; sometimes these activities are carried out in ignorance. Education is therefore vital in the campaign for a safe and sustainable environment.
Source : ThisDay
Student sues UNIABUJA, seeks N100m damages
A legal practitioner and civil rights activist, Anthony Ejumejowo, has dragged the University of Abuja to a Federal Capital Territory High Court, over the delay in the supervision of his Master’s degree in Law project by a lecturer in the institution, Dr Lawrence Chukwu.
Ejumejowo said the absence and unavailability of the supervisor did not only stall the progress of his research work, but it also delayed the conclusion of his academic work over 14 months since the conclusion of the 2015/16 academic session.
Source : Punch
JAMB directs all institutions to end 2017 admissions by Jan. 25
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Thursday directed all tertiary institutions to end their 2017 admission by January 25. The Board’s Head of Media, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Abuja.
Benjamin said the board’s decision came after a meeting where all issues and ones bordering on the admission process were taken into consideration.
Source : Vanguard
We’ve won a victory for public education in Kaduna – El-Rufai
The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on Monday said the state has secured a major victory for public education by defeating an indefinite strike by the Nigerian Union of Teachers, NUT without recalling any of the sacked teachers.
The NUT, supported by the Nigeria Labour Congress, had called the strike to demand the recall of about 22,000 primary school teachers sacked by the state government for failing a competency test.
In his first public reaction to the collapse of the NUT strike, Mr. El-Rufai said there was no time to dwell on the euphoria of removing trade union obstacle to better standards in the education sector.
Source : PremiumTimes
Why Education in Prison Matters
Tufts’ new college-in-prison program is hosting a two-day symposium, Prison and Education: The Responsibility of Engagement, on February 1 and 2.
It will include speakers who are graduates of college-in-prison programs, representatives from prisoner advocacy organizations, including formerly incarcerated people. The event, the first of its kind at Tufts, is free and open to the public.
The symposium, which seeks to bring knowledge of prison and education issues to a wider audience, is part of the Tufts University Prison Initiative at Tisch College, which includes a new undergraduate course at the Massachusetts Correctional Institute (MCI) in Shirley, Massachusetts. Hilary Binda, AG03, founding director of the program, last fall brought ten undergraduates to the medium-security prison, where they discussed literature with ten incarcerated men, who earned college credit for the class. The course is being offered again this semester.
Source : TUFTS
Apple CEO Tim Cook: Education is a great equalizing force
Apple CEO and philanthropist Tim Cook announced today a partnership with Nobel Peace Prize-winner Malala Yousafzai and her Malala Fund as part of the tech company’s latest efforts to support global education initiatives.
“We believe that education is a great equalizing force and we share Malala Fund’s commitment to give every girl an opportunity to go to school,” Cook said in a news release.
Yousafzai was shot in 2012 by a Taliban gunman for advocating women’s education. Since then, she has become a renowned activist for equal rights. As of fall 2017, the 20-year-old is studying at the University of Oxford.
Source : CNBC
Anti-open grazing law will enable herdsmen’s children acquire education – Bishop Aveya
Bishop William Aveya of Gboko Catholic Diocese in Benue has said that the anti-open grazing law passed by the state government would enable children of herdsmen to acquire education.
“Open grazing makes it impossible for the children of herdsmen to acquire education because they remain in the bush chasing cows.
“If the herdsmen embrace ranches, the children will be less busy with the cattle and have more time for education which is very crucial to a better future,” Aveya told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Gboko on Monday.
Source : Guardian
Microsoft unveils cheap laptops, more tools for education
Microsoft added that JP, a manufacturing partner in emerging markets, has two new models for education customers.
When it comes to the lucrative education market, Microsoft doesn’t want to be left behind especially when that Google’s Chromebooks are increasingly popular with schools. Microsoft’s big selling point this year? More cheap Windows 10 notebooks starting at $189, and a Minecraft: Education Edition update focused on chemistry. As you’d expect, the company also has plenty of updates in tow for its Office 365 education tools, which should make lives easier for teachers and students alike.