· March, 2013

Stories about Education from March, 2013

Thailand: Mobile App for Autistic

  30 March 2013

The Autism Foundation of Thailand has developed a mobile application known as ‘True Autistic’ aimed at enhancing the “physical and mental development of the autistic, and provide guidance to their parents.” Since its launching, it has scored almost 200,000 downloads. According to a report written by Thanya Kunakornpaiboonsiri, there are...

Film Exposes Madagascar's Child Sex Trade

  27 March 2013

The journeyman.tv published on March 25 a detailed investigation using undercover filming to expose the booming child sex trade in Madagascar: One mother in the film testifies: My daughter was at school, I had no money and no job so she decided to become a prostitute. I finally decided not...

Despite Bans, China's Uyghurs Wear their Identity with Pride

  27 March 2013

A viral photo showing Uyghur students being punished for wearing Muslims caps in Xinjiang's Urumqi city has been labelled by the authorities as a "rumor" and a "plot" by "outside forces." But many Uyghurs wonder when the government will show some respect for their culture.

Chinese Mom Buys NYC Apartment for Toddler

  26 March 2013

China's state media CCTV News ran a video report on a Chinese mom who bought a USD $6.5 million apartment in Manhattan for her two-year daughter, in preparation for her daughter's college life in NYC. Offbeat China has translated the report.  

24 hours in the Life of a French Newsroom

  25 March 2013

The Journalism School of Lille [fr], in partnership with Canal France International (CFI), set up a website for online resources on journalism: 24 hours in the life of a newsroom. The objective of the site is that anyone who so wishes can learn through the experience of media professionals. The...

Nine Street Kids Die in Senegal Quran School Fire

  25 March 2013

A raging fire that broke out in Dakar, Senegal in a crowded Islamic school room where students were sleeping killed at least nine children on the night of Sunday 3 March, 2013. The tragedy has highlighted just how tough living conditions for Quran school students, known as talibs, can be.

Digital Freedom: Principles and Concepts

The Egyptian Institute for Freedom of Thought and Expression issued its first statement on digital freedom, a simplified research paper to propose definitions for digital rights and related principles which the paper summarised as: universal access, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to privacy, and the right to creativity, development and innovation.

China's Red Army Returns Online and Hunts Students

  25 March 2013

In China's Southern Guangdong province, a local University has been monitoring student conversation online and controlling their negative sentiment for the last 3 years.The news triggered outrage online; many think the university has violated student privacy and demanded a stop to the system.

Trinidad & Tobago: Falling Apart?

  25 March 2013

The Eternal Pantomime sees disturbing parallels between the late Chinua Achebe's famous novel ‘Things Fall Apart’ and the political and social climate in Trinidad and Tobago.

Jamaica: The Female Image in Dancehall

  24 March 2013

[It] can be seen…as a celebration of full-bodied female sexuality. Especially the substantial structure of the Black working-class woman whose body image is rarely validated… Jamaica Woman Tongue thinks International Women's Month is the perfect time to put forward a different perspective of dancehall culture.

Bolivia: Book Bill Excludes Copyleft

  23 March 2013

Bolivian activists are on alert [es] and writing a collaborative proposal [es] on the new Book and Reading Act [es] in the Plurinational Legislative Asemply (Parliament). The bill seeks to encourage the production and reading of texts of various kinds in the country; however, the bill passed by the Lower...

Religious Hatred on Facebook in Tajikistan

  20 March 2013

The shattered system of primary and secondary education, corrupt and rotten system of higher education, the official clergy which has lost [people's] trust, the absence of state-controlled religious education, weak and will-less intellectuals, the presence of a large number of uncontrolled websites with extremist and jihadist content - these are the major reasons why an increasing number of young individuals in our country become extremists.

A Look Inside the Indigenous University of Venezuela

Rising Voices  18 March 2013

What is it like to be a student at the Indigenous University of Venezuela? Three students from the department of edu-communication recently took part in a workshop led by Rising Voices in order to learn how to take better digital photographs and how to upload and share them on the internet.

Philippines: Forced to Leave School Due to Unpaid Fees, Student Commits Suicide

  18 March 2013

A 16-year old college freshman in the University of the Philippines Manila committed suicide after she was forced by the school administration to stop attending her classes because of unpaid tuition. Grief and sympathy poured all over social networking sites over her untimely passing. Many also expressed outrage over the highly commercialized system of education in the country

Learning Computer Science in Vietnam

  18 March 2013

Neil Fraser visited a Vietnamese elementary school and was quite impressed with the computer science curriculum for young students: I had walked into that class prepared to help them in any way that I could. But instead of the school learning from my experience, I learned from them. They showed...