Stories about Education from October, 2011
Colombia: Students Protest Higher Education Reform
Mike shares pictures of the October 12 student protests in Bogota: “Striking university students have got classes suspended at many of the public universities and vow to stay on strike until the government gives up on a proposed university reform, called Law 30, which would permit private investment in public...
Chile: Education Reform Triumphs in Unofficial Plebiscite
After five months of protests and school takeovers, Chile’s student movement continues to mobilize for an overhaul of the country’s education system. Over the weekend an overwhelming majority of Chileans voted in favor of education reform in an unofficial and symbolic plebiscite.
Puerto Rico: Legal Action Against Medical School?
“On October 3rd, a school of medicine in Puerto Rico, the San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, was punished for its negligence and incompetence by becoming the first U.S.-based institution to completely lose its accreditation”: Gil the Jenius has taken the closure personally (his wife was in her final year...
Azerbaijan: More Voices
Aaron in Azerbaijan introduces his readers to other bloggers writing from the former Soviet republic, including one half of his two fellow PCVs who went viral with their Caspian Dreaming music video and a young female blogger already making a name for herself with personal observations of life in her...
India: Torture By Teachers
Kenney Jacob posts a first hand report from a student of an engineering college in central Kerala which tells about torture by teachers in that institution leading to a female student being hospitalized.
Curacao: Triple 10 – Fooled Again?
A year after the dissolution of the Dutch Caribbean federation formerly known as the Netherlands Antilles, TRIUNFO DI SABLIKA examines the fallout: “They still whipping us with a refurbished copy paste Dutch colonial constitution. Same old problematic political coalition system. New government old tricks new business elite same greediness as...
India: Malpractices In Coaching Centers
Vijay Menon writes about some coaching centers which engage in malpractices to get substandard students enrolled in the much craved Indian Institute for Technologies, a group of autonomous engineering and technology-oriented institute of higher education in India.
Taiwan: Tribute to Steve Jobs
Programmer and open source activist Timdream wrote a tribute to Mr. Steve Jobs, about how his life matches with Mr. Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement address, in which he ask Stanford graduates to “look backwards and connect the dots”.
Kenya: Movie About Oldest Kenyan Primary School Pupil
Africa Expat Wife writes about The First Grader, a movie about Maruge – the oldest Kenyan primary school pupil: “I am gutted that they didn't call the movie ‘Form One’ – which would have been a lot more apt and less corny, however, it's the true story of a man...
Colombia: Expouniversidad 2011 in Medellín
The University of Antioquia and Colciencias (Administrative Department of Science, Technology and Innovation) [es], together with other organizations, have opened the sixth version [es] of Expouniversidad 2011 [es] (Sep.29 to Oct.7) in Medellín [es] to promote learning and to show advances in projects related to science, technology and innovation in...
Russia: State-Funded Blogging School Opens in Chelyabinsk
Svetlana Gladkova of Profy comments on the launch of the first public blogging school in Chelyabinsk, Russia: “This state-funded not-for-profit nature of the school is particularly interesting because it looks like the authorities in Russia have not only realized the power of social media but have decided to influence it...
Curacao: Remembering Our Heroes
TRIUNFO DI SABLIKA remembers the day in 1795 when “Tula and the rest of our liberation warriors [were] executed after they revolted against the Dutch slavery system”, saying: “One of the main reasons you forget about the killings of our freedom fighting warriors easily is because we have a cultural...
China: Student Interns Or Cheap Labourers?
To tackle the labour shortage emerging in China, the government has started encouraging privately run institutes to expand vocational schools. Student labourers enrolled in the so-called “factory in front, school at the back” model have been sharing their grievances online.
Bangladesh: Bloggers Will Not Be Silenced
Blogger Asif Mohiuddin, 28, was recently detained by police for organizing rallies through Facebook and blogs to support students protesting against the privatization of Jagannath University. Asif was later released after submitting a bond to refrain from such activities; here are reactions from netizens.
Chile: September 29 Student Protests in Photos
Adam Isacson links to a Flickr photostream with photos by Marcos S. González Valdés of the latest student protest which took place on September 29. The images, as Adam Isacson points out, are under a Creative Commons license.
Singapore: Shortage of Qualified Doctors
To address the lack of qualified medical professionals in Singapore, the government is hiring more foreign doctors aside from asking its Singapore-trained doctors who are working abroad to come home already
Meritocracy in Singapore
Elvin Ong proposes some reflective questions in understanding meritocracy in Singapore society. Some scholars blame the system for being ‘elitist and heartless.’
