Inaugurating a two days Seminar on 'Distance Education
Disabled Children to get Free Education says Ghana Finance Minister
The Government's numerous policies on investing in people is to pursue a pro-poor agenda that will protect the vulnerable and disadvantage in the society and give them equal opportunities to enhance their standard of living. As a result, the government in the beginning of the fiscal year of 2010 will provide free education to all disable children of school going age. This was revealed by the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Kwabena Duffuor when, he unveiled the 2010 Fiscal Year Budget Statement and Economic Policy in Parliament. Duffuor noted that the government's policy, in investing in people, is to develop the human resource needs of the nation.
In this direction, the government is to begin a massive construction of classrooms and schools in the rural areas to improve teaching and learning. Duffuor observed that the government will continue to pursue measures that will upgrade and improve the lives of teachers in the country. He hinted that in fulfillment of the president's pledge to Ghanaians, modalities for rewarding teachers who accept posting in the rural areas is being considered for implementation in 2010 budget. Duffuor intimated that government will develop an Oil and Gas Industrialisation Plan, to enhance activities of the manufacturing sectors of the economy in creating the needed opportunities in reducing poverty.
Services growing for Online college admissions
A wide range of web sites are aimed at helping high school seniors looking for an upper hand in the ultra-competitive college application process. Go4College.com, for example, uses analytics that incorporate a student's GPA, SAT score, and a host of other factors to quantify the student's chances to win admittance at various schools. The site produces a percentage that shows how likely the student is to be accepted. Other web sites, such as Accepted.com, sell products such as 'Submit a Stellar Application: 42 Terrific Tips.'
iAdmissions.com, a California-based site launched in September, is straying from the automated advice model and bringing current and former applications officials to students whose families can't afford a high-priced personal advisor. Students pay between $129 and $399 for college counseling, depending on the level of application help they want–compared to thousands of dollars for a private counselor. iAdmissions counselors include admissions officials from Harvard, Brown, and Stanford universities. Van Niekerk said admissions advice companies have had to establish an online presence in recent years as their target audience has become more reliant on the Internet for everything from homework to social networking to shopping.
CANARIE announces funding for the World’s first wind and solar powered Internet network
An announcement was made by CANARIE, Canada's Advanced Research and Innovation Network, for providing funds worth $2.4 million for four ground-breaking Green IT projects aimed at reducing ICT's carbon footprint and measuring the impact of ICT and cyber-infrastructure on university electric consumption. CANARIE's biggest Green IT funding recipient is the GreenStar Network, an alliance of Canada's leading IT companies, universities and international partners, led by Quebec's
Tech Application allows texting by students in classrooms
At Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, where some professors, especially those who teach in large lecture halls, have come to embrace social networking as an instructional aid. Using an application developed on campus, the educators who enrolled in the program have come to think of social networking via texting and online portals as a tool, rather than a distraction. Known as Hotseat, the application allows students to comment on the class and then enables other participants, including professors, students, and teaching assistants, to view those messages. Students either use their Twitter, Facebook or MySpace accounts to post the messages or log in to the Hotseat Web site to send text messages. The application resides on the Web; there is no software for professors or students to install.
Created by a team of developers that includes Kyle Bowen, Purdue's director of informatics, Hotseat was intended as a way to manage the logistics of teaching a classroom of 100-plus students. Bowen told the team's first stop was at online portals like Twitter and Facebook, both of which have proven themselves as effective social networking tools for people worldwide. The problem is that such tools allow anyone and everyone to 'connect' in a way that isn't always productive in the educational environment.
LLB course might turn into a One Year Course
After a Round Table on Legal Education, the Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has decided to shorten the two-year LL.M course to half. The proposal gained the consensus of all the legal luminaries who said that the two-year programme served no purpose and the final decision rested upon that of all the stake-holders. In addition to this, the Round Table, through the 'Professional-Public-Private-Partnership' model, has decided to set up a national-level research institution over the next three years.
The proposal is yet to get the nod of the Planning Commission which is why it is still at the nascent stage even after the suggestion of the National Knowledge Commission (NKC). The Round Table has further decided to revive the proposal to work towards a model research institution, allowing a comprehensive study in the emerging area of legal jurisprudence and subjects which need research like environment law, patent law and competition law. This brief could well be handed over to the proposed institution since India has no mechanism for impact analysis of judgments. The plan also mentions about introducing a new course for para-legals for an year duration.
Appeal for computers at school by PTA
The Parent/Teacher Association (PTA) of Kaasi M/A Basic School in Kumasi has appealed to timber firms and organizations operating in the area to help provide the school with computers to strengthen the teaching of Information Communication Technology (ICT). The Member of Parliament for Asokwa, Maxwell Kofi Jumah has, through his share of the Common Fund, built a computer laboratory for the school but it has not been functional. Issah Sarpong, the PTA Chairman, said the association had provided two computers and accessories for the school and that given the population of pupils, this is woefully inadequate.
Computers and ICT Centre to Shehu Shagari College by Universal Service Provision Fund
The Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) has donated 100 desktop computers, ICT facilities and broadband Internet connectivity, worth N20 million to Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto. The donation was made under its Tertiary Institution Access Project (TIAP).Speaking at the commissioning ceremony in Sokoto, the Secretary, Funso Fayomi told that the facilities would enable students to download reading materials that would aid their educational pursuits. He explained that the move was aimed at providing students in tertiary institutions across the country with equal access to vital communication facilities, as no individual should be left behind in the race towards a global community.
According to him, the Internet connectivity was for two years, after which the institution was expected to generate income for its maintenance by charging for its use. Access to ICT facilities, he said would assist in bridging the growing gap between the 'information rich and information poor', and provide a level playing ground for all communities in the country to compete equally. Fayomi explained that the fund had already provided computers and broadband connectivity to 68 tertiary institutions while 476 secondary schools were also provided with computers and high speed Internet connection. He mentioned that the fund had provided computers and Internet connection to some selected schools and laptop computers for teachers, adding that each school got a wireless mesh to connect all the computers, while the teachers' laptops operated as servers, giving them control over the students. While urging students to make judicious use of the facilities, Fayomi stressed that the intention of USPF was to ensure that nobody was excluded.
Singapore Centre for Chinese Language collaborates with 4 Universities for improving quality of Chinese teaching
The Singapore Centre for Chinese Language is collaborating with the Media Development Authority (MDA), SIM University (UniSIM), the University of Hong Kong and NTUC's SEED Institute to improve Chinese teaching standards. The collaborations aim to help Chinese teachers upgrade their teaching skills. The partnership with SEED Institute, Singapore's largest training institute for early childhood education, will offer pre-school mandarin teachers a part-time Chinese degree programme in the same area.
The collaboration with MDA will focus on integrating information and communication technology (ICT) into the learning and teaching of the Chinese language. SIM University will offer a part-time Bachelor's degree for Chinese teachers who are diploma holders. The programme will commence in 2010. The centre will also cooperate with the University of Hong Kong from next year, offering teachers a master's degree program focussing on curriculum planning.
Aid to street children by Delhi school
St. Columba's School here is all set to host a music concert on Friday, not just to entertain the audience, but raise funds for mid-day meals and a hostel for disadvantaged slum and street children. A portion of the fund collected, approximately INR 150,000, will also be contributed towards building a hostel for street kids in the same area. According to Lobo, the project of the hostel is a joint initiative of different schools. Besides accommodating them, the hostel will offer space for educational activities for the street kids. The musical evening will see Dhwani, a multi-lingual group of singers, perform in the school.
