International News

Letter from London

School education reform debate

J. Thomas

The Tomlinson Report proposes replacing GCSEs and A-level (class XII) certificates with a new single diploma programme spread over a ten year period, slashing the number of exams pupils currently have to take. Under the proposal students would have the option of taking either an ‘open diploma’ in which they could pick their own combination of subjects from a choice of 15-20, or choose a ‘specialised diploma’ from a ‘line of modules’ that would translate into a specific diploma such as leisure and tourism or science. To be awarded either diploma every student would also have to study ‘core’ subjects, so that everyone leaves school with the basic abilities of literacy, numeracy, and ICT (information and communication technology) skills.

Pupils would also be able to show off personal skills by producing an extended piece of work such as an essay or performance. Finally the report calls upon school managements to encourage ‘wider activities’ such as awards, work experience, paid jobs, family responsibilities and voluntary work, which will not be assessed. Students would be able to progress at their own rate, paving the way for mixed-aged classes, although schoolteachers are lukewarm about this recommendation.

Education minister Clarke is enthused by the report. According to him the Tomlinson Committee has produced a "cogently argued, challenging and compelling vision of the future".

On the other hand business leaders are less euphoric. They don’t believe that the diploma syllabuses will solve the problem of inadequate literacy and numeracy skills in the workforce, says Richard Wilson, head of business policy at the Institute of Directors (IoD).

Clarke made a statement to Parliament on the Tomlinson report on October 18. The government now has to decide whether it will back the report in toto, or adopt only its key recomme-ndations. Tomlinson has already opined that he does not believe the graduate diploma proposal will work if only parts of it are adopted. Meanwhile the department for education and skills is reported to have already drawn up a timetable for the implementation of the Tomlinson Report.

In the cause of rounded education the proposals are encouraging, and seem to take a more flexible and realistic view of school education. Most educationists agree that both academic and vocational qualifications are essential. There is a need to push the boundaries of knowledge forward, but we also need people with practical knowledge of how increasingly ubiquitous technology works.

China

Resolute English language learning drive

The Chinese government’s ‘great leap forward’ for English is presented as a campaign to raise English language levels and standards of teaching nationwide. But, in practice, proficiency in English remains an unrealistic goal for all but a wealthy, urban elite. And there is growing concern that as well as deepening social divides the current obsession with acquiring English proficiency may also undermine competence in the national language. "In colleges and universities, English language is placed in a superior position, which, to some extent, decides the future of the students and even that of the faculties," says Li Yong-tao, a professor of English language and culture at Shanghai University.

Mainland English learners: social divide fears

"From 2004, different provinces have the authority to decide whether oral English is included in the local college entrance examination," says Mabel Huang, a Shanghai high school teacher. She is one of hundreds of English teachers who have travelled to Britain for training under a cooperative scheme between the Shanghai and Jiangsu province governments and the British Council in Shanghai. The programme, which started in 2002, aims to train up to 1,300 teachers in methodology skills that they can pass on to others when they return to China. "They will cascade the training they receive," says Jeff Streeter, head of the British Council in Shanghai. "We hope this will reach 30,000-40,000 EFL (English as foreign language) teachers in Jiangsu, for instance."

But professor Li is among those who are concerned about the relevance of these skills. He takes the view that the new curriculum and the pedagogical changes will "absolutely not" work in areas other than Shanghai and other relatively wealthy places in the near future. "It is not a mere technological question," says Li. "There are too many differences between the large cities and rural areas in China. With the weak economy, poor families, mediocre equipment and lack of skilled teachers, many schools in rural China will not keep up with the new situation."

But Streeter says that the push for English is delivering results. "There is a relatively high level of English — in the workplace and schools, and with people you meet — and it has notably improved over the last few years. Though the general level of English is still behind most European countries, it is well in advance of Japan. For instance Shanghai’s mission to become an international city — backed up by the World Expo to be held in the city in 2010 — is being taken very seriously by the government." And, Streeter points out, 32,000 Chinese students were studying in Britain last year.

With such a drive to create strong English language standards in Shanghai there is even talk of citizens being bilingual within a generation. "As far as I’m concerned, large cities like Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu will be bilingual within the next ten years," says Li.

United States

American varsities dominate TES global rankings

Harvard vista: global top rank

The US boasts seven institutions among the top ten universities of the world. But the rankings, based on the opinions of academic experts and latest measures of research excellence and teaching capacity, reveal an academic elite scattered across the globe. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich; Tokyo University in Japan; Beijing University in China; the Australian National University and the National University of Singapore all feature in the top 20. India’s IITs are the only Indian institutions in the list — collectively ranked 40th.

Comments John Hood, vice-chancellor of Oxford: "This is a very welcome endorsement of our success at Oxford and the transformation in our governance in recent years, led by my predecessors. It has been achieved in spite of serious under-resourcing and consequent over dependency on institutional reserves. Increased revenues from the government’s research policies and from fees will alleviate this pressure somewhat, but they will not be sufficient to maintain our international competitiveness against the aggressive investment trends across the Atlantic."

At the heart of the World University Rankings is an unprecedented survey of 1,300 academics in 88 countries, spanning the academic disciplines. The rankings are based on the latest and most robust measures of excellence. These include the number of times that research papers published by academics are cited by colleagues — highlighting the intellectual clout of institutions. Universities also benefited from having high staff-to-student ratios — one of the most reliable indicators of commitment to teaching. Lastly, the institutions were rewarded for the number of students and staff recruited from overseas.

The full table shows that the top 200 universities are to be found in 29 countries, with the US, UK, Germany and Australia especially dominant. They have 62, 30, 17 and 14 entries respectively.

Britain rated most expensive for students

Britain has the highest living costs among the main English-speaking nations for foreign students, according to a new report, sparking fears that British universities could lose out in the lucrative market for overseas students. An investigation into the living and study expenses of overseas students reveals that it is cheaper to live in America, Canada, New Zealand and Australia than in Britain.

Moreover tuition fees at British universities are the second most expensive, exceeded only by private and some public universities in the US. Therefore British universities have to work much harder to capitalise on the global demand for international education, warns a report on the research.

The report, by Australian recruiting agency IDP Education in collaboration with the Centre for International Economics, says that today’s foreign students are "more savvy". It attributes this to the wide range of information available from sources including agents, exhibitions, the internet and marketing initiatives. "This implies that students will look for a wider range of options than in the past," it says. "Some of these options will be the possibility of studying in Asia, where good quality education and good employment outcomes at an affordable cost are offered," the report adds.

But the British Council, which leads the UK’s efforts to recruit international students, questions some aspects of the survey — specifically assumptions about the level of fees in US public universities, where ‘sticker’ prices are often discounted. Neil Kemp, director of the council’s UK marketing division, says the report’s messages are directed towards the Australian government. These were specifically that Asian study destinations were the major competitors and that longer courses, particularly at postgraduate level, make Australia relatively uncompetitive. "Our studies suggest that demand for quality higher education is not quite so price sensitive. The message we are getting is the perception that the UK represents quality education," says Kemp

The researchers reviewed tuition fees for nearly 600 courses in business, information technology and engineering — the most popular among foreign students — along with living expenses. The cost of studying in each country was calculated by adding average tuition fees, health cover and expenses such as study materials to the cost of living.

The reports says the cost of living in Britain is equivalent to $11,150 (Rs.5.24 lakh) a year, while in Australia it exceeded $9,500 (Rs.4.4 lakh) for the first time this year. Living expenses in the US and Canada are lower, at $9,000 (Rs.4.2 lakh) a year each, while New Zealand is least expensive at $8,700 (Rs.4.08 lakh).

Of six Asian countries, the annual cost of living ranges from $7,080 (Rs.3.3 lakh) in Hong Kong to $1,515 (Rs.71,205) in India. Singapore is the second most expensive place to live for foreign students, requiring a yearly outlay of $6,410 (Rs.3.1 lakh) compared with $5,220 (Rs.2.4 lakh) in China, $3,785 (Rs.1.7 lakh) in Malaysia and $2,900 (Rs.1.3 lakh) in Thailand.

The hidden cost of civil war

Anguish in Sudan: desperation to rebuild

But today Rumbek secondary is open again with 610 students, a symbol of hope for a people desperate to rebuild. There is no electricity and headmaster Dut Makoi must deal with classes as big as 70, parents who wish to pay their fees in cows and the fact that only five of his 27 teachers are trained.

Nevertheless, unlike most southern Sudanese teachers, they are paid and work in sturdy stone buildings. In fact Rumbek secondary represents the best education in rebel held southern Sudan. One of only 20 secondaries in an area twice as big as France, its pupils come from 200 miles away.

Eight miles down the often barely passable main road at Pachong primary the ‘classrooms’ have no walls and consist of thatched roofs resting on poles. There were four classrooms for the 436 pupils, until one was destroyed by ants, forcing one class to shelter under a tree. Head, Gabriel Malith, explains his village cannot afford proper buildings and laughs at the notion that he and his staff should be paid. "These are our children and our future. How can we ask the community to pay us to educate them?"

Southern Sudan’s education statistics make depressing reading: Less than 22 percent of primary-age children attend school, and of those only 27 percent are girls. Just 6 percent of teachers have had a year or more pre-service training, and in half the schools children have no access to safe water.

British prime minister Tony Blair promised earlier this month to put Africa at the top of the industrial nations’ agenda. Last year his government gave £28 million (Rs.238 crore) in aid to Sudan, and the department for international development has said this will increase "considerably" when peace is achieved. But Rebecca Lewis, from the Consortium for Education and Training for South Sudan says more money is needed to start training teachers and administrators now. "Without this preparation for peace local people will not be able to have the stake they need in their education system and valuable aid will be spent bringing in outside expertise."

Controversy over depiction of soft side of Adolf Hitler

German politicians are demanding that a new film portraying Adolf Hitler as a ‘soft-spoken man with a human side’ should be made compulsory viewing for all school pupils. The controversial film Der Untergang (The Downfall), which follows the Fuhrer’s last days in his underground bunker during the destruction of the Third Reich, has divided critics and historians. The dictator shares a passionate kiss with his mistress Eva Braun, is shown as glossy-eyed as Josef Goebbels’ children sing songs for him in the bunker, and is depicted as constantly kind and polite to his secretaries.

Hans Mommsen, a historian from Berlin says pupils will be deceived by the film. "Reducing history to a purely personal story is absolutely unsuitable for creating an understanding of the enormity of historical processes."

But teacher Anna Riesener also from Berlin, who has already taken her pupils to see the film, says it provides both an emotional and historical basis for discussion. "I can take many of the scenes from the film and use them as a basis for discussion in the classroom." Adds British historian Ian Kershaw, who has written numerous books on the Nazi dictator: "Of all the portrayals of Hitler, this is the first I have found convincing."

It is precisely because the film has provoked such debate that politicians across the spectrum of opinion believe it could be an important teaching tool. Cornelia Pieper, general secretary of the liberal opposition Free Democratic Party, says that like Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, the film offers an "enrichment for all history lessons" and should be shown to all students aged 13 and above.

The film-makers have brought out a teaching guide for use in history, religion and ethics, social studies and art. It gives suggestions for brainstorming or allowing the students to put themselves in the role of a historian who wants to research the history of National Socialism.

Bernd Eichinger, the film’s director, says it was time for Germans to "find the courage" to tackle the most taboo man in their history.

Universities task force for Mafia studies

A dozen italian universities have joined forces to study and analyse the Mafia and other criminal organisations such as the Camorra and Ndrangheta. The programme also covering new crime syndicates from Eastern Europe and China, is being coordinated by the National Anti-Mafia Commission. Findings will be used by government agencies, the judiciary and the police in planning anti-Mafia strategies.

Says Senator Roberto Centaro, president of the commission: "The faculties most involved will be law and political science. But we also expect important results from the economics faculties, particularly in studying the methods used to recycle money from criminal activities."

The universities will study the methods, ramifications and sociological phenomena of organised crime and its economic mechanisms. They will act as consultants to the commission, with reports, seminars and training projects to help legislators and law enforcers deal with Mafia activities such as protection, drugs and arms trafficking, political corruption and prostitution. The universities taking part are La Sapienza, Florence, Naples, Bologna, Catania, Perugia, Turin, Salerno, Calabria, Bologna, Bergamo and Urbino. Some of these — Naples, Salerno, Calabria and Catania in Sicily — are on organised crime’s home turf, where protection rackets are part of everyday life.

"The university cannot bury its head in the sand," says a spokesman for Catania, who wished to remain anonymous. "In our university, there have already been studies on this subject, so we will be developing a field that already exists. We will be working on the level of academic analysis of data supplied by shopkeepers’ associations, police and the Anti-Mafia Commission itself. We will not be sending bright-eyed students round to shopkeepers to ask how much protection they pay and to whom."

Australia

Across the board rise in college fees

Australian prime minister John Howard’s general election victory has guaranteed that most universities’ fees will rise next year, to the relief of vice-chancellors anticipating a new stream of income.

Had the Labour Party won, it would have scrapped a government plan to allow universities to introduce top-up fees in 2005 and increase the number of full-fee places for Australian students. Eighteen universities will raise fees by the government-set maximum of 25 percent. Eight others have opted for smaller increases. It is likely the 12 universities which decided not to impose a rise will follow suit in 2006.

Students Down Under: higher fees prospect

Wealthy students are likely to take up the government’s offer of a A$50,000 (Rs.16.5 lakh) loan. But many will have to find more cash for courses such as dentistry, medicine and veterinary science where tuition costs will be upto A$200,000 (Rs.66 lakh).

Union leaders warn the government that it will face strong opposition if it goes ahead with plans to impose performance-based pay schemes on academics. Previous attempts were blocked in the Senate, where the government held a minority of seats. In the new Parliament, the government is likely to have control for the first time in 20 years.

Government grasps nettle to take on extremism

The government has invited education advisers and teachers to help turn young men away from terrorism. They will join a panel of clerics, sociologists and psychologists to examine how young people can be educated against extremism.

The panel is expected to recommend a detailed study of the content of school curricula, and in particular how Islam is taught to young people in religious establishments. The aim will be to eliminate classes that encourage religious or racial intolerance. Says Jasim al-Shankani, a panel member and social affair expert: "We want to encourage free and open debate among students and other young people and encourage them to listen to other points of view."

While the government of Kuwait is a strong ally of the West, many young people sympathise with militant Islamic groups. Police recently uncovered a network of groups sending young people to join the Iraq insurgency. Now, according to a diplomat in Kuwait, the government has decided to "purge the education system of anything that could give encouragement to the kind of ideology preached by the militants."

Kuwait’s Islamic affairs minister, Abdullah al-Matuuk says that extremism had reached a "dangerous level". "While its magnitude in Kuwait, thank God, is very small, we do not underestimate anything," he says.

The panel is being asked to campaign against what the government calls "deviant religious ideas" and to "protect young Kuwaitis from dangerous extremist ideology." The panel will also monitor preachers, some of whom have publicly called the insurgency a jihad, or holy war.