Homeschoolers Are Beating the State. Can We Learn From Them?
The Free Agents Network, 25 Aug 2009

Moderate temps, shorter days, state fairs, football, peppers and gourds, “Labor Day” weekend….back to school Except for some. A growing number of families have bucked the autumn tradition of pep rallies and discount office supply shopping. They have chosen to homeschool. On average, homeschool students score 37 per cent higher than their peers on standardized tests. There are no discernable achievement gaps between races, genders, and income levels in the homeschool movement, with homeschoolers consistently landing in the 85th percentile or higher on achievement tests, regardless of background. The average annual education-specific expense for a homeschooler is $500. For a government school student, it is $10,000. More [+]

Students in online learning perform better than those in traditional classroom?
MINT, 24 Aug 2009

A study by the U.S. Department of Education 'Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online learning Studies' has found that "students who took all or part of their class online performed better, on average, than those taking the same course through traditional face-to-face instruction". It has also found that combining online and face-to-face instructions is even better. That is, online education when combined with traditional classroom is better that pure classroom teaching or a pure online course. More [+]

'The World Is Open'
www.insidehighered.com, 25 Aug 2009

Technology is changing higher education in more ways than can be counted. Distance education has become common. Leading universities are putting course materials or even entire courses online -- free. The Obama plan for community colleges envisions free online courses that could be used nationwide. Curtis J. Bonk, a professor of instructional systems technology at Indiana University, surveys this landscape in The World Is Open: How Web Technology is Revolutionizing Education (Jossey-Bass). Bonk responded to questions about the book in an e-mail interview. More [+]

Gov. Schwarzenegger presents ambitious plan for Education Funding
www.gov.ca.gov, 20 Aug 2009

On July 24, 2009, President Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan outlined federal requirements for states to compete for the largest pool of discretionary funding for education reform in U.S. history - $4.35 billion in Race to the Top dollars available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act). With current law, California is ineligible to apply. Billions in future federal education dollars are also expected to rest on a state’s ability to meet Obama Administration education reform requirements. More [+]

Educational institutes should be provided tax benefits, says HC
Business Standard, 24 Aug 2009

Educational institutes having multiple objectives, including imparting education, cannot be denied the benefit of income tax exemption, the Delhi High Court has ruled. Allowing a petition of Jaypee Institute of Information Technology Society (JIITS), a division Bench headed by Justice A K Sikri asked the Director General of Income Tax to register the deemed university under the Income Tax Act and provide tax benefits. More [+]

Vocational education to reach all
DNA, 24 Aug 2009

Mumbai: Even with the right to education bill being passed, India has along way to go in ensuring education that can fetch employment for all. Currently only 6% of the student population in India clear Class XII and only 15% clear class X. To put employment into the hands of these undereducated youth, and bridge the divide between urban, semi urban and rural areas, vocational education has emerged as the only ray of hope. "Vocational education is the need of the hour. Today only 2 million students are registered for Vocational Education and Training in the country; despite 57% of those seeking work aged between 18 and 50 years being unemployable,” said AP Srivatsan, MD of Vocad, an educational institution that plans to setup massive infrastructure to set the figures right. More [+]

Teach Hindi in all schools: Sibal
The Times of India, 25 Aug 2009

NEW DELHI: Human resource development minister Kapil Sibal presented a proposal for a core curriculum for mathematics and science in all school boards on Monday at a two-day annual conference of Council of Boards of School Education in India (COBSE). The minister also urged the boards to ensure fluency of three languages among students, and said the knowledge of Hindi would aid in national integration. Stating that India should now be a producer of knowledge, rather than a recipient, Sibal said: ‘‘We should set up a system of core curriculum in respect of professional courses. There should a core curriculum for maths and science and a one-time exam to enter the university system for professional courses. This will ensure a level of uniform and equivalence of quality. Subjects relating to environment and others can be different according to the state and city. But why should science and maths be different?’’ More [+]

Court refuses to budge on closure of unrecognised schools
The Times of India,25 Aug 2009

HYDERABAD: The two-judge bench which directed the closure of unrecognised schools in Vishakapatnam refused to budge from its stance in spite of repeated pleas from the state to reopen the schools. "The ruling of closure will be adhered to, but let the students go back to school," additional advocate general Sudarshan Reddy pleaded with the bench. In a fresh affidavit on Monday, Sharath Chandra, principal secretary, school education, pointed out that notices to 488 schools to effect closure has been issued. He also mentioned that prosecution was launched against those who were not closing down the schools despite the notice. The additional AG pointed out that there were over 1.80 lakh students and 25,000 teachers who would suffer because of the order. More [+]

Why millions of the world’s poor still choose to go private
Financial Times, 22 Aug 2009

Imagine that your daily earnings were less than the price of this newspaper. Would you consider buying private education and private healthcare? Before you make up your mind, here are a few considerations: government healthcare and primary education are free; the private-sector doctors are ignorant quacks and the teachers are poorly qualified; the private schools are cramped and often illegal. It doesn’t sound like a tough decision. Yet millions of very poor people around the world are taking the private-sector option. And, when you look a little closer at the choice, it’s not so hard to see why. More [+]

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