The burden of paying for education in Madagascar has shifted to the poor after donor funding was frozen in the wake of a coup in March 2009.

About 70% of the education sector had been funded by donor countries, but since Andry Rajoelina seized power from former President Marc Ravalomanana with the backing of the military, state financial support to the education sector has become erratic. To learn more about the end of free education in Madagascar, read this article in the Africa section at the IRIN News website.

Supporters of customized, online instruction say the major hurdles to implementing more adaptive curricula and personalized approaches are state and local policies, according to an article by Ian Quillen in Education Week.  K-12 education is at a policy crossroads, experts in educational technology policy say, as seat-time requirements, school funding models, textbook-adoption procedures, and teacher-certification requirements restrict the growth and effectiveness of emerging learning methods. Read the full story in Education Week online.

The elimination of most federal aid for literacy programs at the U.S. Department of Education is raising new questions about the future of the federal commitment to promoting literacy, a role that’s had a bumpy ride in recent years. Even though some of the more than $350 million in cuts to those programs this month could be reversed, some education advocates say the Obama administration doesn’t seem to treat the issue as a high priority. To learn more, read the full article by Erik Robelen at the Education Week website.

All it takes is a gentle press of the "send" button to turn a flirtatious teenager into a potential criminal in New Jersey. But a bill that would divert teenagers caught "sexting" — sending or receiving explicit photos on a computer or cell phone — into an educational program as an alternative to prosecution is one step closer to becoming law after the Assembly approved the measure 78-0 Monday. To learn more about the proposed educational program, read the full article by Megan DeMarco in the Politics section of New Jersey Online.

 

 

 

Angry teachers chanting "save our schools" and holding signs criticizing Texas Governor Rick Perry rallied outside his office Monday, March 14, saying Republican-backed plans to slash $10 billion from education spending would cripple public schools.

More than a thousand educators, students, and other protesters followed a high school marching band to the Capitol steps to oppose Perry's cuts-only approach to a state budget shortfall that could reach $27 billion. Initial budget proposals would leave 100,000 teachers jobless, or about a third of the teachers employed by Texas public schools, according to independent experts. Read the full article by Sommer Ingram in the Finance section of the Bloomberg Business Week website.