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Recent headlines . . .
Rural university fund 'worth supporting'
NATIONAL - A special rural students'
tertiary access fund has potential to be introduced after
the Labor Party showed its support for the idea. The access
fund will increase benefits for rural students who need
to move to go to university, and will introduce 21,000 new
commonwealth scholarships. The new tertiary access fund
will try to counter "the inequity of access" suffered
by rural students compared with city students.
Read
newspaper report
Students prefer Monash over Melbourne
VIC - First preferences for Melbourne
University have dramatically declined, giving way to rival
Monash University to top course popularity for another year.
Melbourne's 3 per cent fall in student first preferences
has supposedly been caused by the university's transition
to a graduate model.
Read
newspaper report
Bilingual program 'confined to a small number
of schools'
NSW - $2.25 million over four years will
be spent on a new bilingual program in primary schools,
which will only be available to four New South Wales schools.
Critics of the program believe funds could be better spent
on special education.
Read
newspaper report
Anger over fee hike
NATIONAL - Anger rises throughout the
private higher education industry after the government decides
to increase the loan fee paid by private sector undergraduates
on their FEE-HELP income contingent loans. The rise of 5
per cent in the loan fee hopes to raise $42.8m for the treasury
over the next three years.
Read
newspaper report
Extending the Education Revolution
NATIONAL - The Federal Government has
offered schools a 12-month extension to complete the buildings
which were funded by the $16 billion Building the Education
Revolution. The more flexible deadlines will allow up to
$500 million to be spent later than previously allowed.
Read
newspaper report
Call for sex education for international
students
NATIONAL - The government has been called
to introduce a national sex education strategy as studies
have found that a large number of overseas university students
have an 'alarming' lack of sexual knowledge.
Read
newspaper report
Strong growth continues for tertiary education
VIC - The number of university applications
from mature age students has greatly increased due to the
weakened job market. In total, student applications for
tertiary education in Victoria this year have increased
by 6 per cent.
Read
newspaper report
"Compromise" settlement made for
former student
QLD - A $9.6 million settlement has been
made for a student who suffered brain damage from falling
into a drain at his Queensland school.
Read
newspaper report
Opinion . . .
'Ni hao' to bilingual schooling
NSW - JJJ reporter Bill Birtles looks
at New South Wales' new bilingual program for primary schools.
Read
newspaper report
Good news . . .
150th anniversary celebration for Myrniong
Primary School
VIC - Students get excited about learning
of their schools rich history in the lead up to Myrniong
Primary School 150th anniversary celebration. Grade 3/4
teacher Frank Pawlowicz believes that 'this is a great opportunity
to celebrate something that is meaningful'.
Read
newspaper report
International
Italian schools accused of violating human
rights
ITALY - Anger surges through Italy as
the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Italy
violates children's education and religious freedom by displaying
crucifixes in classrooms. The Italian bishops' conference
states that the crucifix ''is not just a religious symbol
but also a sign of cultural belonging''.
Read
newspaper report
China's creates a league of its own
CHINA - China's top nine universities
have made the decision to formalise a league called C9,
which is being called Chinas Ivy League. The decision is
made in an attempt to modernise China's university system,
completing an 11-year government plan to push a group of
Chinese higher education institutions into world-class level.
Read
newspaper report
ACEL Noticeboard
How can corporate Australia support our schools?
Business Class: How Can Corporate Australia Support
Our Schools? is to be held at Melbourne's iconic
NGV International on October 20 and will feature a panel
of leading figures from some of the most influential and
respected organisations operating in the Australian education
landscape today.
The panel put in place by Spheres of Influence to debate
the issue of how corporate Australia can support our schools
features:
Prof. Brian J Caldwell, Managing Director, Educational Transformations;
Adam Smith, CEO, Foundation for Young Australians; Dr Steve
Holden, Managing Editor, Teacher Magazine; Jenny Lewis,
CEO, Australian Council of Educational Leaders, and Rupert
Macgregor, Executive Director, Australian Council of State
School Organisations.
''The aim is to disseminate the major issues on the
subject of corporate Australia's involvement in education
and create some tangible outcomes to help shape the future
of a subject that is gaining an increasing amount of attention
and has a significant bearing on the future education of
Australia's children and young people,' said Patrizia Torelli,
Managing Director, Spheres of Influence International.
The event comes at a time when the answer to the question
of corporate Australia's role in supporting our schools
is yet to be answered by Government. Speaking recently on
the
topic, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education
The Hon Julia Gillard MP said: ''Clearly, we [The Rudd
Government] believe the engagement of corporate Australia
with schools has to be on the basis of making a genuine
difference, not on the basis of product promotion [...].
But I do believe that corporate Australia can play a role
in supporting our schools.'
It is critical that in the next few months the education
sector takes steps to develop a concerted viewpoint on how
corporate Australia can support our schools and Business
Class provides a significant opportunity to foster dialogue
on the subject.
Spheres of Influence aims to produce tangible outcomes with
which to move forward and ensure Australia is a world leader
in the responsible and mutually beneficial engagement of
the corporate world with schools.
Tickets can be purchased by visiting: http://www.sofiibusinessclass.eventbrite.com/
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