Billions to be pledged for global education
More than 40 government ministers from around the world will gather in Brussels next week to commit billions of dollars to improving education standards in the developing world. The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) wants to raise $3.5 billion (pound;2 billion) over the next four years to support 66 countries. Despite a Unesco report this month revealing that education aid has fallen by 10 per cent since 2010, GPE chair Julia Gillard - formerly prime minister of Australia - said that she was “encouraged by the significant financial commitments we have already received from many of our partners”.
Google sponsors DIY computer kits for school clubs
Internet giant Google has donated $100,000 (pound;59,000) to provide DIY Gamer Kits that will allow 900 UK students to build their own computer game consoles. The kits, produced by Technology Will Save Us, will be given to students who are members of Code Club, a voluntary organisation that runs after-school programming sessions. The pupils will then be able to build their own handheld console. Hai Hong, Google’s outreach programme manager, said: “Google has a critical role to play in making computer science more accessible and inclusive globally, especially for girls.”
There’s no Trojan Horse here, Archbishop insists
The Archbishop of Canterbury has defended church schools in the wake of the Trojan Horse allegations. Justin Welby said that “not one” church school had been affected by the recent problems highlighted in Ofsted reports that placed five Birmingham schools in special measures and were prompted by allegations of a takeover plot in the city’s schools by hardline Muslims. He told a meeting attended by prime minister David Cameron and Labour leader Ed Miliband that church schools stood for qualities including “tolerance and acceptance”, adding: “In this country alone we educate nearly a million children in the Church of England, another half a million through the Roman Catholic schools, and, let me say, no recent problems were in one of the church schools.”
Authorities in China crack down on exam scam
Chinese authorities investigating an elaborate scam, which involved candidates for the national university entrance exam hiring people to take the test for them, have warned of “severe punishment” for all involved. Success in the high-stakes gaokao can make a vast difference to students’ life chances. Fears of cheating last summer led to one province banning bras with metal clasps and using metal detectors to prevent candidates from smuggling in wireless digital devices. The latest scam exposed by state broadcaster CCTV reportedly involved at least 127 surrogate candidates in Henan province wearing false fingerprint film to get through ID checks, with invigilating teachers paid bribes of at least 70,000 yuan (pound;6,600).
Can your pupils’ writing hit the competition for six?
Children from across the UK have been invited to enter a contest to find the cricket writers of the future, with winning entries to be read aloud by actors including Homeland star Damian Lewis. Charity Chance to Shine has called for pupils aged 8-16 to write a piece of poetry, prose, reportage or history relating to cricket. The best pieces will be read at the Words and Wickets Cricket and Literature Festival gala and the deadline is 11 July. For more information, visit www.wordsandwickets.comchildrens-cricket-writing-competition
