EDUCATION-NEPAL: Backlog in Teachers’ Appointment Exposes Weaknesses

Picture these statistics: More than 68 percent of the 170,389 students who took this year's secondary-level leaving examinations in Nepal failed them. Likewise, there are some 40,000 vacancies in the public schools across this Himalayan kingdom.

EDUCATION-VIETNAM: Diploma Mania, Cheating Worry Officials

It has become all too easy to spot an examination venue in Vietnam from the telltale litter of hundreds of tiny white pieces of paper, closely printed, that lie underfoot.

EDUCATION-JAPAN: Parents Herd Children to International Schools

Masami Takahashi and her husband, Kenichi, are saving hard for their children's education, which they insist must be in international schools here in Japan.

ECUADOR: Minister’s Dismissal Pushes Gov’t Alliance to Brink

The alliance that put Lucio Gutiérrez in the Ecuadorian presidency, with support from the political left, former military officers, social and indigenous movements, has been disintegrating rapidly. The removal of the education minister this week may prove to be the last straw.

EDUCATION-TRINIDAD: Debate Reignites Over Corporal Punishment

Less than three years after the government of this twin-island state banned corporal punishment in schools, a new study has found widespread concern among parents, teachers and students alike that strong measures are needed to stem rising indiscipline.

POLITICS-US: Fortress Mentality Undermines Security, Experts Say

Post-Sep. 11 immigration rules that make it harder for young foreigners to study in the United States are doing more harm to national security than good, a panel of experts said Monday, because they have only deepened the divide between Western culture and the Muslim and Arab communities.

EDUCATION: Literacy Campaign Takes Aim at Over One Million Venezuelans

Over one million illiterate Venezuelans are the focus of Mission Robinson, a literacy drive launched by the government of Hugo Chávez, with support from Cuba and the participation of at least 50,000 volunteers.

EDUCATION-NEPAL: Politics Keeps Children Away from School

More than 1.5 million children in Nepal are having what promises to be a long break, although school vacation is over.

EDUCATION: Secondary Schools, the Weakest Link in Africa

Ugandan Joshua Byabashaija has no idea what he will be doing after completing his secondary school in five months.

EDUCATION-LATAM: Teachers on Strike, in Struggle to Survive

Teachers have been going on strike in many countries of Latin America - a symptom of one of the worst crises facing the educational systems of a region where teachers earn salaries on which they can barely survive.

PHILIPPINES: Teaching through Mobile Technology Debuts in Schools

When classes begin this month, students in the fifth and sixth grades from selected public and private schools in the Philippines will not just be leafing through pages of their textbooks or listening to their teachers' lectures on science.

EDUCATION-MOROCCO: New War on Terror of Ignorance

"The extremists have been taking advantage of my brother's ignorance," says Karim Benkhayi, a 22-year-old student. "Had he gone to school, he would not have been so vulnerable to the religious fanatics."

IRAQ: Anti-Muslim Attacks Penetrate U.S. ‘Hallowed Halls of Ivy’

Since U.S. forces attacked Iraq in March, college campuses nationwide have seen backlashes against both Muslim students and anti-war activists. At Yale University alone, students claim seven instances of violence have occurred on what are normally the sheltered grounds of educational privilege.

RIGHTS-AFRICA: More Money Needed to Achieve Free Education

2015 is the date set for universal, free primary education for all children of Africa, a goal now 12 years in the future that has been agreed upon by the world's finance and development ministers.

IRAQ: Holocaust Colours German Jews’ View of the War

In no other city in the world is the horror of war more keenly felt than in Berlin, where Adolf Hitler's tyrannical reign led to the city being laid waste by allied bombs in World War II 58 years ago.

EDUCATION-PAKISTAN: Model Religious Schools Aim for Modernity

There was a time when young Kanwal Nisar's aspiration of becoming a lawyer would have raised eyebrows in this Pakistani city.

BRAZIL: Keeping Schools Open on Weekends, an Antidote to Violence

Keeping schools open over the weekends to provide recreational spaces and offer cultural and sports activities has significantly reduced acts of violence and vandalism by students in two Brazilian states.

DEVELOPMENT-INDIA: IT Hub Works on Education for Its Children

India's southern state of Karnataka is known more for its capital city and global information technology hub, Bangalore, than for its 1.5 million children who are not in schools.

EDUCATION-SOUTH AFRICA: Shattering Gender Stereotyping

If her school blazer is anything to go by, 17-year-old Charmaine Mahaya is an achiever. Her blazer is decorated from the lapel to the bottom seam with a series of badges symbolising academic and sporting success at her Johannesburg semi-public school.

ENVIRONMENT: Saving Climate is Saving Money

Forget conscience and concern. The biggest companies are told in a new report they will save money if they take account of climate change.

EDUCATION-BURKINA FASO: UNICEF Boosts School Enrolment

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is helping poor children in Burkina Faso to enrol in school.