Muara Teweh!

By Ma. Margarita Z. Sandejas, Special to The Manila Times

Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Estrella Alabastro told The Manila Times the Philippine government is doing what it can to create a larger pool of science professionals engaged in research and development.

For years the country’s educational system has been among the world’s largest producers of college graduates. But it is also among those that graduate the least scientists and engineers.

Secretary Alabastro, in an interview, talked about how the country is working its way toward achieving its 21st-century goals.

“We have to get to the root of the matter and move forward from there,” referring to the ills holding back the development of science and technology these past 50 years. Collaborative efforts have been slightly successful in mitigating those problems, but the scarcity of basic information required for industrial development, the small percentage of trained specialists and the lack of public awareness of and interest in S&T, she said, still have to be resolved. » Read more after the jump →

We are view the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat received US$167,538 for the implementation of Taiwan/ROC scholarship awards for the first half of 2008. It is the latest annual contribution to the scheme since its inception in 2001.

The funds were presented by Taiwan’s Acting Trade Representative in Suva, Fiji, Mr Victor Chin, to the Secretariat’s Acting Secretary General, Feleti Teo.

Thirteen scholarships have been awarded this year to students from the Kiribati (1), Nauru (2), Republic of Marshall Islands (1), Tuvalu (2), Palau (1), Solomon Islands (1), Niue (1), Samoa (1), Vanuatu (1), Fiji (1) and Federated States of Micronesia (1).

The programs of study cover certificate, diploma and undergraduate courses in law, education, resource management, engineering, medicine, hospitality and tourism and marine studies.

There are currently 26 recipients under the scheme and majority of the students are studying at local and regional institutions.

The US is hunting for Hindi and Arabic teachers in India in a bid to turn its citizens multilingual.

In India, the recruitment process is being facilitated by an arm of the human resource development ministry, EdCIL (Education Consultants India Limited).

In 2004, EdCIL signed a memorandum of understanding with the American Department of Education to export several full-time Indian teachers for maths, science and special education.

“Now, for the first time, there is a demand for Hindi teachers too,'’ said Anu Banerjee, chief managing director, EdCIL.

“The applicant needs to have a master’s degree with a B.Ed or an M.Ed and a minimum of three years’ work experience.” » Read more after the jump →

Ranjeet S Jamwal

India’s plans for expansion of institutions of higher education appear to have hit a roadblock in the form of acute shortage of faculty. Sample this: seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have faculty shortage of 882, 60 teaching posts are vacant in six Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), 1,820 teaching posts are lying vacant in 18 central Universities, 727 teaching posts are vacant in 74 of 231 state universities.

Now, the HRD ministry plans to set up 30 Central universities, including 14 world-class universities, eight Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), seven Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), 20 Indian Institutes of Information and Technology (IIITs), three Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research during the 11th five-year plan.
» Read more after the jump →

The cargill scholarship prepares FFA members for careers - Cargill Meat Solutions recently awarded a total of $6,000 in scholarship funds to six current Kansas State University students through the second annual “Genuinely Better” Scholarship Program. The program awards scholarships to college juniors and seniors who are actively involved in improving their school, community and the agricultural industry. The “Genuinely Better” Scholarship Program is a part of the Cargill Meat Solutions sponsorship of the Kansas FFA Foundation.

In recognition of their accomplishments, the scholarship recipients also participated in a four-day job shadowing experience to gain valuable first-hand insight. On Jan. 14 to 17, the students spent time at Cargill Meat Solutions’ headquarters in Wichita, Kan., in addition to visiting various Cargill business operations around the state.

Recipients of the scholarships and job shadowing opportunity were Cassandra Benz, a graduate student in animal science from Beulah, N.D.; Kelsey Frasier, a senior in agricultural economics » Read more after the jump →

By CrohnsAndMe.com

The UCB, a leading global biopharmaceutical company, has announced the 2008 UCB Crohn’s Scholarship Program, which will award 30, one-time scholarships of up to $10,000 each to students diagnosed with Crohn’s disease who demonstrate academic ambition and drive to reach beyond the boundaries of their condition. (Riva Litman, a University of California, Berkeley senior, is a recipient of a 2007 UCB Crohn’s Scholarship.)

The 2008 program is a continuation of an annual scholarship established in 2006. Since the program’s inception, UCB has awarded more than $420,000 in scholarships to students of any age, diagnosed with Crohn’s, and seeking an associate’s, undergraduate or graduate degree or enrolled in a trade school educational program.

Winners of the 2007 scholarship were selected from a pool of more than 900 applicants representing all 50 states. Recipients were evaluated by a selection committee of eight leading » Read more after the jump →

By Linda Jacobson
EdWeek

Reducing class sizes—a popular policy among parents, teachers, and lawmakers—has long been viewed as a way to increase student achievement.

But while shrinking the number of students in a class can lead to higher test scores overall, it might not necessarily reduce the achievement gaps that exist between students in a given classroom, a new study suggests.

Reviewing data from Project STAR—a longitudinal research study on class-size reduction in Tennessee and the most famous experiment on the topic—Spyros Konstantopoulos, an assistant professor of education and social policy at Northwestern University, in Evanston, Ill., said that it’s “tempting” to think that having fewer students assigned to a teacher will reduce the achievement gaps between students. » Read more after the jump →