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Written by Monika Urbanski
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Tens of thousands united on March 4 during the “Strike and Day of Action to defend Education”. Although some UC Berkeley students were turned off by the riots the week before, the day of passionate protest against education funding cuts attracted thousands of demonstrators to walkouts and teach-ins at universities and high schools throughout California. According to the Los Angeles Times the rallies were largely peaceful. In Oakland, however, about 150 protesters were arrested after they blocked a freeway, stifling rush-hour traffic.
It is clear from press reports that the central messages of the March 4 protests were heard. All the major mainstream media outlets ran articles on how the cuts to state funding have increased the cost of tuition and have put higher education out of reach of millions of students in the U.S. Another central message that was communicated successfully was the notion that groups from different educational sectors joined together and they were able to show that a powerful voting block is being formed.
As the Wall Street Journal reports, the reason for the “Strike of Day of Action to defend Education” can be found in a couple of acts of desperation last year. First, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger cut about $600 million in overall funding for Californian Universities. Then the Universities’ regents and trustees, facing budget crises of their own, reduced programs, furloughed workers and raised tuition. Ananya Roy, UC Berkeley Professor of Urban Studies compared the 32% tuition increase over a two-year period with racial discrimination. On March 4 she said during a broadcast: “Students of color have been fighting around these issues for quite a while in the UC system ... so we see this as a struggle to not only save the university, but ... to make those issues of access and opportunity ... visible to all.”
While at first glance the question of racism seems to be unrelated to the issue of funding, Bob Samuels, lecturer at UC Los Angeles and author of the popular blog Changing Universities, argues that it is evident from recent events at UC Berkeley and San Diego that increased racial tensions often occur during an economic downturn: “In fact, one obvious connection between racism and economics concerns enrolment policies and decisions. As many people have reported, less then 2% of the undergraduates at several of the UC campuses are African American, and although this low level of enrolment might not be blamed directly on racism, the effects of the situation is to fan racial tensions.”
A series of racially charged incidents has galvanised protests and teach-ins at UC San Diego. First, a fraternity held a party called the “Compton Cookout”, which invited people to come dressed in stereotypical ghetto attire. Then, a noose was found hanging off a bookcase on the seventh floor of the university’s library. The student involved was suspended on February 26 for her actions. While the investigation is ongoing regarding a possible hate crime, she has claimed it a “mindless” act and clarified “that it was not an act of racism”. Following these incidents Administrators at UC San Diego and the school’s Black Student Union have signed an agreement that outlines common goals, leading to an effort dubbed “Join the Battle Against Hate”.
The problems faced at Californian Universities brought thousands of students to the streets on March 4. Partly to protest against education funding cuts, but also to protest against such racially charged incidents. Similarly, as this paper has reported, in June 2009 Australian students were marching against violent attacks towards Indians in Melbourne and Sydney. Recent attacks have led the Indian government to issue a travel notice, warning its nationals to take extra precautions when travelling to Australia. Australia’s Foreign Minister Stephen Smith has just returned from a three-day visit to India, where he reiterated the view that Australia has no tolerance for racist attacks.
The incidents, both in the U.S. and Australia, have caused protest amongst students against racial prejudices. Now it might be true that the student hanging a noose in the library had no racist intent. The “Compton Cookout” seemed to have looked like an innocent joke to the organisers. Similarly some attacks on Indians in Australia may have turned out not to be racially motivated. Australian police say that, at least in some of the assaults, the attackers have been fellow Indians. In the case of Jaspreth Singh, who claimed he was attacked by four men and then set alight, it turned out that he had made up his story as part of an insurance fraud that could have gained him $11,000.
Nevertheless, those incidents should not just be dismissed as innocent misunderstandings. In his book, The Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam reviews the latest studies of how racism works, and he documents some surprising findings. According to Vedantam children as young as three years old will associate positive traits with white people and negative traits with black people regardless of the race of the child or the attitude of the children’s parents and teachers. From his perspective, the only way to fight racism is to openly admit that we all harbour racist associations and we need to become aware of our unconscious tendencies.
Samuels explains how important educating against racism has become nowadays: “While the election of Barack Obama might make us think that we have moved beyond these race-based prejudices, the recent events at the University of California, San Diego reveal how we cannot simply escape unconscious racism ... The interventions failed to get to the root of the problem, which is how do we teach people not to act on their unconscious racist beliefs. This need for education was evident when the student who placed the noose in the library explained that she did not intend to do any harm, and she did not think about the racial significance of the noose.” It seems that the protests on March 4 were more significant than one might think at first sight. They were not only asking for free education for everyone not depending on their social status or cultural background. But even more importantly, the protestors were raising awareness towards the fact that it is in those institutions it can be made possible to educate against racism. |
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Written by James Coghill
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ZIMBABWE
Drop-out rate soars as students cannot afford fees
Student leaders in Zimbabwe have held a crisis meeting with the Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai last week after it emerged that 28% of students had dropped out of the country’s leading universities because of a lack of foreign currency to settle tuition fees. The University of Zimbabwe started its new term last Monday but students have been set tuition fees between US$300 and $1,500 in a country where the highest paid civil servant earns less than US$200 a month and unemployment sits around 90%. Zimbabwe abolished the use of the Zimbabwe dollar in February last year when the United States dollar, South African Rand and Botswana Pula were declared legal tender. This has left many students without the necessary funds to pay for tuition, forcing them to drop out.
ITALY
Foreign lecturers in Italy finally get their Pay
British lecturers that teach in Italy are finally to put decades of low pay, denied pensions and missed promotions behind them this week after a Italian court awarded seven British lecturers at the University of Padua about 300,000 pounds each in back wages following a 12-year-legal battle. The dream of teaching at ancient universities in stunning Italian towns such as Verona has proved irresistible to hundreds of British lecturers drawn by Dante and Boccaccio over the last 30 years. David Petrie, a representative of the lecturers talks of the hardships, “There are 300-400 foreign lecturers in Italy, half of whom are British, who now take home an average of 1000 Euro a month, while their Italian equivalents earn over twice that much despite six largely ignored rulings by the European court of justice on equal treatment.” Now Britain’s Minister for Europe, Chris Bryant is poised to take up the case with the Italian government after last week’s court ruling.
UK
Student suspended from oxford in UCAS APPLICATION scandal
A first year student at Oxford University has been suspended after it was discovered he forged parts of his UCAS entrance application. The student, who wan a place in 2009 to read Economics and Management, claimed to have graduated from Langley Grammar School with at least 10 A grades at A-level. He faked the relevant documents required for application, which included a forged reference from a teacher. Embarrassinglyw for the university, forgeries were not revealed until he had completed an entire term, when one college noticed some academic discrepancies in his personal record. Janet Jamieson, Deputy Headmistress of Langley Grammar School said, “He certainly did not achieve those A-level grades, nor did he achieve the GCSEs that he claimed from his previous school. This boy was a student here and that is where it ends,” Jamieson said in a statement to Cherwell, the university newspaper.
Only one in seven will get UNIVERSITY Place in 2010
More than 200,000 students in the United Kingdom risk missing out on degree courses in September after revelations from vice-chancellors that universities are freezing places. The move risks “shattering the dreams” of record numbers of school leavers competing to get into higher education on the economic downturn, it was claimed. One university leader warned that institutions were being forced to prioritise foreign students over those from the UK because they can be charged as much as 30,000 pounds a year. It also emerged that almost seven people are competing for each place at elite universities, prompting claims that more students with straight As will be rejected. Professor Steve Smith, president of Universities UK, which represents vice-chancellors, suggested more than 200,000 students could miss out as a result of the squeeze. “Last year about 160,000 students who applied didn’t end up going to university, this year we already know that there are about another 75,000 applying for university. So the number of students who go to university will be less than the number that actually want to go and thus there will be a lot of students this year who do not get a place.”
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Written by Christopher McCann
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Gunmen have murdered 16 young students in the Mexican city of Ciudad Juárez in what appears to be a mistaken drugs hit. It is reported that the victims in this brutal attack were aged between 15 and 20. The shooting, a common occurrence in Ciudad Juárez, left a further 20 people injured, some critically.
Eyewitness reports describe how up to 15 assailants arrived in a fleet of 4x4 vehicles. While some of the gang blocked off entry and exit points to the street, the remaining members opened fire on several houses. An unnamed witness has described how the men, “were well armed. They went into the house and shot at everyone, you could hear the gunfire all round.”
After the attack, blood poured onto the street from the houses. Further witness reports suggest that the gunmen believed that the revelers were members of a rival gang further fuelling claims that the killings are linked to drug related turf-wars.
Due to its geographical location, Mexico serves as the main gateway for drugs to enter the USA. This is particularly apparent in Ciudad Juárez which is located right on the US border, rival cartels vie for control of cross border trade as well as monopoly over the large number of addicts who reside in Ciudad Juárez. Drug cartels show no hesitancy to resort to arms in the Chihuahuan city which, last year, had one of the world’s highest murder rates with a reported 2,650 killings.
The Mexican government has taken drastic action in an attempt to control drug-related violence. In 2006, the army were deployed throughout Mexico, an undertaking which the government hoped would curb the soaring murder rate. A total of 45,000 troops were installed, 10,000 of whom are positioned in Ciudad Juárez. Despite these measures, there have been 17,000 killings in Mexico since 2006 and the citizenry are losing patience with President Felipe Calderon. A banner left at the scene of the murders reads, “until we find who is responsible, you Mr. President are the assassin.”
Although the murders are largely between rival cartels, incidents such as this serve to diminish support in the government. The citizens of Ciudad Juárez are questioning whether enough is being done to protect innocent citizens. The outcry is not limited to fearful citizens either, the Mexican Senate has insisted that the government explain how 16 innocent people could be massacred without any form of state intervention.
On the same day as the attack in Ciudad Juárez, 20 gunmen opened fire on a police station in the Pacific port city of Lázaro Cárdenas and just a week earlier Paraguayan footballer Salvador Cabañas was left with a bullet lodged in his brain after an assault in Mexico City. The attacks are indicative of a climate of gun violence in Mexico, a climate that will escalate unless renewed efforts are made by the government. |
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Written by Virginia Furness
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»» 80 percent of higher education institutions were destroyed in the January 12th earthquake, it also estimates that nearly half of the country’s schools have been completely destroyed
»» UNESCO calls on international community to show solidarity and urges countries to take on students
As reconstruction begins on the recently devastated Caribbean island of Haiti education appears a secondary concern to those shattered by the loss of loved ones, homes and livelihoods.
With search and rescue operations officially over, a mere 132 people were pulled alive from the rubble, attention is turning to the distribution of aid and the rebuilding of infrastructure. Measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale, the earthquake all but destroyed Haiti’s means of effective coordination; the presidential palace and many government ministries were among the collapsed buildings. With no central point of management, the country and ensuing efforts to aid it remain in chaos.
With more than 1.5million left homeless and the country all but destroyed, looking beyond the immediate effects of devastation is a difficult task. The future of Haiti, however, is a pressing concern. “Haiti can’t have a future without educated children”, Pierre Michel Laguerre, director general of Haiti’s Education Ministry states, “But there has been so much destruction, it’s a big and unprecedented challenge for us”.
The recently bulldozed Education Ministry stands as an ominous symbol for the state of education in Haiti. More than half the country’s schools and all its biggest universities have been damaged or destroyed.
In 45 seconds, the dreams of many of Haiti’s privileged undergraduates shattered. Astride Auguste was late for an examination on the fateful morning of the 12th January. The International Affairs and Management student felt the ground beneath her shake violently. A few miles away Port-au-Prince’s Quiskeya University collapsed. Many of her fellow students and academics lost their lives.
“I can’t believe it” she told The University World News. “This is a nightmare. The year has been lost. I don’t know what I’m going to do now”.
Decades of poverty, environmental disasters, violence, instability and dictatorship left Haiti a failed state: the poorest nation in the Americas.
Haiti has only recently been increasingly successful in the struggle against lack of education and illiteracy. Though only 1% of Haitian’s aged 18-34 enter tertiary education – the lowest rate in the hemisphere – the system was considered one of the best in the Caribbean.
Graduates went on to become lawyers, doctors, accountants and engineers, forging strong international links and working towards an improvement of the 53% literacy rate.
The State University of Haiti recently finished a US$2 million upgrade. It offered services to 13,000 students and employed 700 teachers. The University became an autonomous institution in 1987, severing ties with the government and uncovering itself from the blanket of dictatorial rule.
Universite d’Etat d’Haiti stood at the epicentre of important struggles for Human Rights against dictatorship in the years 1986, 1991-4 and 2002. The University’s website outlines its objective: “freedom of expression, academic freedom, freedom of management, financial freedom and inviolability of the university areas.”
80% of higher education institutions were destroyed in the quake, posing a massive impediment to such progress.
The University of Port-au-Prince, a private institution, situated in the middle class district of the Island’s capital came crashing down. “I was there on the third floor, but I escaped,” said one student, Michelet Saint-Preux, his arm bandaged and a deep gash in his chin. “I lost many friends there.”
The papers and notebooks scattered amongst the rubble and the crowd of students and relatives of the missing are the only remainders of what was once a great centre of hope and opportunity to rise out of Haiti’s poverty trap.
Many of Haiti’s future leaders and thinkers would have perished in the quake. Academia was also hard hit with the death of three of Haiti’s major feminist thinkers, Myriam Merlet, the lawyer Magalie Marcelin and Anne Marie Coriolan.
Conor Bohan, executive director of the Haitian Education and Leadership Programme (HELP) highlights the importance of re-establishing the education system: “Haiti needs to rebuild its educated class, the anchor of every stable economy and society.”
Bohan goes on to comment on the intellectual void left by emigrating graduates: “85% of Haitian’s with a degree have emigrated, the result of Duvalierist anti intellectual repression and 20 years of political instability.” “In short Haiti’s educated class has left and is not being replaced”.
With the country in such disarray the probability of retaining future graduates looks increasingly slim. The government held a meeting to plan a reconstruction strategy. The Haitian Education and Leadership Programme (HELP) is trying to use this opportunity to create a partnership between accredited Haitian universities and those abroad.
“Universities, long the neglected stepchild of international aid for education, need massive investment to prepare tens of thousands of Haitian students to become productive and prosperous members in the global economy,” Bohan said.
Government officials and aid groups said they hoped to overcome the rift created by the independently administered state and private education systems. Recovery appears to provide the opportunity to establish a harmonized system for the country, with a single curriculum, under the lead of the Education Ministry.
With children under 18 making up nearly half of Haiti’s population of 9 million, thousands have been orphaned. The government estimates that half of the country’s schools have been destroyed by the quake. Such a void has destroyed not only the chance of a stable education in the foreseeable future but also a place of protection and continuity for Haiti’s children. Because the public school system is considered poor by many Haitians, 85% of Haiti’s schools are private. But now many of those schools lack the financial and human resources to function properly, if at all.
The state of education in Haiti remains dire. All that remains is to start from the beginning again and rebuild the system that once looked so progressive and promising. |
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