Latest news with #educationcrisis
Telegraph
18 hours ago
- General
- Telegraph
Parents letting their children miss school instead of being late
Some parents are keeping their children at home because they are embarrassed about lateness, MPs have heard. Changes in how pupils are recorded as absent if they are more than 30 minutes late to school have been 'unhelpful' for relationships with families, education leaders have suggested. Britain is in the grip of a school attendance crisis, with a record number of pupils missing more than half of lessons. The impact of Covid Department for Education (DfE) data indicate that in 2023-24, 2.3 per cent of pupils were 'severely absent', which means they missed at least 50 per cent of possible school sessions, compared with 2 per cent in 2022-23. Overall, 171,269 pupils were classed as severely absent last academic year, up from 150,256 in 2022/23. In 2018-19, the last academic year before the Covid-19 pandemic, 60,247 were classed as severely absent.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
46 Wildly Concerning Photos That Sum Up Living In America Right Now
1.I feel so bad for kids nowadays. 2.I mean, I'm not surprised they feel this way. live in the Bad Place. cool, this doesn't sound dystopian at all! Related: if Palantir wasn't a scary enough company without reminding you that it's watching with this massive ad. not really feeling like this is a r/MadeMeSmile situation. It should not have cost $41k to begin with. it should not take two decades to pay off student loans. shouldn't have to donate plasma from our bodies to afford books for school. already costs an arm and a leg, and then they charge prices like this just to access course materials. is not the heartwarming story it's framed as. is this. of the things I hate most about Trumpism is that he's given every misogynistic, xenophobic, racist asshole permission to be a massive misogynistic, xenophobic, racist asshole in public. 14.I heard this ad recently in a taxi. For reference, over 90% of NYC taxi drivers were born outside the US, as of 2020. 15."No one wants to work anymore" for a reason, it seems. Related: want to work. But they're not even getting past the door. me again why people who work part-time (who, btw, are also probably working another job or in school), can't have time off? fact that police violence is so bad that this needs to exist is pretty damning. AI help make the world a better place? Maybe one day. But so far, AI is giving a ton of inaccurate info, creating dangerous situations, and spewing stuff like this. me who said Trump would pay for these tariffs? 21.I feel like there's an easier way to protect kids from death via gunshot wound ( gun laws?), but okay. is the state of American healthcare. is this. Related: denying someone a CANE. case you need a more damning indictment of American healthcare, here ya go. wouldn't need to have cards to remind ICE and law enforcement agents of our rights if they weren't trying to violate those rights. is concerning as hell. 28."I never thought Leopards would eat MY face!!!!" yet this is what rural states voted for. fact that this question is even being landlords deserve jail time. man, we are so, so cooked. about right for America. glad investors can benefit from this. as long as the investors are good! Related: this legal? Why are younger people paid less for the same work? is where we're at now. is why people can't buy homes. happens when we all get priced out of any housing at all? that pretty much sums it up. whole internet's full of paywalls. Since most people get their news from the all pretty much screwed. when we fought a war so that we wouldn't have a king? Look how far we've fallen. is horrifying. in the propaganda...? how is this different from the bus, and why is it more expensive? suspicious. Brother is watching, y'all. Also in Internet Finds: Also in Internet Finds: Also in Internet Finds:
Irish Times
07-07-2025
- General
- Irish Times
1,847 teaching posts vacant amid ‘supply crisis' for new school year
More than 1,800 teaching posts were left vacant this year, while many schools in the Greater Dublin Area report that they are struggling to hire qualified staff in the run-up to the new academic year. Principals say the housing crisis and cost-of-living issues mean it is difficult to find teachers in and around the capital, especially in schools located in more deprived areas . A Department of Education review of teacher payroll in March of this year found there were 1,847 vacant posts across schools. Most unfilled teacher positions were at primary level (1,228 posts) compared to second level (619). A similar review conducted in November last year found there were 1,600 vacant posts, indicating that more posts became vacant as the academic year continued. READ MORE Paul Crone, director of the National Association of Principals and Deputies , said many Dublin schools, as well as those in other large urban areas and some remote locations, were having difficulty finding qualified teachers in time for the new school year. He said the situation was especially acute in subjects such as home economics, physics and engineering, while 'post-primary schools nationally are finding it impossible to fill positions to replace teachers on parental leave, paternity leave and even maternity leave'. 'In many of these situations, principals are covering this leave with the teacher extension scheme, supervision and substitution, PME [professional master of education] students or unqualified teachers,' Mr Crone said. A department spokesperson said, overall, the number of unfilled teaching posts continues to be 'low' with vacancies accounting for 2.5 per cent of all 74,611 allocated posts in schools. The payroll analysis was a 'snapshot at a point in time' and schools continually recruit throughout the year, the spokesperson added. In an attempt to boost teacher supply, meanwhile, the department has extended several measures to assist schools in accessing additional teaching and substitute hours. The 'teaching hours extension scheme' allows teachers on full teaching contracts of 22 hours to provide additional substitution cover of up to 35 additional hours for each term. In addition, teachers who are job sharing will continue to be able to work as substitute teachers in any school, as long as they are off duty, while teachers who are on a career break can continue to work as substitute teachers at primary and second level. Minister for Education Helen McEntee said that while they were not long-term solutions, they will continue to support schools to access qualified teaching for the students in their schools. 'Teachers are at the heart of our schools and we are so lucky to have more teachers working in our schools than we ever have had before. However, in some areas there are teacher supply challenges and I am committed to tackling this,' she said. Other measures due to come into force include fast-tracking newly qualified teachers into secure permanent contracts and helping teachers who have trained abroad apply for registration in the State. Teacher unions, however, say a 'supply crisis' is being accentuated by the affordability of the profession for new entrants and unsustainable workloads. The department said the new public service pay deal will mean salaries for new entrants climb to €46,000 and a maximum of €85,000 per year, which it said compares well internationally. Some schools have also reported difficulties hiring principals in advance of the school year, with deputy principals obliged to 'act up' as a temporary measure. While figures for 2025 are not available, last year 160 primary principals (5 per cent of all principals) and 35 second-level principals (7.5 per cent) retired. These numbers have remained relatively steady over recent years.
Irish Times
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Mother rails against ‘broken system' after special needs child shunned by 60 schools
Families of children with special needs say the 'education system is broken' with many unable to access school places or support needed to help pupils with basic care needs. Charlotte Cahill, whose daughter with additional needs turns six soon, told the Oireachtas education committee on Wednesday that she received more than 60 rejected admission applications from schools over the last two years. This was despite assurances at the time from government ministers that every child known to education authorities would receive a school place. 'After legal action, my daughter was finally allocated a section 67 place, bypassing others on the waiting list. This highlights the ongoing crisis many families face,' she said. READ MORE Ms Cahill, a member of the Equality in Education campaign, said the experience of parents of children with additional needs reflects a system under severe pressure and struggling to function effectively. 'While educators and frontline staff are deeply committed, urgent structural reforms are needed to ensure all children with additional needs can access inclusive, timely, and appropriate education,' she said. In addition, she said the allocation model for special needs assistants (SNAs) and special education teachers was deeply flawed. 'Parents are often excluded from meaningful participation, despite being the most consistent voices for their children,' she said. A focus on meeting primary care needs in SNA allocations meant neurodivergent children – who experience high levels of dysregulation, anxiety, or sensory overload – were being denied SNA support. Rebecca Meehan, whose son has additional needs, said the education system was constantly firefighting with little planning or choice for parents. 'Families are often encouraged to accept whatever place they are offered, regardless of suitability,' she said. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) told the committee that it was working closely with schools and patrons to speed up the allocation of school places for children with additional needs, with almost 400 special classes sanctioned before Easter. The NCSE is also supporting the establishment of five new special schools in Dublin, Monaghan, Tipperary and Cork. The council's chief executive, John Kearney, said progress was going 'very well' in offering places to pupils, but was unable to tell TDs how many children are without a school place. Minister for Education Helen McEntee told the Dáil recently that 92 per cent of the 3,275 students with a recommendation for a special class or special school place for September 2025 have been allocated a school place. When asked by Socialist Party TD Ruth Coppinger if this meant up to 260 pupils were without a place, Mr Kearney said the Minister was due to brief the Cabinet shortly on placements. Ms Coppinger responded: 'We're dealing with parents who don't have school places ... I absolutely appreciate the pressure you are under ... but we should be privy to this information.' The Irish Primary Principals' Network (IPPN) told the committee that resourcing of schools has not kept pace with growing demands on the system. 'Furthermore, pressures are being brought to bear on some schools to open additional special classes when other schools in the same catchment area do not have any,' said IPPN chief executive Páiric Clerkin. Some schools, he said, were being pressured to admit a seventh or eighth child into special classes designed for six children. 'This is inequitable and unfair,' he said. At the very least, he said, schools require additional teachers and other supports to meet the needs of the children until a new special class place opens up, or a new special class is built.
Arab News
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Rohingya refugees' future at stake amid education crisis
The recent Human Rights Watch report on the Rohingya education crisis in Bangladesh should be a wake-up call for the entire international community. According to the findings, more than 6,400 learning centers in the Rohingya refugee camps have been shut down, cutting off educational access for approximately 300,000 children. This is not just a tragedy for these young people, it is a deliberate failure that will haunt the region for generations. The closures, driven by deep cuts in foreign aid, are not simply about bricks and mortar. They represent the systematic erasure of hope for an already persecuted and stateless population. Education is the only lifeline that could offer Rohingya children a chance to break the cycle of displacement, dependency and despair. Instead, they are being pushed into a future where illiteracy, child labor, exploitation and radicalization are their only options. The consequences are stark. Without access to basic education, this generation of Rohingya will remain permanently cut off from the skills and knowledge they need to support themselves or contribute meaningfully to any future society, whether in Myanmar, should repatriation ever become possible, or elsewhere in the region. Their entire existence will be defined by dependence on shrinking aid budgets and precarious handouts. And this is not just a moral failure. It is a strategic blunder. By denying education to nearly a third of a million children, we are laying the groundwork for long-term instability Dr. Azeem Ibrahim By denying education to nearly a third of a million children, we are laying the groundwork for long-term instability in the region. Disaffected, disenfranchised youths are vulnerable to criminal networks and extremist groups that thrive in precisely these kinds of environments. Human traffickers and armed groups will find in the camps a large, desperate and increasingly ungoverned population. Bangladesh, already overwhelmed, will bear the brunt of this fallout. For Bangladesh, which has already shown remarkable generosity by hosting nearly a million Rohingya since 2017, the consequences will be profound. With more than half the refugees now under the age of 18, the collapse of the education system will lead to a steep rise in social and economic burdens. In the absence of structured learning and opportunity, the refugee population will be left with little recourse but to rely on the host country for indefinite support. This is not sustainable economically, politically or socially. Some officials have framed the issue as a simple result of donor fatigue. But that is a dangerously misleading narrative. The international community is not being asked to bankroll a long-term welfare project. It is being asked to prevent the creation of a vast, disenfranchised underclass that will destabilize the region for decades to come. The current aid cuts, which have brought support down to just $3 per person per month, are not just irresponsible, they are self-defeating. Bangladesh's government has historically restricted Rohingya access to formal education, citing concerns about permanent integration. Children were allowed only informal learning centers using a basic curriculum. Yet even these limited systems are now being dismantled. While Dhaka understandably fears anything that could imply long-term resettlement, cutting education sends the worst possible signal: that the world no longer sees the Rohingya as worth investing in. This must change. Education is not a political luxury, it is a humanitarian imperative. There are clear, achievable steps the international community and regional governments can take Dr. Azeem Ibrahim There are clear, achievable steps the international community and regional governments can take. First, the immediate restoration of funding for basic education services through the UN and key nongovernmental organizations must be prioritized. Major donors, especially the US, the EU, the UK and Gulf countries, must recognize that education is the front line of regional stability. Second, Bangladesh should ease restrictions on formal education and allow the full rollout of the Myanmar national curriculum in exile. This curriculum, supported by UNICEF, offers Rohingya children a pathway to eventual reintegration into Myanmar, aligning with Bangladesh's long-term goal of repatriation. Third, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and other regional stakeholders, including Malaysia and Indonesia, must advocate for more sustainable funding mechanisms and long-term development strategies for the exiled Rohingya, ensuring they are treated not merely as a burden but as future contributors to peace and prosperity in the region. Fourth, a global Rohingya education fund could be established — a multidonor pooled mechanism focused specifically on protecting and restoring education in the refugee camps, with oversight from an international body to ensure transparency and impact. Ultimately, this crisis is about more than the future of 300,000 children. It is about whether we, as an international community, are prepared to uphold our basic moral responsibilities or whether we are content to let an entire people slide into oblivion. We already failed the Rohingya when we allowed their genocide to unfold in Myanmar. Failing them again in exile by taking away even the hope of a future is a betrayal of a different kind, but no less devastating. If the world cannot summon the will to fund pencils and books for stateless children, then what exactly is left of our shared humanity?
