Budget 2015: Education Is Set To Improve With Additional $687 million Allocation

                             

With an additional $687 million invested in learning, special education as well as Early Childhood Education has received a significant rise in funding. It has also been revealed by New Zealand Budget 2015 that the boost offered by David Seymour, Act Party leader, for more partnership or charter schools has proved successful as 2 new schools are set to open.

Education Budget 2015 :

Novopay, the challenging school pay-roll system, is set to be allocated millions of dollars in funding. The new Budget has allotted an extra $63 million to help and support young learners with special needs over the coming 4 years. This will keep continuing to support in-class teacher aide for more than 1500 children with special needs. The programme had started back in February.

The funding will also help to advance the ORS (Ongoing Resource Scheme) to an additional 500 students and will fund specialists like occupational therapists and speech-language therapists. Hekia Parata, Minister of Education in New Zealand, said “In the case of students with special needs, a strong education increases the chance of them becoming more independent and better able to participate in and contribute to the community.”

Almost $53.3 million in extra spending in 4 four years is being invested on the Novopay, the school pay-roll system. The federal government was compelled to take charge and management of the pay-roll system from Talent2, an Australian company. Peter Hughes, Secretary of Education, predicted that making the system better resulted in spending an extra $45 million till now. Parata claimed that the additional funding for Novopay aimed to “complete the process of delivering an efficient and cost effective payroll system,” and to continually improve payroll performance.

New & Early Childhood Schools :

A $75 million rise has been assigned to early childhood education for the coming 4 years and it would encourage more learners to attend for increasing hours from an early age, said Parata. The federal government is striving to achieve an objective to encourage more than 98 per cent of all young kids who will start school in the next year and have already taken part in recognized early childhood education. Furthermore, operational grants of schools will also boost by 1 per cent at $42.3 million.

The 2015 Budget also incorporates new capital expenses of around $244 million to construct 7 new schools and Kura Kaupapa, expand 4 existing schools and construct additional 241 classrooms at current schools. The new education investment of $687 million is partially provided by savings of $65 million in the Ministry of Education.

Tertiary Education :

Moreover, in accordance with the child hardship Budget initiative of the government, the student allowance rate for post-secondary students with children will boost by $25 per week. It is expected that this will benefit around 9000 families. For families with low-income, childcare assistance will rise from $4 per hour to $5 per hour, which will impact around 40,000 families.

             

What do you think about the 2015 Budget and how will it affect education? Feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and views with us by commenting below. We would love to hear from you.

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Need For Setting Goals To Improve Higher Education System In Africa

The education scenario in Africa has been facing several challenges since the past few years. The governments have taken several steps to create an enhanced learning environment, but with growing number of out-of-school kids due to poverty, terrorist attacks and political issues, the situation seems to remain same. However, recently a continental summit was held where academics, entrepreneurs, international development partners and even governments got together to create a common vision for improving the higher education system in Africa.

The Higher Education Summit

From March 10th to 12th, ministers of education, heads of state, academics, international development partners and entrepreneurs took part in the 3-day event held in Dakar, Senegal to talk about the challenges and priorities for the higher education systems in Africa in the coming 50 years. The summit was organised by Trust Africa and provided a platform for getting all stakeholders together from different parts of the continent. The goal was to develop a meaningful and common vision that will significantly help in improving the education sector so that it can cater to the nation's requirements in the 21st century.

President of Senegal, Macky Sall, and Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, inaugurated the continental summit and challenged all the members to work out a declaration of common goals for Africa's higher education system. President Sall said “The rate of access to higher education in Africa is trailing at 7%, compared to 76% in the West. There is an urgent need to facilitate access and build capacity in African universities.”

Dr. Dlamini-Zuma believes the main focus was on the ability of the continent to adapt its teaching methods, curriculum and research to the demands and needs of the changing world. He said “We produce too few PhDs, medical doctors, engineers, scientists, project managers, and mathematicians. Our youthful population is confronted with an aging academic and research community which limits opportunities for innovation and expansion.”

Need For Firm Commitments

The fact is strong commitments are required from the governments to restructure higher education in Africa. Moreover, a long-term vision coupled with broader partnerships and substantial sustainable investment is also needed. The platform created for stakeholders by the summit aimed to achieve this goal, focusing on questions of gender, partnerships, funding, employability, access and equity.

Regarding the impact of strong partnerships, Kofi Annan, Chair of Africa Progress Panel and former Secretary-General of the United Nations, said “Partnerships with the private sector can overcome the mismatch between the needs of African employers and the skills of its young graduates. Otherwise, university degrees will not secure the jobs graduates expect, and that is a recipe for social and political, as well as economic trouble.”

Developing strategic partnerships between international donors and African universities is also essential. Regarding investment in higher education in Africa, Claudia Costin, Senior Director for Education at the World Bank Group, said at present “the World Bank invests 20% of its education budget for Sub-Saharan Africa in higher education, representing approximately $600 million.”

The Bottom Line

Currently, there is great optimism for students, educators and universities across the continent. The fact remains that Africa can reach it's full economic and social potential in future only with the help of a high performing education system.

Why Nigerian students are investing £300 Million On UK universities Annually

Higher education is surely one of the most practical solutions for most Nigerian youths that can help them not only build their career, but also to rise beyond poverty and help their communities prosper. However, due to lack of sufficient world-class education opportunities in Nigeria, more and more students are now going abroad, especially the UK, to earn accredited degrees. Although UK education might prove beneficial for the students, the fact remains they are investing huge amounts of money on expensive degrees abroad, instead of investing it in Nigeria. Let’s have a look.....

Are Nigerian Students Ignoring Nigeria’s Development?

According to Ben TV International and the African-British Returnees International, Nigerians who reside in the UK spend around “£300 million annually on British education.” The experts believe that if the money is invested in education in Nigeria, then it could make a huge difference to their home country. Moreover, they also pointed out that currently over 2.5 million Nigerians are residing in the United Kingdom, who could have made substantial contributions to the socio-economic development of the nation only if these Nigerians lived back at home and used their professional expertise for improving their communities.

Tunde Alabi, Head at BEN TV News UK, apart from the spending around £300 million yearly on UK education, Nigerians in the UK are annually investing large amounts in pound sterling on rents and properties, stating that these individuals contribute greatly to the British economy. He commented that there “are a good number of Nigerians living in the UK. They are doing well in their callings, especially in healthcare, education and banking among others. In the British universities, there are Nigerians, who are heads of departments, deans of faculties and professors. They are doing well.”

But the question I want to ask here is why are these Nigerian students and professionals moving out of their homes and going abroad? The answer is simple...Nigeria is unable to provide world-class education and sufficient employment opportunities to its youth.

Is Nigeria Forcing Students To Study Abroad?

Numerous educators and academic leaders believe that the growing preference of Nigerian students for foreign institutes is mainly due to insufficient access, poor quality and unsteadiness in the education system. Ambassador Bello Shehu Ringim,High Commissioner of Nigeria in Malaysia, believes more and more Nigerian students are now opting to study at universities abroad due the various challenges in the education system at home. He said that most of the more than 1000 Nigerians living in Malaysia are students who are looking for better learning opportunities. He said “On the influx of Nigerian students here, our challenges at home led us to this problem. There are many good schools here and Nigerians always excel.”

He further said that currently over 200 Nigerian lecturers are employed in this Southeast Asian country. Ringim added “There are about 200 Nigerian lecturers in Malaysia. It’s a good thing that we’re leveraging on learning and teaching.” But he believes that the Nigerian government is taking steps to offer better educational opportunities back at home and to prevent the emigration of students. He said, “The present government is trying to restore the glory of education. Things are being streamlined while better funding and other positive steps are being taken. We’ve lost a lot of ground but government is determined to reverse the trend.”

Does This Mean There Is Hope For Nigeria?

Being an educationist, I admit that UK education is certainly among the best in the world and a degree from a UK university can certainly make you eligible for the best employment opportunities around the world. But is it necessary for Nigerians to invest such huge amounts of money in the United Kingdom and add to the British economy?

For me the answer is a hard no. There is no denying that the Nigerian education system is severely flawed at present and it might take several years for the government to offer top-notch learning facilities to the students. But there are still many ways through which you can earn an accredited UK degree without leaving Nigeria or investing heavily in the UK. I think one of the best ways to do this is through online study UK.

A Better Solution

Let’s face it...online education has taken the education world by storm and numerous students from across the globe are now studying online degrees and diplomas. You can find a wide array of online programmes offered by reputed colleges and universities in the UK. As these programmes are targeted at a wider student base, they are generally highly affordable and cost much less than traditional college courses. But if you are concerned about the quality of online education, then you will be glad to know that most universities offer the same curriculum online that are followed in on-campus programmes. Moreover the online study materials and lectures are developed and conducted by in-house and other renowned professors.

But I think the biggest advantage of pursuing online university degrees UK is that you can study at any time directly from your home or office. There is no need for you to leave your home country and visit the campus or travel extensively to attend classes. You can simply log in to your computer and easily access the online study materials to earn a recognised online UK diploma.

A Final Word

If you ask me, I think that online education can offer the right solution to Nigerian youths as it allows them to access world-class education from leading UK colleges and earn accredited degrees affordably without migrating to a foreign country. Hence Nigerian students can now learn what they need to and work to make their communities better and help the national economy develop.

Higher Ed Institutions must Meet Demands of 21st Century Business Employers

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With the gradual rise in the costs of availing college tuition, the expectations from parents in regard to their kids’ career prospects are growing higher and higher. But what is making today’s college students worried is the limited opportunities they are getting from the 21^st century employers. Prior to enrolling in any course for higher studies, the majority of students today ensure that they are able to obtain relevant skills from it that can help them remain exposed to high career prospects in the long-run.

Higher education institutions are doing a good job

Surveys have showed that that there is indeed a huge gap between business leaders and provosts in terms of preparing students for the forthcoming workforce. As per the Inside Higher Ed survey 2014, 96% of the provosts opined that the higher education institutions were doing incredibly well in preparing students for achieving professional skills.

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On the other hand, the Gallup survey after taking 1,012 members of the public and 628 business leaders into consideration, found:

·        Only 11% of the business leaders are aware of the fact that graduates today possess relevant skills

·        14% of the public have strongly supported the fact that the 21^st century graduates are quite competent to achieve success at their respective workplaces

Although a few provosts pointed out pitfalls in the poll, one thing came crystal clear. Higher education leaders today must be quite attentive towards what business experts demand from upcoming graduates. Reality says that only 9% of today’s business employers emphasise on an organisation’s reputation while the rest mostly eye upon the skills obtained by new graduates.

Opportunities for new age employees are rising

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Since new industries are popping up with the passage of time, business managers running world class companies now aim to pick graduates having postgraduate degrees. In fact, there are several companies that give their employers the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and skills through these programmes. Even a good number of colleges have started collaborating with postgraduate boot camps on the ways leading to their workplaces.

The Chronicle of Higher Education once reported that are several companies where employees get the opportunity to enhance their computer and technology skills. Moreover, the concept of electronic learning has assisted a lot of companies in training their employees in a very cost-effective manner. In fact, the concept of completing a course online has excited a lot of employers and a good number of them have realised the importance.

Online university courses are gaining relevance

Online courses in business management have even gained global recognition not only among students but also among working professionals. Surprisingly, the UK universities that used to only offer traditional courses are now giving international students to enrol in online courses for completing higher studies. In fact, this has triggered the relevance of online university courses that have now become the most convenient career option for new age learners who can obtain necessary skills from any corner of the world.

So, what is essential now is to introduce such career options for students who would not only be earning credentials just for the sake of it but would also be attaining workplace skills. The higher education providers must concentrate on the very way of delivering courses online that can absolutely inspire students to upgrade their knowledge and skills and thereafter meet their career goals quite affordably.

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Substandard Public Education Sector Relies Greatly On Private Educational Institutions in Nigeria

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Public educational institutions in Nigeria are in quite lacklustre state, and mass trust is greatly inclined on private educational institutions. No matter what the level of education, primary, secondary or tertiary, everywhere the trend seems to be the same. As observed by Okafor et al, “falling standards leading to pushing the goal excellence to the back burner as public confidence in our educational system is eroded”, and this lack of confidence is something very prominent in Nigerian education system today.

If we go deep into this matter, we find that this consistent poor standard of Nigerian public education sector owes greatly its dwindled state to the poor planning and lack of investment. In fact, this has led nearly to the collapse of systematic process that can only give birth to a dismal and dilapidated condition. If you pay a casual visit to any of the public schools in Nigeria you will easily understand how far the standard of education has been deteriorated.

Public Education has Lost Public Faith

At the National Summit on Higher Education held in 2002, a hopelessly striking fact came in front that not only the curriculum existed in public educational institutions was substandard, but also of1,185 academic programmes, just 11% were given full NUC accreditation (NUC, 2001). Also, university system has only about 46% of staffs to what actually is required.

Shortage of Seats

There are about 23 private universities currently in Nigeria. But, seeing the demand for privately run education system this feels considerably less in number. Statistics shows that in the 2005-06 academic year, there were only 130,000 places for the 8000,000 candidates, thereby leaving many students deprived of the taste of higher education.(Source: bit.ly/1jQYf1t)

Parents Find Reliance on Private Education

Anyway, parents cannot give up their dreams to bring up their offspring with good education. And, to their expectations, private educational institutions have served a good deal. Privately run school and colleges are complementing the ills and lapses of public educational institutions. Private educational institutions have really grown prolific and gained huge popularity and acceptance among parents in Nigeria.

An important revelation with such move points out towards the fact that many Nigerian parents incur costly private education for the good of their children’s future. Instead of humble economic strength in average Nigerian parents, they can sacrifice all their comforts for the sake of their offspring. And, due to the inadequacy of good private universities in the country, many parents are sending their children abroad, against heavy toll on themselves.

Foreign Universities Offering Courses in Nigeria

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Though it is a noble step to invest all their savings for their children’s future, it is something that is not actually required anymore. Seeing the huge demand-supply gap in private universities, and average financial capacity among Nigerian population, many prestigious universities of the world, especially from the UK, have introduced their unparalleled standard of higher education to the Nigerian youth through online distance learning. Attending courses offered by these eminent universities, Nigerian students not only enrol on fully accredited curriculums that are accepted anywhere in the world, but also make an opportunity to carry out regular jobs alongside their study online, and all these against an unbelievably low cost. They do not have to leave their country, for with a computer and internet connection they are all set to continue their studies from their home or anywhere they prefer.

To overcome the sustaining problem of the shortage in the country’s own private universities, and continuously poor standard of public educational institutions, Nigerian students must take benefits of these inexpensive and career-centric higher education offered by some of the world’s best universities online.

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It’s Time for Diverse Learning! Read the Change

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What is biggest present we have received from technology? Well, my answer would be a smaller world filled with wonders. Really, it is an amazing tiny world where we reach people, earn degrees, buy wardrobes, and consult doctors sitting at home only through a few clicks. The way technology has changed our academic and professional experience was unpredictable even a few years ago. Workers solve customer issues sitting in a car, students finish their assignments lying on sofa; no matter how hectic your work schedule gets or how huge your school curriculum is they fit smoothly in your pocket and you move easily working on them. Technology that made schools and offices available on phones and gadgets has introduced customized earning and learning system where people perform on their own terms.

A Different Way to Knowledge:

Bill Sheskey, a Teacher-Educator and a Technology Specialist advocates for the evolving educational environment in her book Essential Education for a Changing World. She says that students entering classes today are far different from what they were sometime earlier. The teachers of 21st Century realize that they require a changed environment as the generation today is capable of gathering more information faster than the other ones. So, learning institutions today rely more on vibrant equipments and playful procedures than big text-books and tedious lectures. Students today learn via video conferences, webinars, online forums, designed lessons, and exciting apps – for the entire world it’s time for smart learning.

In a changed world of education, you are offered better atmosphere as it endorses…

Faster and Easier Solutions: Students with the facility of internet have access to huge information. Only through a few clicks learners today get thousands of data in a moment. Education delivered through internet helps the students learn more effectively supported by the huge collection of supplements. 

Learning at Convenient Pace and Space

Learning, these days have become really enjoyable as people are allowed to learn on their own terms. They design their courses and create learning routine according to their convenience. Education no more requires you to run after a ticking clock, you can set it in line with your preference.

Several Opportunities:

Gone are the days when you missed lectures as you missed a class; and struggled badly to understand further chapters. Video instruction has solved the issue. You can hear to a lecture whenever you want and keep repeating it as long you don’t get a hang of it.

Technological Tools for Education:

Technological intervention is a major event in the history of education. The exciting learning tools enhance your reading and writing skills by helping you to manage information, to make notes quickly and easily, understand and review performances. These tools even help you to get tips from specialist and remain posted about current events of the world. 

More Engaging Atmosphere:

Education today has come a long way from tiresome monologue. Today, it involves vivid activities and delivers knowledge through vibrant dialogues between peers and educators. This very fresh process of learning is supported by wikis, journals, blogs, and various forums. Education in recent times in collaboration with internet has made learning a social event.

Academic aspirers have always wished for a convenient education system that will not require people to abide by hundreds of rules. And it feels good to say that the time has come. Learning today is no more designed in accordance with intuitional norms but tailored to suit the learner’s preference. Students, who didn’t like sitting on the same bench, meeting same people and turning pages of that fat text book have different option to choose this time. The changes occurring everyday confirm that going back to school is not going back to the same rules. 

How To Design A Good E-Learning Course?

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E-learning is growing so popular all through the globe that almost every day we see many new projects initiated by the prominent educational institutions. The success of e-learning programmes is chiefly due to the lucid and simple design of curriculum and enormous flexibility one can enjoy around his course curriculum. All-round simplicity marks the huge popularity of e-learning in every sphere of learning.

Another factor playing vital behind the wide acceptance of e-learning is its lucid course content. People expect their e-learning courses to be very easily fit around their lives. So, the course content of e-learning programs must be kept as simple and user-friendly as possible. Equally important is the mobility and compatibility of online technologies that are employed in delivering course content. They should be always easy to handle and easy to access.

Let’s focus on some of the tools that can be best used to design e-learning courses:

Choose the perfect LCMS

Your wrong selection of learning content management system can take you to a trouble zone. You will have problem in integrating instructors, content tools, student comprehension and many more things. So, be absolutely careful choosing your LCMS.

Ensure your LCMS’ compatibility with MOODLE and other LMS

If you want a smooth and undisturbed process of online learning you must ensure the compatible integration between your LCMS and other LMS products.

Take careful measure in text properties

Your text content must be easily legible to the audience, so take special care of typographical characters and font sizes. You should give perfect format to your text content as well, so that everyone feels attracted to go through them.

Keep your content design attractive

Attractiveness is a vital issue in grabbing the attention of your audience, so you must design your course well-designed and well-composed.

Understand your target audience

Understanding the taste and need of your audience is essentially important to make your course successful. You need to have deep insight about the requirement of your audiences to see your course successfully going.

 Inspire participation

Every technical as well as pedagogical measure may turn fruitless if you cannot inspire your audience to actively participate in the learning process. Offer chance to external participation from different area of knowledge, as well, to enrich your curriculum.

Remain up-to-date with content authoring tools

Although it is pretty tough to make extensive use of all your tools at once, initiatives must be there to keep tabs on tools at newsletters, popular blogs, magazines and other prominent websites. You will get many good resources of potential audiences through these measures.   

    

Offer a free trial

Free trial ensures trust from the audience’s part. Once they become sure of the quality of the course content they will spontaneously jump for it. So, do not hesitate to offer free trials. It actually shows honesty from a course provider’s side.

Get more expert faculty

Expert faculty are the life of any course content, so be always enthusiastic to get more expert faculty for your e-learning course, who can deliver the best possible knowledge to your e-learners.

There are endless issues where you can continuously improve on the quality of content and mode of teaching-learning. We have discussed some of the basic issues here, following which you can successfully conduct a good online course.