Milan, 30/08/02 

The Università Bocconi has communicated that the fourth post-graduate course in Online Education and Training will start in October.  This course, which lasts 8 months and consists of one or two hours per day, is organised with the support of the Education Institute of the University of London. The program is centered around a community learning through the internet.

Düsseldorf, 30/08/02 

WDR, the German broadcaster, reports that a program of music, dance and pantomime has been organised for the Marktplatz of Düsseldorf to raise funds for a primary school in Raguhn, near Bitterfeld, Sassonia-Anhalt. The school was seriously damaged in the recent flooding of the Danube basin and this gesture of solidarity is aiming to raise 50,000 euro.

Washington, 29/08/02 

Expelling students from school for drug use is counterproductive; a more appropriate strategy is to be found in government recommendations to school authorities. The Associated Press agency informs that the drug problem needs special handling and not the automatic expulsion that occurs in many US school districts when students are caught in possession of drugs.

London, 29/08/02 

Many British secondary schools continue to have problems finding good teachers even though the number of vacancies has dropped by over a quarter. The BBC reports that a research study commissioned by The Times Educational Supplement and the Head Teachers' Association shows that many teachers are still called on to teach subjects for which they are not qualified.

Paris, 28/08/02 

The old rural single-teacher school lives on again in a film now showing in French movie houses Etre et avoir. According to AFP, the film which is directed by Nicolas Philibert tells the story of this type of school which has almost disappeared in France (there remain just a few hundred out of 60,000 French schools). The opening scene shows the school bus collecting students along a lonely snow-covered country road.

Boston, 28/08/02 

What to do with students who play truant? American school authorities have discussed this age-old problem for many years. In a CNN program, some school heads described how they hire special assistants to round up absent students, whereas others thought it more appropriate to try and find out the causes of truancy rather than simply forcing students back into class.

Buenos Aires, 22/08/02 

650 instances of student mothers and 273 of very young fathers were counted in the secondary schools of the Argentinian capital. The daily newspaper Clarìn reports that the first school creche has been set up; 40 of the 160 babies are children of school students. In the past, according to 18-year-old Leonor, motherrs had to bring their babies into the classroom with them.

Paris, 5/08/02 

According to the France Presse news agency, a law emendment proposed by the French government which would give jail sentences to anyone insulting a teacher has had mixed reactions. On one side, certain teachers' unions have critically spoken about a tendency towards repressiveness whereas, on the other, an association representing schools has greeted the initiative with great satisfaction.

Dallas, 2/08/02 

Bitter controversy has followed the decision of a Texas school district which forbids employees to send messages with religious content via their office computers. The Associated Press agency describes how one district official who sent an email outlining President Bush's proposal for a national day of prayer was called in and told to stop this type of communication.

Wellington, 31/07/02 

The 400 New Zealand private schools, with their 47,000 students and 6,500 teachers and other staff, are in turmoil after the Wellington government decided to freeze state funding for private schools at the 2001 level. According to the daily newspaper The New Zealand Herald a good number of institutes had invested in new programs on the basis that these funds would follow past tendencies and increase.

Telford, 30/07/02 

Students pressurised into trying to obtain better school results risk becoming drug abusers. This is the alarm raised by an association of British teachers during a congress in Telford. The BBC reports that numerous specialists explained the close relation between drug use and feelings of exclusion or dissatisfaction at school.

Warsaw, 30/07/02 

There are more than 200 Polish schools of every type and grade named after Pope John Paul II, according to France Presse. These schools have been grouped together in a kind of family for a number of years and they sponsor religious and cultural events. They are now ready to give a huge welcome to the Pope when he returns to his native land for a visit between August 16 and 19.

Iowa City, 29/07/02 

The practice of flagging students during high school admission tests is to be stopped. This practice marks as "special" the test of any disabled student who asks for and obtains extra time to complete the questions. CNN reports how, following the example of a New York college, an Iowa institute has decided to ban flagging students in this way. Civil rights groups claim the practice violates federal law.

Wuppertal, 23/07/02 

The competition included also middle school adolescents but the prize went to the youngsters from the Leipziger Strasse primary school in Wuppertal, Germany. The broadcasting station WDR explained that the winners were judged on creativity and imagination and how the Leipziger Strasse pupils earned their success with an Internet site devoted entirely to the world of fables.

Savona, 21/06/02 

Because he had been arrested for drug pushing, L.R. missed the second test in his high school leaving exam, called in Italy the “maturità” . But as the young man had no previous record, according to the daily newspaper La Stampa , he was let free so he could do this exam and then finish the whole set of examinations required for his diploma. Only when he has completed these will he have to face the courts.

London, 21/06/02 

The English and Welsh education system is “costly, bureaucratic and slow” according to an official report made by the Audit Commission, the body which keeps a check on British public services. According to the BBC, those who bear the consequences of this are above all children with special educational needs. A fifth of students, the report claims, suffer either from dyslexia, behavioural problems or severe physical conditions.

London, 20/06/02 

A 43-year old man has killed himself because of his excessive worry about having to pay a heavy fine. He had been fined because his son did not attend school regularly. In reporting this news item, the Italian daily La Repubblica explains that in England parents who are recognised as responsible for not sending their children to school can be fined up to €3000.

Paris, 19/06/02 

An action plan to combat illiteracy has been presented by the French Education Minister, Luc Ferry. According to France Presse the problem is so serious that every year more and more young people finish compulsory schooling with grave reading difficulties. A government spokeperson has defined the contents of this plan as a “far-reaching strategy”.

Hamburg, 14/06/02

An investigation-survey into the German educational system has turned up some disappointing results, according to the weekly magazine Der Spiegel. The blame is squarely laid on the family. According to the wide-ranging survey, most parents are not very interested in their child’s school activities and do not even check that they are doing their homework. But, of course, whenever there is a problem they blame the school and the teachers.

Geneva, 12/06/02

The world labor organization, on the occasion of a World Day designed to protest against child labor, estimates that the number of working children in the world numbers 246 million. According to the agency Misna the problem mainly concerns Asian countries, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in particular. Indeed, the number of children exploited in Bangladesh is actually growing.

Paris, 6/06/02

The famous and absolutely vital bac exams, which are taken at the end of high school in France, will this year be taken by more than 600000 students. Introduced by Napoleon in 1808, the exam has become increasingly widespread over the years, according to France Presse. In the 50s only 5% of students stayed on to take the exam, whereas today the figure is around 60%.

Buenos Aires, 6/06/02

A group of Argentine mothers complain that their children are so hungry that they are eating frogs and mice in order to survive. The daily newspaper Clarìn reports that these mothers have occupied the Buenos Aires Cathedral by way of protest. This is just one of the distressing effects of the dramatic economic crisis which has been afflicting Argentina for months and which has literally reduced a good number of people to hunger.

Torquay, 6/06/02

While the behavior of students in UK schools presents a problem, their parents’ troublesome behavior is just as serious. This accusation comes from the annual meeting of the school principals’ association recently held in Torquay. The BBC reports that David Hart, the association’s secretary, considers that the get-tough tactics of parents is in fact worse than that of their children.

Washington, 2/06/02

The traditional blackboard is progressively disappearing from American schools, and along with it chalk and chalkdust. At first, whiteboards and colored markers took its place but now, according to CNN , a new piece of equipment is coming into use, a screen with a plasma-type surface which can take computer images.