Education Talking Points | 29/08/2017

In today’s talking points:  Rural early-childhood centres may be key in solving China’s rural education problems; Billions of dollars spent on education prove ineffective in improving test results; Western Australia hit hard by decrease in international student enrollment; New Oriental in the Spotlight

Rural early-childhood centres may be key in solving China’s rural education problems
 
Early education centres may be crucial in reducing the dropout rates of rural Chinese students. The centres aim to provide children aged 3 to 6 with a space to engage in reading, play and interaction with other children, fostering childrens’ skills and curiosity. Currently, 50 centres are under trial across the country. They will likely be rolled out across rural villages all over China if deemed successful.
 
Only 8% of the rural Chinese workforce have attended any form of high school, in contrast to 37% of urban Chinese, according to recent statistics. It is therefore imperative that rural education rates are improved, to narrow the gap between urban and rural China, and to help build a more capable workforce as China continues to develop.
 
Read more at: Japan Times
 
Billions of dollars spent on education prove ineffective in improving test results
 
Results from the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) are in again. Despite billions having been spent on education reforms, scant improvement in test results has occurred. In fact scores have even declined in some states. Faced with declining or stagnant test scores, the government has agreed to further invest in the sector.
 
Positively, literacy and numeracy skills in the Northern Territory have seen marked improvements amongst primary school students, however the territory’s high school students are still lagging behind the national average.
 
Education Minister Simon Birmingham has urged educators to draw lessons from top achieving schools in order to improve teaching quality.
 
Read more at: The Australian

 

Western Australia hit hard by decrease in international student enrollment

New figures collected by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection show a concerning slump in new student enrollment for Western Australia (WA), with numbers falling from 2997 to 2309 in June – a 23 per cent reduction compared to the previous year.

According to WAPETIA’s chair Malcolm Baigent, “What’s driving this is changes to the student visa system, particularly the tightening up of rules over English entry,” he said, especially since other countries, such as Canada, have a more relaxed policy that gives them a definite advantage in attracting foreign students.

However, although WA’s small colleges and training institutes appear to be suffering from these trends, bigger institutions, including Perth’s major universities, have apparently managed to avoid major impacts so far.  

Read more at: The Sydney Morning Herald

New Oriental in the Spotlight

A well-known education company, New Oriental Education and Technology Group, has made notable contributions to thousands of teachers and students in underdeveloped areas of China.

For one of it’s programs, launched by the company and the China Democratic League in 2007 and known as the Candlelight Campaign, New Oriental teachers are dispatched to train peers in impoverished areas for free. Through a series of face-to-face lectures, the company has shared advanced methods for teaching English, math and Chinese with educators in remote areas.

So far, more than 400 employees have volunteered for the campaign, helping to train more than 25,000 teachers in 28 provinces and regions, mostly in central and western parts of China. What’s more, New Oriental has opened its online courses and teaching resources to teachers and students in those areas.

Read more at: China Daily