Category Archives: Education

UK universities cut back on crucial research because of reduced funding

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One in five institutions spending less, including in areas such as cancer and heart disease, says report

Universities are cutting back on vital research, with world-leading work on deadly conditions such as cancer and heart disease under threat from an erosion in funding from government and charities, according to a report.

The report, compiled by Universities UK, found that one in five UK universities have reduced their research activity, including cuts to life sciences, medicine and environmental sciences, and many said they were expecting to make steeper cuts in the future because of mounting financial pressures.

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School absence a big factor in child mental illness in England, data shows

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Loughborough University and ONS study of 1 million school-age children reveals risks increase with longer absence

School absences “significantly contribute” to children’s mental ill health, according to research backed by the Office for National Statistics that shows the risks increase the longer a child is absent.

“Our research shows that the more times a child is absent from school, the greater the probability that they will experience mental ill health,” the authors, from Loughborough University and the ONS, concluded.

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Bridget Phillipson: parents must do more about bad behaviour and attendance in schools

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Education secretary targets 800 schools as she attempts to turn around post-Covid trends with enhanced support

Parents and caregivers “need to do more” to reverse post-Covid trends of poor attendance and behaviour in schools, the education secretary has said, announcing new measures to support schools in England before the start of the new school year.

Bridget Phillipson unveiled a UK government programme on Sunday targeting 800 schools attended by about 600,000 pupils, beginning with an initial wave of 21 schools that will serve as attendance and behaviour hubs.

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‘So aware of their emotions’: Pupils are standout stars in new series about Yorkshire academy

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Educating Yorkshire Part 2 shows inspirational teachers negotiating challenges in young people’s lives

“Basically, there’s summat wrong with me. I’m like … a psychopath. Genuinely!” A teenage girl with the face of an angel is confiding in Mr Wilson, one of the student managers. He listens solemnly, but his mouth twitches with the beginnings of a smile.

“I’m going to start by disagreeing with you,” he says with all the seriousness he can muster. “You’re not a psychopath.” The girl in the sky-blue hoodie relaxes and rewards him with a broad smile.

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As Covid effect ebbs, GCSE results reveal broken legacy of Gove’s resit policy

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Experts talk of ‘resit crisis’ as number accounts for nearly a quarter of maths and English entries, an all-time high

This year’s GCSE results in England delivered something that teachers and policymakers had craved in recent years: stability, at least for most 16-year-olds.

Covid and its aftermath had sent GCSE results seesawing until this summer, when results were more similar to the previous year than at any time since the pandemic struck in 2020.

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UK to evacuate nine Gaza students with university scholarships

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Move follows months of pressure from MPs, academics and campaigners, with dozens of other students still stranded

Nine students in Gaza with full scholarships to study at British universities have been told the UK government is working to facilitate their evacuation.

The students – who have all been awarded Chevening scholarships, funded by the Foreign Office in recognition of their potential as future leaders – welcomed the development on Wednesday, but dozens more Palestinians in Gaza with university places are still awaiting news.

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‘We’re all going backwards’: dismay as Trump undoes Biden student-debt plan

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Borrowers say higher repayments under changed Save plan means placing life on hold and creating further anxiety

When Faith, a 33-year-old in Burlington, North Carolina, went back to get her master’s degree in higher education administration in 2020-21, she hoped it would accelerate her career growth and maybe even help her get on the housing ladder.

Now, Faith has federal student loan debts of $38,113, and a repayment schedule that is much more demanding than she realized so she feels like the program stalled her progress.

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Parents in England skipping meals to afford school uniforms, survey finds

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Education secretary urges schools to change uniform requirements as costs force many parents into debt

Parents in England are skipping meals and turning to buy-now-pay-later services such as Klarna in order to afford school uniforms before the autumn term, according to a survey.

Almost half (47%) of the 2,000 parents who took part in the poll said they were worried about uniform costs, which can run into hundreds of pounds due to expensive branded items, while more than a quarter (29%) said they had forgone food or heating to pay for uniforms.

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Judge blocks two Trump efforts to eliminate DEI in schools and colleges

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Education department found to have violated law when it threatened to cut funds from institutions that backed DEI

A federal judge on Thursday struck down two Trump administration actions aimed at eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the nation’s schools and universities.

In her ruling, US district judge Stephanie Gallagher in Maryland found that the education department violated the law when it threatened to cut federal funding from educational institutions that continued with DEI initiatives.

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‘Censorship’: over 115 scholars condemn cancellation of Harvard journal issue on Palestine

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In an open letter, writers denounced abrupt scrapping of a Harvard Educational Review issue dedicated to Palestine

More than 115 education scholars have condemned the cancellation of an entire issue of an academic journal dedicated to Palestine by a Harvard University publisher as “censorship”.

In an open letter published on Thursday, the scholars denounced the abrupt scrapping of a special issue of the Harvard Educational Review – which was first revealed by the Guardian in July – as an “attempt to silence the academic examination of the genocide, starvation and dehumanisation of Palestinian people by the state of Israel and its allies.”

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Trump administration threatens to strip Harvard University of lucrative patents

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White House escalates offensive on Ivy League university by calling for review of federally funded research

The latest phase of the Trump administration’s offensive against Harvard University is a comprehensive review of the university’s federally funded research programs, and the threat to strip the school’s lucrative portfolio of patents.

In a letter to the Harvard president, Alan Garber, posted online on Friday, Donald Trump’s commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, accused Harvard of breaching its legal and contractual requirements tied to federally funded research programs and patents.

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Funding for English youth clubs aims to keep children off smartphones

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Keir Starmer says £88m package will help tackle trend of young people becoming ‘disconnected from their communities’

Youth clubs and after-school activities in England will receive a funding injection of £88m as ministers try to get more children away from smartphones and computer screens.

The package, which Keir Starmer announced on Tuesday, is intended to give pupils access to sport, outdoor activities, art, music, debating and volunteering.

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Brown University reaches deal with Trump administration to restore $50m in funds

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Ivy League school will commit to nondiscrimination in admissions and campus programs, and grant officials access to data

Brown University has reached an agreement with the Trump administration that will reinstate nearly $50m in research funding and close several federal investigations into the institution, university president Christina Paxson announced in a campus-wide email on Wednesday.

The settlement follows the Trump administration’s threat in April to freeze $510m in federal support to Brown. This makes Brown the third Ivy League school to reach a resolution with the federal government this month.

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ChatGPT launches study mode to encourage ‘responsible’ academic use

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Tool gives guidance rather than serving up complete essays or answers, amid rising AI misuse at universities

ChatGPT is launching a “study mode” to encourage responsible academic use of the chatbot, amid rising cases of misuse of artificial intelligence tools at universities.

The feature, which can be accessed via the chatbot’s tools button, can walk users through complex subjects in a step-by-step format akin to an unfolding academic lesson.

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Tim Winton among 100 high-profile Australians calling for university fees that don’t ‘punish’ arts students

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Open letter urges Labor to reverse JRG scheme, introduced by Coalition in 2021, as cost of humanities degrees reaches more than $50,000

Tim Winton knows what it’s like to be the first in a family to go to university – “what a breakthrough that is, the kind of opportunities it provides”.

It was at the Western Australian Institute of Technology, studying arts, that he wrote his first novel, An Open Swimmer, launching a four-decade writing career.

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Teachers’ union elects former FBU general secretary on turnout below 5%

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Matt Wrack wins ballot for NASUWT general secretary after legal challenge to executive’s earlier decision

Matt Wrack, a former leader of the firefighters’ union, has been elected as permanent general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union after a ballot in which less than 5% of eligible members voted.

He beat his challenger, Neil Butler, winning 5,249 votes to his rival’s 3,126, after the NASUWT’s first contested leadership election for a generation.

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Ministers urged to help students trapped in Gaza with places at UK universities

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Forty people who have been offered scholarships unable to travel without biometric data they have no way of getting

Pressure is mounting on ministers to intervene on behalf of 40 students in Gaza who have been offered full scholarships to study at UK universities, but are unable to take up their places this September because of government red tape.

A high-level meeting is understood to have taken place at the Home Office on Tuesday after MPs and campaigners highlighted the students’ plight, calling on ministers to take action to help secure their safe passage to the UK. Some students are reported to have been killed while waiting, while others are said to be in constant danger.

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Arrests in China after more than 230 kindergarten children poisoned by lead paint in food

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Principal at school in Gansu province reportedly wanted to attract more enrolments by ‘enhancing’ the colour and look of the food served to children

Chinese authorities have arrested six people and launched disciplinary investigations into almost 30 others after more than 230 kindergarten children were poisoned by food coloured with industrial-grade lead paint

The incident, which occurred in Gansu province earlier this month, is one of China’s worst school food safety incidents and has drawn national attention. An investigative report released by the Gansu provincial party committee on Sunday found a litany of failures in safety and oversight, as well as attempts to cover up the incident, bribe people in charge and modify test results.

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Ministers urged to guarantee NHS jobs for new midwives amid understaffing

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Student midwives working thousands of hours unpaid in NHS fear lack of vacancies despite staff shortages

A student midwife who fears she will be unable to get a job after completing 2,300 hours of unpaid placement work in the NHS is calling for guaranteed posts for newly qualified midwives who otherwise will be forced to abandon the profession before their careers begin.

Aimee Peach, 43, is due to complete her training next summer, but says the promise of a job at the end of her three-year degree course has “collapsed”, despite severe shortages of midwives across the country.

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Oxford University Press to stop publishing China-sponsored science journal

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Move follows concerns several papers in Forensic Sciences Research did not meet ethical standards on DNA collection

Oxford University Press (OUP) will no longer publish a controversial academic journal sponsored by China’s Ministry of Justice after years of concerns that several papers in the publication did not meet ethical standards about DNA collection.

A statement published on the website of Forensic Sciences Research (FSR) states that OUP will stop publishing the quarterly journal after this year.

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