Tag: education

More French schools closed after virus cases detected

PARIS, France (AFP) — More French schools have closed after multiple students tested positive for Covid-19 while a further 2,100 individual classes have also been called off, Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said Wednesday. Early last week, just 28 schools were closed shortly after the school year resumed but that number has climbed to 81 over the past week. “We have around 1,200 new Covid cases among students compared with last week,” Blanquer told LCI television. […]

Dutch outdoor classes avoid coronavirus ‘digital misery’

by Charlotte VAN OUWERKERK MIDDLEBURG, Netherlands (AFP) — A Dutch university is holding open-air classes in parks, public squares and parking lots to limit the number of lectures taking place online because of the coronavirus pandemic. At the foot of a majestic church in the historic center of the city of Middelburg, science professor Edward Nieuwenhuis demonstrates an experiment on a bench in front of 25 students bundled up in jackets. With a noisy street-cleaning […]

China rips into Trump order revoking visas of 1,000 Chinese students

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China accused Washington of “political persecution and racial discrimination” on Thursday, after the US confirmed it had revoked the visas of more than 1,000 Chinese students under an order by President Donald Trump that accused some of espionage. Trump declared in May that some Chinese nationals officially in the United States for study have stolen intellectual property and helped modernize China’s military, as tensions between the two countries soar on multiple […]

US revokes visas for 1,000 Chinese under Trump order

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States has revoked visas of more than 1,000 Chinese students and researchers under an order by President Donald Trump that accused some of them of espionage, the State Department said Wednesday. Trump, in a May 29 proclamation as tensions rose with Beijing on multiple fronts, declared that some Chinese nationals officially in the United States for study have stolen intellectual property and helped modernize China’s military. The State […]

As Spain cases soar, school return comes too soon for some

  by Thomas PERROTEAU Agence France Presse MADRID, Spain (AFP) — With coronavirus cases surging as a new school year begins, many Spanish parents are refusing to send their children back to class despite the threat of sanctions. “You have your whole life to learn, but if you lose your health, that’s it,” says Aroa Miranda, a 37-year-old mother-of-two who won’t send her boys to school this week when term resumes in the coastal town […]

UK schools begin full return despite increase in virus cases

by Stuart GRAHAM with Charlotte DURAND in London EDINBURGH, United Kingdom (AFP) — Scottish children began attending schools for the first time in five months on Tuesday as leaders across Britain try to kickstart a return to education despite coronavirus cases increasing again. Scotland’s devolved government has ordered pupils in different parts of the UK nation to return gradually through this week, with all classes set to have resumed fully by next Tuesday. In neighboring […]

Hong Kong academics fear for freedom under new security law

by Jerome Taylor and Su Xinqi HONG KONG, China (AFP) — China’s new security law has sent a chill through Hong Kong’s schools and universities with many teachers fearful the city’s reputation for academic freedom and excellence is now at risk. Just a week after the sweeping legislation was imposed on the territory, staff at some institutions have already been warned by their administrators to be careful how they teach. “Remain neutral in your teaching […]

Trump says Harvard move to online courses due to virus ‘ridiculous’

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump lashed out at Harvard University on Tuesday, calling its decision to move all its courses online in the fall due to the coronavirus pandemic “ridiculous.” “I think it’s ridiculous. I think it’s an easy way out. And I think they ought to be ashamed of themselves,” Trump said at a White House roundtable discussion, during which he called for schools and universities to reopen for the […]

Kenya declares school year ‘lost’, classes back in 2021

NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) — Kenya on Tuesday declared that its school year was considered lost because of the coronavirus pandemic, and primary and secondary pupils would return to class next January. The school year in the East African country runs from January to November, when it climaxes with end-of-term exams. But Education Minister George Magoha said in a statement that the curve of COVID-19 infections was expected to flatten only by December. As a result, […]

Thailand schools reopen with strict hygiene rules

BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Mask-wearing pupils catching up with friends at one Bangkok high school were quickly told to spread out as they headed back to lessons on Wednesday after months of distance learning due to coronavirus restrictions. The teenagers, resuming classes along with all other public school students in the kingdom, chatted animatedly before being called to sit in widely spaced rows for the opening session. The school principal, Arwuth Meekhanphet, warned them all […]

A quarter-billion children getting no education: UN

by Mariëtte Le Roux PARIS, France (AFP) — Nearly 260 million children had no access to schooling in 2018, a United Nations agency said in a report Tuesday that blamed poverty and discrimination for educational inequalities that are being exacerbated by the coronavirus outbreak. Children from poorer communities as well as girls, the disabled, immigrants and ethnic minorities were at a distinct educational disadvantage in many countries, the UN’s Paris-based education body UNESCO said. In […]

French pupils return for ‘obligatory’ school after virus closure

PARIS, France (AFP) — French schools opened their doors to greet pupils on Monday for what the government says is two weeks of obligatory lessons before the summer break, although many parents may yet defy the decision and keep their children at home. Schools began reopening when the government eased its lockdown rules six weeks ago, but parents were allowed to keep their children at home and a strict health protocol meant that classes could […]