Academicians in South Korea are facing the heat as 179 university professors from around 110 universities in the country were indicted for academic misconduct. The move was the result of an extensive criminal investigation into a huge copyright scam. According to reports, the professors have been charged with republishing existing textbooks written by others under their own names by modifying the covers with the alleged connivance of the publishing companies.
CONTROL SHIFTWith the aim of giving states and local communities control over setting standards for students and teachers, U.S. President Barack Obama has signed fresh education reforms into law. This will enable the country's 50 state governments to limit how many and how often students take tests and the national government will no longer be able to tell states and communities how to evaluate school and teacher performance. The new law replaces the No Child Left Behind measure which was approved in 2002.
AVOIDING ATHEISMAt a recent conference, British education secretary Nicky Morgan said schools in the U.K. must teach students that Britain is a Christian nation. She has also published a new guidance which makes it clear that schools need not give “equal parity” to non-religious views.
The new guidelines issued by the Department of Education state there is “no obligation for any school to give equal air time to the teaching of religious and nonreligious views” in religious studies lessons. However, atheism can be taught in other subjects such as history or politics.
