[Onthebarricades] Students and education, part 2 of 2

[Andy]

*  KENYA:  Student revolt over downgrading of exam results
*  SUDAN:  Unrest during student protest in Khartoum, after death of student
*  SOUTH AFRICA:  Student revolt over accusations teacher was involved in 
murder
*  PAKISTAN:  Student protest attack on activists in Lahore
*  IRAN:  Students protest food quality
*  PAKISTAN:  Students protest for accreditation of university
*  FIJI:  South Pacific students want registrar removed over strict rules
*  UK:  Protests stop school closures
*  US:  John Swett students march against school cuts
*  UK:  Academics rally at Keele against layoffs
*  US:  Thousands protest New York school cuts
*  SOUTH AFRICA:  School students stage lockout to protest lack of teachers
*  UK:  Surrey villagers protest against administrative exclusion from 
school
*  TRINIDAD:  Parents protest for new teacher
*  TRINIDAD:  Students protest for new school
*  KENYA:  Students, MP protest against headteacher, corruption

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http://www.kbc.co.ke/story.asp?ID=48848

Students riot over downgrading of KCSE results.
Written By:Mac Kemoli   , Posted: Sat, Mar 15, 2008
Ntunene Girls' high School in Igembe has been closed and students suspended 
indefinitely following riots over downgrading of the KCSE results and the 
transfer of the school's deputy head teacher.
The students destroyed a lot of school property during the rampage. Police 
officers from the nearby Laare station had to be called in to restore calm 
and spent the night in the compound to prevent further damage.
Area District Education Officer Paul Ngugi held a meeting with the school 
management before resolving to send the students home to enable the school 
board deliberate on the matter.
The school had registered a mean score of 6.03 but after the KNEC recalled 
the results, the new mean grade was down graded to 5.67.

http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/4712.htm

Demonstration Turns Into Riot In Central Khartoum
Thousands of Sudanese students, members of the Democratic Front which is 
identified with the country's oppositionists, as well as ordinary citizens, 
demonstrated in central Khartoum.
The demonstration was to protest against the death last week of an 
Al-Jazeera University student in a clash with Islamist students identified 
with the ruling National Congress party.
During the demonstration, cars were set on fire and calls for 
democratization were heard, as well as statements of lack of confidence that 
legal authorities would bring the killers to justice. Clashes broke out 
between demonstrators and police, and dozens of demonstrators were arrested.
Source: Al-Ayyam, Sudan, January 21, 2008

 http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=105&art_id=vn20080219044321798C446397School riot after pupil's death    Latoya Newman    February 19 2008 at 10:18AMLessons were suspended at Nkonka High School, in Murchison, on the SouthCoast, on Monday after pupils rioted, alleging that one of their teacherswas linked to a pupil's death at the weekend.The police and the education department were involved in resolving thematter.Police Superintendent Vincent Mdunge said the uproar was believed to havebeen linked to a fight that had claimed the life of a pupil at the weekend."It appears that one of the female pupils was seen by her boyfriend walkingwith three other boys. The boyfriend and his friends then attacked the threeguys, beating them with unknown objects and killing one boy," Mdunge said."The girl was also seen in a minibus owned by one of the teachers at theschool. But the community has told police that the teacher gave her a liftin good faith and is not linked to the incident at all," he said.Mdunge said two people had been arrested in connection with the attack,while police were looking for three others."We know who the outstanding suspects are and we will arrest them. But wewant to assure the pupils that our investigation has proved that the teacheris not linked to the incident," Mdunge said.Nontembeko Boyce, the secretary of the South African Democratic Teachers'Union's lower South Coast region, said teachers were escorted off the schoolpremises on Monday when the pupils toyi-toyied."All the teachers had to be moved off the school by police because it wasnot safe. Classes have been suspended," she said.KwaZulu-Natal education department spokesperson Nto-kozo Maphisa said thematter was being investigated."We want to establish what happened and we will take appropriate actionwhere necessary. In the interim, we are taking steps to calm the situationdown and bring it back to normal," Maphisa said.Department officials were expected to meet the school governing body onTuesday.Mdunge said police would be sent to the school to monitor the situation.http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C02%5C04%5Cstory_4-2-2008_pg7_34SAC protest 'brutal' attack on members* SAC denounces Amer Mehmood, PC principal, govt for supporting attackersStaff ReportLAHORE: The Students Action Committee (SAC) held a protest at the LahorePress Club on Sunday against the Punjab College administration for 'brutally' attacking five SAC members.According to a press release issued by the committee, SAC members, bravingthe chilly and rainy weather, protested against Nazim Amer Mehmood andPunjab College Principal Sohail Afzal who is also caretaker specialeducation minister.The crowd shouted slogans against the government for supporting 'barbarousofficials' who so relentlessly brutalised the five SAC members to the pointthat one of them fell unconscious. They also denounced the police forbecoming a mere spectator and bystander when the five members were beingbrutalised.The SAC members condemned the government for encouraging such individuals toact as 'academics and educationists'. They also shouted against the MuslimTown superintendent of police for delaying the registration of an FIR.SAC convener: LUMS student and SAC Convener Sundas Hurain told Daily Timesthat the Punjab College principal was also a government minister. "He hasabused his authority and there is no one to take notice of this injustice,"she said, adding that the committee was fighting against the absence of awrit of law in the country.She said Usman Gill was being beaten up till the point he spoke up about hispolitical connections. "It is lamentable that only influential and those whohave connections and relations can save themselves from being brutalised,"she said. "What else can be expected in the absence of the rule of law andthe judiciary," she asked and said that it was only public condemnation thatcould force the 'unbridled to restraint.'The SAC convener said that no civilised people would do this. She said thesebeatings could not deter them from their struggle. "It is a noble cause torestore the rule of law in the country and we are proud of struggling andbeing beaten up for this cause," she added.http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C01%5C29%5Cstory_29-1-2008_pg4_18Iranian university students protest food qualityTEHRAN: Around 150 Iranian university students held a protest on Sundaychanting political slogans and demanding the resignation of universityofficials, the ISNA student news agency said on Monday."About 150 students started a demonstration to protest at the quality offood and demanded that some university officials resign," the report saidadding that demonstrators also shouted political slogans. "The studentsbroke a campus gate and tried to get out but the police pushed them back," auniversity official, identified only by his last name Ghamsari, said of theprotest at Tehran University's dormitory compound.Student websites said the protestors, who they reported numbered severalhundred, chanted "Release jailed students" and slogans against the policeand Tehran University head, Ayatollah Abbasali Amid Zanjani. Students atTehran's main universities have staged regular demonstrations in past monthscalling for the release of jailed colleagues and criticising PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad. Dozens of Iranian students have been arrested in recentmonths but Iran's judiciary said last week an unspecified number have beenreleased on bail. afphttp://pajamasmedia.com/xpress/michaelledeen/2008/02/03/theyre_rioting_in_tehran_again.phpThey're Rioting in Tehran AgainNot that it's made any headlines on this side of the world. Here's thereport I received:Sunday, Jan. 27, was marked by the third day of protest by Tehran Universitystudents at the Kouy-e Daneshgah - or the students dormitory. The protestbegan by 250 students with a basic demand for improvement of the foodquality at the KOUY, but it rapidly turned into a full-fledged politicalprotest against the government as the protest progressed. The protestingstudents broke the door between the KOUY and the main campus and entered thearea inside the School of Technology. By this time the crowd had grown to1,000. Clashes broke out and a number of students suffered broken arms andheads. The State Security Force and the Special Guard, in full armed gears,threw stones and the students answered.By 9.30 p.m., the students lit a big fire in the area of the School ofTechnology (FANNI) and chanted, "Death to the Dictator" and "Death toTyranny". They used molotov cocktails to defend themselves against guards'attack. Some 60 students were injured and 40 were arrested. The guardscovered the arrested students with sacks so that they could not beidentified. The protest lasted until midnight.The state-run press were compelled to report the three-day unrest, of courseto minimize its importance. For example, the official news agency, IRNA,reported that there were no clashes between the students and the securityforces and the protest was simply over food quality. Some of the press saidthe President has advised university officials to attend to the needs ofstudents regarding food and other accommodations of the dorms.Participating students in Sunday's protest said the scene resembles thescene of protests by student in July 1999, when six days of student protestswere joined by ordinary people and spread to the streets of central Tehran,seriously scaring the regime.On Friday, 1,500 TU students marched out of the KOUY over low quality foodand staged an angry demonstration on Amir Abad Ave. with anti-governmentslogans. They clashed with the special guards and were badly beaten up. Anumber of students were arrested.The protest resumed in the cold afternoon of Saturday at 4.30 p.m. The crowdgradually swelled to 1,500 by 7.30 p.m. The students hurled stones at theState Security Force who had surrounded the university and blocked allstreets leading to TU.They chanted, "We want no rule of force, we want no mercenary police" -"People, why are you sitting down? Iran has become another Palestine" -"Students die but will not succumb" - "Children of Kaveh and Siavosh willnot relent until the Islamic Republic regime is overthrown."The SSF clubed the students, breaking the noses, arms and legs of some 20students. The SSF also brought Fire Engines and flushed water on thestudents who staged their protest under heavy snow until 10 p.m.On Saturday, Jan. 26, workers of Kiyan Tire staged a protest at 9 a.m. Theystarted by a sit-in in the factory while all the factory departments wereshut down. Kiyan Tire workers have not received their wages of seven monthsand have terrible living conditions. Finally, they blocked Saveh Road andset fire to tires. Smoke filled all the area of Char Dangeh where thefactory is located. All 2500 workers of the factory are on strike. Theprotest on Saturday lasted until noon. Workers said they would continuetheir protests until their demands are met.I also learned of another major protest by workers of Alborz Tire Factory onSaturday. 2000 workers work at Alborz Tire Factory. They have not receivedtheir salaries for three months and this protest has been going on at leastfor a week. Angry workers chanted: "So much injustice (under an Islamicregime claiming justice of Imam Ali)" - "Death to Tyranny" - "Jobs,Salaries, Justice are our inalienable right" (This contradicts the officialmotto of Nuclear Energy is our inalienable right) - "A decent living is ourinalienable right" - etc.So much for a busy weekend.Remember that the people of Iran, the students and workers and women wish tobe heard by the world and they need your kind and sympathetic attention totheir cause and naturally a decent reporting of their anti-governmentprotests.ML:They wish to be heard by the world. If only the world were listening.http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C01%5C23%5Cstory_23-1-2008_pg11_2Accreditation with PEC: Urdu varsity students vow to continue protestBy Sohail ChaudhryISLAMABAD: Students of the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science andTechnology (FUUAST) said on Tuesday that they would continue their protesttill the accreditation of the university with the Pakistan EngineeringCouncil (PEC).They gathered on the premises of the university and chanted slogans againstthe administration for its inability to get accreditation with the PEC. Thestudents said they would not open the classrooms to press the authoritiesfor their demands. They also expressed their distrust in commitments made tothem by their teachers in this regard.They raised slogans against the administration and demanded resignation ofElectrical Department head Dr Asar Khan, campus in charge Dr MansoorulAnsari and Administration Officer Iqbal Joya. They said these officials wereresponsible for their exploitation and were not fulfilling the promises theymade to them regarding the university accreditation.The students said these officials were forcing them to indulge inunconstructive activities and asking them to press the recently appointedVice Chancellor (VC) Dr Muhammad Qaiser to establish his office at IslamabadCampus instead of Karachi. The students said they were not in favour of suchdemands and only wanted solutions to their problems and accreditation of theuniversity with the PEC.The students said they would welcome the VC at Islamabad campus instead ofputting officials' demands in front of him.The students also criticised the government for the establishment ofacademic institutions lacking necessary facilities. They urged thegovernment to pay attention to students' future instead of inauguratingincomplete projects and institutions.http://www.abc.net.au/ra/news/stories/200803/s2201096.htm?tab=pacificUniversity of South Pacific students plan protestPrintEmailUpdated Thu Mar 27, 2008 8:50pm AEDTMore Fiji Stories:Fiji elections top forum leaders issueThreat of rice shortage in FijiOusted Fiji PM awaits ruling on 2006 coupStudents from the University of the South Pacific are preparing a massprotest after the institute's registrar refused to resign.The student association president, Steven Maiseola, has told the PacificNews Service the protest is most likely to take place next week.But he's refused to detail problems the student association has withregistrar Walter Fraser.Earlier press reports suggest students at the campus are unhappy with someof the stringent laws introduced by Mr Fraser.The student association had previously given Mr Fraser a two-week deadlineto resign, which ended on Sunday.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/shropshire/7217062.stmSchool closures are put on holdProtesters want all school closure proposals reconsideredPlans to consult on closing 22 Shropshire schools have been put on holdafter a protest by hundreds of parents, teachers and pupils.But Shropshire County Council still intends to press ahead with proposals tomerge 16 others.Large crowds of protesters, many waving placards, and shouting "save ourschools", gathered outside the meeting.It comes as the government was accused of giving conflicting advice onhundreds of rural school closures.Parents, pupils and teachers from the 38 Shropshire primary schools facingclosure or merger led the demonstration on Wednesday morning.This is a great result for people power in ShropshireMP Philip Dunne'Muddle' on school closuresCouncillor Ann Hartley, cabinet member for schools, announced the revisedpolicy at the beginning of the meeting.Ludlow MP Philip Dunne welcomed the decision."The county council will now have to go back to the drawing board to workout how to bridge the funding gap which this decision will leave."This is a great result for people power in Shropshire."Mrs Hartley said the closure consultation plans would be stopped untilconsideration was given to the outcome of a meeting on Wednesday nightbetween Shropshire MPs and minsters.'Absolutely fantastic'Further talks with schools and key "stakeholders" and another examination ofpupil numbers will also take place before closures are reconsidered, shesaid.The Rev David Chantry, governor at Beckbury Primary School, said: "I thinkwe need to keep our eyes on it very carefully because this is an issue thatwill go on."Andrew Spreadborough, head teacher at Rushbury Primary School, said: "I'djust like to know more information, what do they exactly mean by put onhold?"Are they going to come back with more amalgamations and less closures?"'Confused policy'But Beckbury parent governor Gary Welburn said: "We're ecstatic it'sabsolutely fantastic, it really is."The schools minister is writing to local authorities in England remindingthem there is a legal presumption against closing rural schools.But government guidance issued last month also told them to close smallerschools and remove surplus places.Lib Dem spokesman David Laws said government advice was "confused andhypocritical".http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_8576144John Swett students march across bridge to protest cuts, layoffsBy Kimberly S. WetzelSTAFF WRITERArticle Launched: 03/14/2008 02:35:24 PM PDTChart: Cuts by school (pdf)Also: More coverage of school budget cutsHundreds of John Swett High students walked out of their first periodclasses this morning and marched across the Carquinez Bridge to protestschool district budget decisions that include laying off a popular teacher.Some of the 200 to 300 students wore T-shirts with a picture of historyteacher Steve Trotter and clutched signs imploring the district to "Keep oureducational inspiration, keep Trotter," leaving the Crockett campus about 8a.m. They marched halfway across the bridge before Vallejo police officersforced them back, then they headed to the school district's office buildingin Rodeo four miles away, chanting "Trotter! Trotter!"The district informed Trotter recently that his full-time teaching job atJohn Swett would be reduced to part time next year, most likely forcing himto find work elsewhere. That angered many of his students, who say Trotteris the best teacher they've ever had."He's one of the most respected teachers in the school," said sophomoreJohnny Zamba, 16. "We all just decided to stick up for him with a walk-out.We'll do this again and again until they take away the pink slip."The John Swett Unified School District board cut six full-time teachingpositions a few weeks ago as part of $850,000 in budget reductions to offsetGov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to slice more than $4 billion fromeducation statewide. The district, which serves about 1,700 students, alsohas cut campus supervisors, computer lab assistants and secretaries, and iscontemplating further reductions that could include music and athletics.Students this morning angrily swarmed the district headquarters parking lot,and many peppered Superintendent Michael Roth with budget questions when heemerged from the building.One student egged the crowd on when he climbed to the roof.Teachers who learned Thursday of the planned walk-out warned students thatthey would fail their next test if they took part. But students walkedanyway, and many declined to get on the buses provided by the district afterthe march was over. District officials announced to the crowd that anyonewho did not go back to school would be marked truant for the day."My mom said I'm grounded, but it's worth coming out here," said DanielFreeman, a 15-year-old sophomore.While many students were upset about Trotter's likely departure, others saidthey are angry that the school board was not considering budget cutselsewhere. Some said they also were marching in protest of the planned statebudget cuts that have pinched districts across California.Trotter was not at the protest and could not immediately be reached forcomment. But earlier this week, he and several of his students sobbed asthey pleaded with school board members to reconsider reducing his duties."I just think that we deserve good teachers, and I want you guys to realizehe's one of the best teachers in that school," senior Precious Arnold said.Trotter choked back tears before asking the board to "Please reconsider."School board President Bill Concannon said today that he understands thestudents' pain, but noted that teachers are selected for layoffs based onseniority calculations per their contracts. The board has no say over whostays and who goes."We're faced with making really hard choices," Concannon said. "I wouldthrow it back to the governor. The governor is responsible for this budget.He's the one who called for cuts; this is not the school board's doing."Concannon said he hopes that the budget picture improves and the districtwill be able to rescind the layoff notice to Trotter and others. But hedoubts the board will revisit it's decision to cut teaching staff."I was very disappointed to hear that Mr. Trotter was the one who received areduction-in-force notice," Concannon said. "I know him, and I have a lot ofrespect for him."http://education.guardian.co.uk/universitiesincrisis/story/0,,2269756,00.htmlClash of culturesIndustrial action by Keele University lecturers isn't just about jobs, it'salso a full-blown ideological rowFrancis BeckettTuesday April 1, 2008The GuardianWhen Keele lecturers demonstrate outside their council meeting on Thursdayfor the second time this year - this time swelled by lecturers from otheruniversities - it will be about much more than saving the jobs of theircolleagues.University proposals mean that 38 of the 67 academic staff at the School ofEconomic and Management Studies (Sems) are likely to be made redundant. Butthat is only part of what causes leading lecturers to carry placards roundthis small, pretty, isolated Midlands campus, brought a one-day strike inSems and looks like causing more, and has all Keele's members of theUniversity and College Union (UCU) taking "action short of a strike". Thismeans that since February 21 they have been refusing to cooperate with theaudit for the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, to sit onteaching committees, and to help at open days.This is more than a conventional battle over redundancies, for two reasons.First, this is Keele - the first of the 1960s wave of new universities, withits unique dual-honours degree system, and its emotional attachment to theideas of broad, liberal education, of free thinking, and of bucking trends.Trade unionsSecond, Sems has been bucking the trend for years. As other universitiesfall in with the move to conventional business schools, fitting in with thehighly specific requirements of powerful accrediting bodies such as theAssociation of MBAs (Amba), the Sems MBA does not meet Amba requirements andis not intended to, partly because Amba requirements make an MBA veryexpensive. Sems has the only industrial relations unit left in Britain thatis not based in a business school, and it takes trade unions seriously.The trouble began last year, when the university set up a committee underProfessor John Purcell of Warwick Business School to decide on Sems'sfuture. Purcell admitted that industrial relations lecturers at Keele werestill attracting students, "a testament to their energy and determination tosurvive in a hostile environment".But the hostile environment was the mood of the times. Purcell proposed thereplacement of Sems by a Keele business school or management school; the endof the full-time MBA; and the closure of many courses, including those ineconomics and industrial relations.The university accepted the report, and added that many of the staff did nothave "an appropriate skillset to support the change". It set up a redundancycommittee. The UCU countered with its industrial action.Since then, the dispute has been bogged down in accusations andcounter-accusations. Sems was losing money and students, said theuniversity. No, it wasn't, said the UCU, the university was using selectivestatistics and the department was actually doing rather well. The universitywas refusing to consult and negotiate properly, said the union. Not at all,said the university, it was the union's fault.Keele's vice-chancellor, Professor Janet Finch, wrote to all academicsasking if they would be taking part in industrial action. The UCU regionalofficial, Sue Davis, wrote back: "I shall be advising our members that theydo not have to complete any form sent by you seeking further information."The union asked for the consultation period to be extended by six months;Finch said no.Underneath it all, you could hear the growl of a full-blown ideological row."Many people see us as deeply unfashionable, though I think what we do isrelevant and contemporary," says the chair of the Keele UCU actioncommittee, Mike Ironside. "The vice-chancellor has her heart set on creatinga conventional business school."Finch resents the implication that she is less than committed to socialscience teaching. She wrote to the university's academics: "I want tore-state my personal lifelong and strong commitment to the social sciencedisciplines, both generally and at Keele ... I am proud to be thevice-chancellor of a university which has strong social sciences, and have arecord over my whole period at Keele of seeking to support and promotethem."There is an odd symmetry in Keele University moving away from industrialrelations and towards human-resource management. During the 2006 lecturers'dispute, it took an unusually hard line. When lecturers were refusing tomark coursework or set exams, the university agreed to award degrees basedon work already submitted, rather than wait for a student's full marks. As abroad rule of thumb, industrial relations experts would be horrified, buthuman-resource management people might applaud. In the event, the disputewas resolved before graduation day.Founder's dreamSo it is hardly surprising that the two cultures are now clashing at Keele,half a century after the founder, Lord Lindsay, set out his dream of auniversity to unite the two, to be a place that taught "the arts person tounderstand how the scientists thought and the scientist to keep in touchwith the arts". It is going to be hard to reconcile the two cultures thistime.Last week, the university declined to discuss the broader issues, and toldEducation Guardian: "The current proposals represent a commitment by theuniversity to develop and retain a vibrant, competitive business school aspart of its future portfolio. The proposed restructure creates aconfiguration which is appropriate for purpose, reflects market demand, andestablishes the school both academically and financially."The proposals are subject to widespread consultation within the university,and any decisions taken will arise from this consultation exercise. Theuniversity has assured students of its commitment to delivering the currentrange of courses within the school and to maintain quality standards forthese and all other courses. The university recognises that change can beunsettling for staff and students, and is working hard to ensure that allgroups are fully informed of the proposals and that any concerns areaddressed."If that sounds as though it was written by a human-resources manager, thereply from Ironside is identifiably that of the industrial relationsspecialist he is. "Until now, the university has handled it very badly. Mostof management's objectives could have been achieved without conflict," hesays, carefully leaving the door open for compromise. There will be a lotmore campus demonstrations before either side learns how the other sidethinks.http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/20/nyregion/20schools.html?ref=nyregionThousands Protest Budget Cuts Aimed at City SchoolsBy JENNIFER MEDINAPublished: March 20, 2008Thousands of parents, students, teachers and administrators rallied in frontof City Hall in late afternoon rain Wednesday, denouncing budget cuts to theEducation Department and demanding that the state and the city fulfillpledges they made last year to drastically increase spending for the publicschools."This is all parents talk about," said Alicia Cortes, the parent coordinatorat Intermediate School 302 in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn. "We have been gettingbetter for a while, and we thought there was a way to progress, and then allof the sudden there's these cuts. You can't cut off people's legs and thenexpect them to succeed."Ms. Cortes said she was extremely frustrated that her school had to scaleback after-school programs this year when it lost more than $107,000.In January, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Gov. Eliot Spitzer said adramatic downturn in the economy was forcing them to reduce the amount ofmoney they had planned to spend on schools after a longstanding educationfinancing lawsuit was settled last year. Schools were forced to cut 1.75percent from their current budgets in January, and more dramatic cuts areexpected for next year.The protest came the day before Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein wasexpected to testify about the budget cuts before the City Council'sEducation Committee. City officials arranged a background briefing withreporters before the protest began, emphasizing that Mayor Bloombergconsidered money for public schools a priority and had increased educationspending by 72 percent since 2002.But the figure did little to satisfy the protesters, who repeatedly chanted,"Keep the promises!" in English and Spanish during the two-hour rally."I'd be the first to acknowledge that we are spending more money," saidErnest A. Logan, the president of the city's principals' union. "But youhave to remember that we have been suffering and waiting for a long time. Wecannot wait anymore."Many people in the crowd lining Broadway arrived on buses provided by theteachers' union and several community groups, which spent weeks organizingwhat they had hoped would be a large protest. When rain began in themorning, organizers tempered their expectations and seemed happily surprisedthat so many people did come.Richard Burgess, whose two children attend elementary and middle schools inWashington Heights, said he was fearful of losing after-school programs andteaching assistants. "The only thing this is going to do is hurt ourchildren," he said.http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=181271Pupils' lock-out protest over lack of teachersPERHAPS NOW WE WILL GET ACTION: Angry pupils from Sakhisizwe SecondarySchool in Mdantsane locked the gates to their school yesterday to promotetheir demand for the appointment of a mathematics teacher.Picture: MASI LOSI2008/03/09FRUSTRATED pupils locked the gates of their Mdantsane school yesterday aftertheir numerous requests for a maths literacy teacher had gone unanswered formonths.About 200 pupils from Sakhisizwe Secondary School in NU13 had had enough ofthe Education Department's attitude and hoped to get the department's fullattention, they said. They threatened to lock up the school until thedepartment "comes to the party".According to SRC deputy president and Grade 11 pupil Nomakorinte Tshona,frustration turned to anger following unkept promises to provide the schoolwith a Grade 11 and 12 maths literacy teacher.After the previous teacher died last November, pupils and teachers wrotecountless letters and paid several visits to the district education officesat Rubusana to highlight their plight. "We have had enough of this," saidTshona. "We will not tolerate it any more. It's almost the end of the firstterm and they have done absolutely nothing."She said at the beginning of February, delegates from the school, includingteachers, pupils and parents, met with East London district directorMpangazita Ngwanya. "He told us that the matter would be prioritised," saidTshona, "and that we would get a teacher within days. More than a monthlater we are still waiting."Grade 12 pupil Andiswa Ngetu said they had already missed out on almost twomonths of maths literacy teaching. The department's procrastination wascausing further "damage"."This is our most important school year and we start it off on such a badnote," said Ngetu. "When we don't do good in maths then we are told we arelazy, but it's because there are unnecessary interruptions like these."Pupils have put up with a similar situation in the past. The Grade 11s, theysay, went without an accounting teacher for an entire year. There are alsoover-burdened teachers; one science teacher has to teach all Grade 8-to-10smaths and science and all Grade 11s and 12s science.Principal Funeka Zweni, who was standing with teachers outside the gate,refused to comment as pupils continued to toyi-toyi, held up placards andchanted "Naledi, come sort out this mess".Education spokesperson Loyiso Pulumani said the post had been advertised but"we are battling to attract suitable candidates". There was a nationalshortage of maths and science teachers, he added.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/surrey/7223922.stmFamilies march in school protestGodstone Walk to School protesters marched to Oxted SchoolMore than 500 people from a Surrey village have marched to its nearestsecondary school to protest against plans to shrink the catchment area.Godstone families are angry that Surrey County Council proposals couldexclude their children from Oxted School - even though it is only 2.9 milesaway.East Surrey MP Peter Ainsworth began Saturday's march and met the parentsand children at Oxted School.The council said a consultation on the admission changes had now closed.Oxted School is oversubscribed but cannot expand any further.It has more than 2,000 pupils and is Surrey's biggest comprehensive.'Keep association'The council's proposals to change the admissions procedure for September2009 mean that Godstone, along with Lingfield and Dormansland, could be leftout of its catchment area.Campaigner David Green said children from Godstone had attended Oxted sinceit opened in 1929 as Surrey's first mixed Grammar School."We want to keep that association - and it is our nearest school," he said."We don't know which schools our children would go to otherwise."The council's consultation on the admissions changes closed on 31 January.Mr Green said Godstone families had returned 500 response forms and a750-signature petition."This march is another way to demonstrate the depth of feeling in thevillage," he said.Campaigners in Lingfield and Dormansland held their own protest march on 12January.The council said details of its findings as a result of the consultationwould be published in due course.The final proposal will be considered by the full council in March.http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161283077Parents protest for new First Year teacherCarolyn Kissoon South BureauSaturday, February 23rd 2008Parents held up placards and stood outside the gates of Charlieville ASJAPrimary School yesterday, demanding that an existing vacancy be filledimmediately.Reyaz Khan, president of the school's Parent-Teacher Association, called onEducation Minister Esther Le Gendre to intervene and assign a teacher to theschool."The school has two First Year classes. Last year November, one of theteachers retired, leaving one teacher to supervise both classes, whichtogether have about 52 pupils," he said.Khan said the children's education was being jeopardised. He said if thepupils did not meet the requirements, they would not be promoted to SecondYear, which will ultimately threaten their chances at the Secondary EntranceAssessment examinations."We have been begging for a teacher for months and nothing is happening. Oneteacher cannot possibly look after so many young children," he said.Khan added that if a decision was taken not to promote the pupils, it meantthat fewer children from the community would also be admitted to the schoolin September."This has a trickling-down effect. If fewer children are taken in from thecommunity, then what would happen? When there is no education there is morecrime. This school has been serving the community for years," he said.Khan said parents intend to take their plight to the Minister if theyreceive no answer from the ASJA Board of Education.An official at the ASJA Board of Education said a recommendation was madefor a new teacher, but could not say why one was not assigned to the school.http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161292201Pupils protest into night for new schoolNikita Braxton South BureauWednesday, March 12th 2008Pupils of the Lengua Presbyterian Primary School turned up in their uniformslate yesterday to protest into the night for a new school. They have notbeen to classes for the past three weeks.Saudia Mohammed, president of the school's Parent Teachers' Association,said protest action would continue until they get a new school."We want the Ministry of Education and the Presbyterian Board in one room togive us some answers," she said yesterday evening.Mohammed said the school has been closed for the past three years and thepupils have been housed in an annex of the nearby Inverness PresbyterianSchool. She said the children have had to share three ten-by-ten footclassrooms.Holding placards, one of which read "Mansion and jet you get, what wegetting?", the children chanted, "We fed up of the same thing over andover."Protest action is being held during the day and on two evenings of the weekto give parents who are employed a chance to join, Mohammed said.The population at the school has been on a steady decline since therelocation to Inverness Presbyterian, Mohammed added."We had over 300 on roll and now we have 78," Mohammed said. She said sincethe structure was built 63 years ago, the same building has been used."The Ministry of Health condemned the building in 2001," Mohammed said.President of the Presbyterian School Board, Windy Partap, said: "We have metthe parents of Lengua (Presbyterian Primary school) and the PresbyterianBoard is trying as best as we can to have the matter resolved. We wouldcomment on the whole situation shortly.http://allafrica.com/stories/200803201110.htmlKenya: MP, Girls Protest Against Head TeacherThe East African Standard (Nairobi)21 March 2008Posted to the web 20 March 2008Antony GitongaNairobiMore than 500 schoolgirls took to the streets demanding the removal of theirhead teacher, moments after an MP stormed the institution.The demonstration by Naivasha Girls' Secondary School students startedmoments after the local MP, Mr John Mututho, went to protest against poorexamination results and alleged mismanagement.The principal, Ms Pauline Kinyua, forcibly removed the MP and other leadersfrom her office on Thursday, and threatened to call the police.The morning drama attracted students, who abandoned classes and protestedagainst the principal.Mututho and the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) officials had gone toverify complaints of congestion in dormitories.They denounced last year's Kenya Certificate of Secondary Educationexamination results, and accused the principal of running down the school."I'm disturbed by the poor KCSE results. I came to know what is ailing theschool," said Mututho.The school's mean grade dropped from 9.6 to 8.1.The MP questioned the use of more than Sh1 million CDF money allocated forthe construction of a dormitory. He also accused the principal of corruptionin Form One admissions.But Kinyua accused Mututho of incitement and harassment."I wonder what interest the MP has in the school ... I order you to move outor l will call the police," she told the legislator.After the MP left, the students took to the streets two hours later. But theDistrict Education Officer, Mr J Kimotho, and the police persuaded them toreturn to school.