• US: College endowments show growth for fiscal year 2011
• Women's education 'smartest global investment', Ban tells World Economic Forum
• Thirty-six new schools for Gauteng, South Africa

• Father, son present on Consciousness-Based Education at international conference

• Enjoying many fields of Vedic knowledge - Sultan Salah

• Exploring educational innovation in the Midwestern US

• Broken schools breed South Africa's 'lost generation'
• US: Education law's promise falls short after 10 years
• Pakistan's female madrassas breed radicalism

---

Positive Trends
10 Short Summaries of Top Stories

US: College endowments show growth for fiscal year 2011
31 January 2012 - College and university endowments made gains in the fiscal year that ended in June. Data gathered from 823 US colleges and universities show that the institutions' endowments returned an average of 19.2 per cent for the 2011 fiscal year, the National Association of College and University Business Officers and Commonfund said. That's up from 11.9 per cent in fiscal year 2010. (more)

Women's education 'smartest global investment', Ban tells World Economic Forum
26 January 2012 - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on business leaders attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to increase their investment in women's education and health to ensure their well-being and encourage their participation in the world economy. (more)

Thirty-six new schools for Gauteng, South Africa
15 January 2012 - During this year's first term, thirty-six new schools will be opened in Gauteng, one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Thirteen of these schools are expected to be ready for occupation when inland provinces schools open on Wednesday. Education MEC Barbara Creecy said that the new schools will not only help with the accommodation of new learners coming to the province, but they will also ease the pressure in some of the overcrowded schools. (more)

First class graduates from Oprah Winfrey's South Africa school
14 January 2012 - United States talk show host Oprah Winfrey proudly saw the first class of girls from disadvantaged backgrounds graduate on Saturday from her $40 million school in South Africa. The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls celebrated the graduation of 72 girls, who were cheered on by their families. The graduation celebration, attended by Nelson Mandela's wife Graca Machel, was a rarity for the country's high schools. (more)

South Africa: Education Department sets on path to improve higher education
12 January 2012 - The Department of Higher Education and Training has launched the Green Paper for Post-School Education and Training, which will see the country move towards producing more graduates with the in-demand skills necessary to grow the economy. Unveiling the ambitious green paper on Thursday, Minister Blade Nzimande said it aimed at aligning the post-school education and training system with South Africa's overall development agenda. (more)

South Africa: More student enrollments at colleges
12 January 2012 - The Department of Higher Education and Training plans to raise the number of student enrollments in colleges and post-school institutions to 4,000,000 by 2030, Minister Blade Nzimande announced. The move is part of the Green Paper on Post-School Education and Training launched on Thursday by the minister. The Green Paper aims to revitalize the higher education system in the country and aligning it with South Africa's overall development agenda. (more)

South Africa: Fighting poverty by creating dreams
10 January 2012 - Christel House in Ottery, Cape Town, South Africa, is a school for disadvantaged children that boasts a matric pass rate that is way above the national averages. In 2011, all but one student passed unconditionally, 70.8 per cent achieved a bachelor's pass, and more than half the 2011 matriculants secured bursaries or learnerships. Christel House's primary goal is to combat poverty through a holistic approach: a combination of education, lifestyle management, and community outreach programmes. (more)

UNESCO chief stresses need for innovation to ensure quality, equitable education
10 January 2012 - The head of the United Nations agency tasked with promoting education underscored the role that information and communications technologies can play in ensuring quality education and equal opportunities to learning even in countries that lag behind because of limited resources. Irina Bokova, the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO) underlined the need to make education a 'transformational power for human dignity,' as well as for social, economic and political change. (more)

South Africa: Anglo American provides assistance to top ten matriculants
9 January 2012 - Anglo American's dedicated Corporate Social Investment (CSI) arm, the Chairman's Fund, will provide financial assistance to South Africa's Top Ten Grade 12 learners of 2011. The learners will receive a laptop package as well as cash to assist them with other expenses that may occur during their first year of tertiary education. 'The Department of Basic Education is extremely grateful for the recognition and generosity displayed by the Chairman's Fund in rewarding the excellence of the top ten performing Grade 12 learners, many of whom have achieved success despite difficult conditions and circumstances,' said Louis Taylor of the Department of Basic Education in expressing appreciation. (more)

Libyan children return to Gaddafi-free schools
7 January 2012 - Libyan children are returning to schools closed for months by civil war. The start of the current school year, which should have been last September, has been postponed to January. The last school year overran its schedule by months, because schools were closed for so much of the nine-month civil war that ended Gaddafi's 42-year rule. Suleiman Khoja, a senior ministry official, said that the government would organize a national conference to discuss ideas for alternative textbooks. (more)

---

Success of Maharishi's Programmes
10 Short Summaries of Top Stories

For more news and knowledge in the field of education visit: Excellence in Action

Father, son present on Consciousness-Based Education at international conference

3 February 2012 - Dr Dennis Heaton, professor of management at Maharishi University of Management, and his son, Colin Heaton, a teaching assistant in the MUM Sustainable Living programme, recently delivered a paper at an international conference about spirituality and sustainability. The presentation was titled 'Consciousness-Based Education: Cultivating sustainable minds.' (more)

Enjoying many fields of Vedic knowledge - Sultan Salah

1 February 2012 - Several years ago Sultan Salah was looking for a deeper experience in higher education. He became interested in meditation and discovered Maharishi University of Management on the Internet. He enrolled in 2008 and is majoring in Physiology and Health as well as Maharishi Vedic Science. 'What I appreciate most about MUM,' he says, 'is the opportunity to study and explore the inner, subjective field of life as well as the many outer, objective fields of life.' (more)

Exploring educational innovation in the Midwestern US
31 January 2012 - Educational innovation will be the focus of another course being offered this spring through the Rotating University programme at Maharishi University of Management--as students visit a charter school, a magnet school, a turnaround school, a suburban school with a national reputation, and public schools. MUM is recognized as a leader in developing and applying innovative educational methods and technologies, including Consciousness-Based Education. (more)

Doctoral research explores management principles in light of Maharishi Vedic Science
30 January 2012 - Manjunath Rao, a PhD candidate at Maharishi University of Management, explains more about his groundbreaking research, which is garnering significant attention from experts in the field of lean accounting. Part of his dissertation will explore connections between a general social theory model and principles of Maharishi Vedic Science. (more)

'Helping my fellow brothers- and sisters-in-arms is greatly satisfying' - Iraq veteran
29 January 2012 - Iraq veteran David George is now a fulltime student at Maharishi University of Management. He concludes his story with an account of how much he enjoys helping people--especially speaking out on behalf of the David Lynch Foundation about Transcendental Meditation and how it can help heal veterans. 'I have met veterans who have started meditating because of the talks I've given or videos I've done. Knowing that I am helping my fellow brothers- and sisters-in-arms is greatly satisfying.' (more)

A school turns anxiety-ridden moments into calm and peace
28 January 2012 - A faculty member at New Village Charter School, which serves girls who come from difficult backgrounds, describes the effects of the Quiet Time with Transcendental Meditation Programme. 'They had tremendous levels of stress and very difficult situations. And then they do Quiet Time--it just smoothes that out. It takes this bumpy, jarring, anxiety-ridden moment and turns it into something that is so calm and peaceful and relaxed, and they walk out of the room feeling better, feeling normal. It's a palpable change. You can actually feel the difference in the room.' (more)

Rotating University courses to bring Maharishi University of Management students to Mexico, Vancouver, San Juan Islands
28 January 2012 - Courses in travel photography and digital photography and video create opportunities for students and others to travel this spring semester as Maharishi University of Management Rotating University courses head to Mexico; Vancouver, British Columbia; and the San Juan Islands nearby. The courses are part of a wide range being offered as part of the MUM 'Rotating University' programme, a goal of which is to develop 'international citizens' who understand and appreciate the cultures and traditions of nations around the world. (more)

Maharishi University of Management PhD student receives grant, publishes scholarly paper
27 January 2012 - Manjunath Rao, a PhD student at Maharishi University of Management, continues to receive recognition for his research on lean accounting. Most recently he received a $4,000 grant to support his research and coauthored a paper with professor Andrew Bargerstock that was published in the fall 2011 issue of Management Accounting Quarterly, the refereed online journal of the Institute for Management Accountants (IMA). (more)

Eco-tourism in South Africa: Students from MUM, South Africa, Spain to help develop Ezemvelo Nature Reserve
26 January 2012 - Maharishi University of Management students will work both online and on-site with students at MUM's partner institutions, the Maharishi Invincibility Institute in South Africa and the Universidad Europeana de Madrid in Spain, to develop the Ezemvelo Nature Reserve as an eco-tourism destination. The project is one of a wide range of courses being offered this spring as part of the MUM 'Rotating University' programme. (more)

Sustainability and leadership
25 January 2012 - James Schleppenbach, who was drawn to study at Maharishi University of Management last year by the combination of the Sustainable Living Programme and Consciousness-Based Education, is now the Sustainable Council president. 'It is invaluable to be surrounded by faculty, staff, and students who all share this fundamental awareness and basic understanding of life's interconnectedness. What I see happening in the Sustainable Living Department at MUM gives me hope for the world.' (more)

---

Flops
10 Short Summaries of Top Stories

Broken schools breed South Africa's 'lost generation'
27 January 2012 - South Africa's first post-apartheid generation entered a new and aspiring education system which aimed to heal the economic divisions created by the white-minority government. But many leave without the skills to qualify for anything other than manual labour. Despite pouring billions of dollars into education, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) has little to show for its money except for public primary schools regarded as among the worst in the world and millions of students destined for a life in the underclass. Nearly half of South Africa's 18 to 24 year olds -- the first generation educated after apartheid ended in 1994 -- are not in the education system and do not have a job, according to government data. The number of people living in poverty has changed little since apartheid ended, with no remedy in sight given the structural problems in education. (more)

US: Education law's promise falls short after 10 years
7 January 2012 - The No Child Left Behind education law was cast as a symbol of possibility, offering the promise of improved schools for the nation's poor and minority children and better prepared students in a competitive world. Yet after a decade on the books, President George W Bush's most hyped domestic accomplishment has become a symbol to many of federal overreach and Congress' inability to fix something that's clearly flawed. The law forced schools to confront the uncomfortable reality that many children simply weren't learning, but it's primarily known for its emphasis on standardized tests and the labelling of thousands of schools as 'failures'. Critics say the law carries rigid and unrealistic expectations that put too much of an emphasis on tests for reading and math at the expense of a more well-rounded education. (more)

Pakistan's female madrassas breed radicalism
15 June 2011 - Over a quarter of a million Pakistani students are attending an all-female madrassa, where legions of well-to-do women are experiencing an awakening of faith, at the cost of rising intolerance. The number of madrassas has boomed, fuelled by the failures of the state education system and a deepening conservativism among the middle to upper classes. Pakistan, a politically unstable country has been drifting toward religious militancy since the 1980s under the rule of president General Mohammad Zia ul-Haq. Zia, who enjoyed enthusiastic support from the United States, nurtured Islamist militants and used American cash to turn a society that had previously been moderate toward hard-line Islam. Pakistan's madrassas for boys are notorious for creating militant fighters. Experts say the female schools are just as dangerous. (more)

South Africa: Poor marks for education
11 May 2011 - Instead of providing much needed opportunities, South Africa's ailing education system is keeping children from poor households at the back of the job queue and locking families into poverty for another generation. By the age of eight, school children from the most affluent 20 per cent of South Africa's population are already significantly out-performing children from poorer backgrounds, according to new research by the Social Policy Research Group at Stellenbosch University. According to the report, insufficient teacher knowledge is a problem, with many teachers scoring poorly in basic reading and mathematics tests. South Africa's status as one of the wealthiest countries on the continent has not helped its educational performance -- the poorest 25 per cent of students ranked 14th out of 15 sub-Saharan countries in reading performance, and 12th for mathematics. (more)

Study links lower education to faster ageing
10 May 2011 - People who leave education with fewer qualifications are prone to age more quickly, scientists said. Researchers from Britain and the United States examined the length of sections of DNA known as telomeres from around 450 people taking part in a long-term health study and found that people who did less well at school had shorter telomeres, suggesting they may age faster. 'Education is a marker of social class that people acquire early in life, and our research suggests that it is long term exposure to the conditions of lower status that promotes accelerated cellular ageing.' (more)

US: Guns on campus gets first approval in Texas House
16 March 2011 - Texas has become a prime battleground for a national campaign to open campuses to firearms because of its gun culture and the size of its university system, which includes 38 public colleges and more than 500,000 students. Similar firearms measures have been proposed in about a dozen other states, but all have faced strong opposition, especially from college leaders. Texas would become the second state, following Utah, to pass such a broad-based law. Colorado gives colleges the option and several have allowed handguns. Opponents, including some university and law enforcement officials, worry that students and faculty would live in fear of classmates and colleagues, not knowing who might pull a gun over a poor grade, broken romance, or drunken argument. 'One wrong word could set off a temper,' says Mickey Gressman, a student at Colin County Community College. 'A lot of people say it's for self-defence. Let's just fire campus police if they're not doing their jobs and everybody has to start arming themselves. ... More guns is going to cause a lot more trouble.' (more)

US: Student tracking finds limited learning in college
18 January 2011 - A new study provides disturbing answers to questions about how much students actually learn in college -- for many, not much -- and has inflamed a debate about the value of an American higher education. Research found 45 per cent of students show no significant improvement in the key measures of critical thinking, complex reasoning, and writing, by the end of their sophomore years. The study comes as the federal government, reformers, and others argue that the US must produce more college graduates to remain competitive globally. But if students aren't learning, that calls into question whether boosting graduation rates will provide that edge. Researchers point to students who don't study much and seek easy courses, and a culture at colleges and universities that values research over good teaching. (more)

Venezuela: Increased government powers over universities result in thousands of students protesting
23 December 2010 - Police and soldiers fired water cannons and plastic bullets Thursday as thousands of students protested against a law passed by Venezuela's congress that increases government powers over the country's universities. At least three people were injured, including a news photographer. The law governing universities was approved by the National Assembly early Thursday, and students denounced it as an attempt by President Hugo Chavez to clamp down on autonomous state universities that have been a bastion of opposition to his government. It is the latest in a series of controversial measures enacted in the final days of a solidly pro-Chavez National Assembly. (more)

US: Nearly 1 in 4 fails military exam
21 December 2010 - Nearly one-fourth of the students who try to join the US Army fail its entrance exam, painting a grim picture of an education system that produces graduates who can't answer basic math, science, and reading questions, according to a new study released Tuesday. Educators expressed dismay that so many high school graduates are unable to pass a test of basic skills. The study shows wide disparities in scores among white and minority students, similar to racial gaps on other standardized tests. Tom Loveless, an education expert at the Brookings Institution think tank, said the results echo those on other tests. In 2009, 26 per cent of seniors performed below the 'basic' reading level on the National Assessment of Education Progress. (more)

UK: More violent protests loom as cuts bite
10 December 2010 - The mounting intensity of protests against higher university fees suggests that more and more ordinary people may be angry enough about austerity cuts to take to Britain's streets in coming months. Thousands of students and others laid siege to London's government district on Thursday, producing scenes of fighting, vandalism, horseback police charges, and bloodied police and protesters not seen in Britain for years. The harshest cuts in a generation have only just begun to be felt. Hundreds of thousands of public sector workers will lose their jobs and millions of Britons will have to scrimp as unemployment, child and housing benefits are slashed or capped. Sales tax on many goods will rise from next year, many public services will be cut, and the retirement age will rise. Stoking public anger now is the fact that the Lib Dems have gone back on a pre-election pledge not to raise tuition fees. (more)