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| Saturday, June 30
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PG Grad Awarded New Scholarship |
Prince George teen, Sanja Knezevic, is one of 60 B.C. students awarded the first 'Pacific Leaders' scholarships for children of BC Public Service employees.
In announcing the scholarships earlier this week, Deputy Premier Shirley Bond said, "Sanja has demonstrated strong academic achievement while at Duchess Park and is a very worthy recipient.
Sanja will receive the $2,500.00 scholarship when she enrols as a full-time student in an under-graduate degree program or a trade, technical or vocational program.
Successful recipients were chosen based on academic achievement (with a minimum B average), communication skills and an essay written on the value of the public service.Labels: academy awards, career training, education online, financial aid, free college, free education, high school, scholarship, student loans, study abroad |
posted by ^%&^
@ 7:01 PM
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Scholarship winner plans to map brain |
"Most people don't really listen to what other people have to say," he says.
"When, like me, you're having to concentrate so hard on what other people say, you probably hear a lot more."
The 24-year-old Wellingtonian, who has just been awarded a $25,000 Fulbright Scholarship and the $15,000 Quest for Excellence Scholarship by the National Foundation for the Deaf, will shortly begin his PhD in psychology at Arizona University.
Mr Hall, who has a double degree with honours in psychology and economics from Otago University, will map the neurological processes behind everyday decision-making.
Having battled hearing loss since early childhood, he is particularly attuned to the problems some people have "making sense of the world".
"Every day we make thousands of decisions, most unconsciously," he said.
"I am going to be looking at the physical brain to trace those processes to work out why people choose to do what they do."
The weakness of much economic theory was that it was based on models that "assume people will behave logically".
"But we know people aren't logical."
Mr Hall said his research was not about "mind control", though he conceded there was the risk it could be hijacked by marketers who were very interested in what decisions people made.
His dream is to develop a tool for matching people to the jobs that would best suit them.
As a policy analyst for the Labour Department for the past 18 months, Mr Hall has become increasingly interested in the problem of New Zealand's low productivity, believing a happy worker is a productive worker.
Mr Hall, who has 82 per cent hearing loss, said he would never have been able to start a career - or even finish his education or enjoy a "normal" social life - without the help of hearing aids.
He has worn hearing aids in both ears since the age of nine.
"The last thing you want as a kid is to stand out, so I used to to avoid wearing my hearing aids whenever I could.
"But I worked out that people didn't notice my disability so much when I wore them because I could actually communicate.
"It was not wearing them that set me apart."
Throughout school he attended mainstream classes and received no special assistance.
"I could cocoon myself and just say, `Poor me, I'm deaf, the world owes me'.
"But the only thing I'm owed is the same chances as everyone else and that's what we get in New Zealand - it's up to me what I do with them."
Foundation executive manager Marianne Schumacher said it was this sort of attitude that had inspired the establishment of the Quest for Excellence scholarship in the first place.
"Phillip is a fantastic role model for the 450,000 New Zealanders who have difficulty hearing," she said.Labels: academy awards, career training, education online, financial aid, free education, high school, student loans, study abroad |
| posted by ^%&^
@ 7:01 PM
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Riot-hit Gujarat children face uncertain future in Hyderabad |
An uncertain future looms ahead for a group of Gujarat children who were brought here after the 2002 sectarian riots in that state with a promise of free education. The NGO that brought them here has suddenly shut down the residential school where they study, and they have nowhere to go.
The children, who were promised free education till Class 12, were shocked to see their school and hostel in the Tolichowki neighbourhood locked upon their return from Gujarat after a two-month vacation.
With nowhere to go, a group of around 45 children were forced to stay on the footpath for around two weeks. About 20 of them, including six who fell ill, returned to their home state while the others have decided to stay back here in the hope that the NGO - Muslim Educational, Social and Cultural Organisation (MESCO) - would admit them in other schools run by it.
The children who had to return to Gujarat include Nazim, whose tailor father was shot dead by the police during the riots. Nazim, who had passed Class 9, had come with his mother. He and the other children who returned were allegedly not given a certificate of their marks or a transfer certificate to enable them to continue their education in Gujarat.
Of the children who decided to remain, 16 were staying in Mehdipatnam in a small two-room house provided by a kind-hearted man. The children, aged between seven and 16, are feeling dejected seeing other children go to their schools, which re-opened early this month for the new academic year.
Another group of nine children is staying at another house. They have almost run out of the little money they had brought along. They told this IANS correspondent that they just don't know what to do now.
Taj Mohammed, the father of Class 9 student Irfan Siddiqui, has come from Ahmedabad to drop his son. He feels totally shattered. "The children were brought with high promises to fulfil their dreams of becoming doctors and engineers. In one stroke their dreams have been shattered," he said.
Giving reasons for the school's closure, MESCO secretary Fakhruddin Mohammed said that the lease for the school and hostel building had run out. The NGO offered to accommodate the children in another school, Al-Salaama, but said the children and their parents are not willing.
"The quality of education at Al-Salaama is very poor and the hostel there is already overcrowded," said Taj Mohammed.
"Our children have been studying in MESCO for five years. They want to continue their education. Why can't MESCO admit the children in other schools and hostels run by it," asked Ayesha Banu, mother of Class 8 student Mohammed Arif.
The parents alleged that though their children were brought with a promise of free education till Class 12, they were paying Rs.15,000 to Rs.18,000 annually for each child. "A few students were paying Rs.20,000 to Rs.25,000," said Nazeer Khan, father of another child.
"When they are not imparting free education to the children why should they refuse to admit the students in other schools run by them?" he asked.
One of the parents alleged that the NGO was running the school till the donations from various charitable organisations from India and abroad kept pouring in after the riots.
"They were running the school only to get the funds, and when the funds stopped coming from abroad they shut down the school," one of them said.
Nazeer Khan alleged that the NGO had sent back several children as their parents could not afford the hefty fees. One of them was Faisal, whose father was killed in police firing during the riots. The boy had to drop out of Class 4 two years ago as his mother could not pay the fees.
According to some parents, the school had closed due to an internal fight in MESCO.
"Director of MESCO Mohammed Azam and his son-in-law Fakhruddin Ahmed received huge funds in the name of these children. The funds were siphoned off," claimed a man who had played a key role in bringing the children to Hyderabad.
"The children who were studying with Gujarati as their medium of instruction had to struggle to switch over to English when they came here. Now if they are to return to Gujarat they will have to again switch over to Gujarati-medium schools," he said.
"After studying here for five years our children have attained non-local status in Gujarat. If they return it will also have a psychological impact on them," said Hafiz Suleman, who is from Gujarat's Mehsana district. (IANS)Labels: career training, education online, financial aid, free college, free education, high school, scholarship, student loans, study abroad |
| posted by ^%&^
@ 6:30 PM
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Path to sustainable growth and development |
Some hard and possibly unpopular decisions will have to be made, but we will see if the elected officials mean the country any good or if they are only present to collect their salary cheques and get rich by unstated but questionable means. The new minister of finance will have to be more flexible and communicative and less combative with the private sector, as well as all the government agencies he ultimately presides over indirectly. He will have to manage the nation's funds and get value for every dollar he collects and subsequently spends. He will need to be proactive and not reactive. For too long, political committees have been established to evaluate different proposals, only to send in their recommendations and have them changed or shelved. I say we establish rules and laws and enforce them!
Here is my shortlist for the next government to seriously consider implementing.
. We are held to ransom annually by our dependence on oil imports, so make it mandatory for 25 per cent of all new cars to be Flex fuel cars and gradually increase the ratio to 85 per cent over five years to eliminate gasoline-powered vehicles. Flex car engines run on either ethanol, gasoline, or any combination of the two.
. The government of the day should pass a law forcing oil companies to add small quantities of ethanol to their gasoline. Make it mandatory for the gasoline retailers to retrofit some pumps to sell Flex fuel. In a bid to cut the country's reliance on foreign oil imports and help our own sugar producers, we should follow Brazil's example, where the government pushed alcohol-powered cars in the early 1980s. Jamaica does not yet produce enough sugar cane to provide all the raw material for an ethanol plant, but importing same from Cuba and Haiti could result in real growth and development in all three countries. With oil prices at a record high, there is a clear advantage to diluting gasoline or even substituting it with sugar-based ethanol. We need to plan for the future; oil is finite and it is going to get more and more expensive.
. In addition to the savings to operate a Flex car, the reduction in pollution will be a positive step for the environment. It should be noted that the technology is readily available. Unlike hybrid cars sold in the US, for example, flex cars sold in Brazil don't cost any more than traditional models. Ethanol engines use 25 per cent more ethanol per mile than gasoline. But ethanol can be sold at somewhere between a third to half of the price of gas and still obtain a reasonable profit.
. With the savings from the oil imports, the government could then complete the much-needed road infrastructure and maintain it!
. Forget about rejuvenating the railroad. It's not a dead horse. It's just plain dead!
. Look to the Ministry of Agriculture to promote non-traditional crops (basil, lemon grass, ginger, ginger lily, limes, nutmeg, peppermint and turmeric), and encourage the private sector to invest in these products, with a view to extracting the essential oils and generating some much-needed foreign exchange. Talk is cheap. You have heard the opinions from the economists, the experts, the world market. Now walk the walk! And lead the country.
. Enforce the litter act with the same enthusiasm, then ask the police to enforce the Road Traffic Act. Go into the poorer communities and "tell" the occupants that the law exists and it will be enforced. If they continue to dump refuse into the gullies, they will be removed forcibly from beside said gullies to discourage them.
. The pain of crime has affected us all, rich and poor, young and elderly. It is now permeating our schools. No school is immune. We all know discipline begins at home, but is reinforced at school. Allow the schools more freedom in establishing their rules and codes of acceptable conduct. Depending on the Ministry of Education to act as judge, jury and enforcer results in inadequate attention to our growing disciplinary problems in the education system. Justice delayed is justice denied.
. The masses blame lack of opportunities for the high level of crime. To some extent this is a contributing factor, so the creation of jobs needs to be prioritised. On the other hand, having the current laws and punishment reviewed could be a worthwhile exercise. Giving the security forces the necessary equipment and remuneration to perform their duties is of utmost importance.
. The promise of free education from one party and free health care for the young and the elderly from the other are merely demonstrations of how ignorant our aspiring leaders assume the citizens of Jamaica to be. They may actually wish us well but the reality is that "nothing in life is free". Someone will have to pay the cost of providing these services, ultimately the "taxpayer" - us. As Bob Marley would say, "Don't mek dem fool yuh"!
. The bureaucracy in the health-care system needs to be evaluated and revamped as soon as possible. The current CEOs and administrators should be held accountable or be replaced. Each hospital and health centre should be self-sufficient and earn its way with minimal subsidy from the government, if any. You may ask, what about the poor? Well, I say, what about them? Let them stop harbouring criminals. Let them find employment to survive. Let them stop idling at home and having so many children whom neither they nor the state can afford to maintain. Many of these so-called poor people are still looking for a hand-out from their political representative. Unfortunately, many of them will receive said hand-out over the next few weeks leading up to the election!
. For the next prime minister and government, I say to you, "Good luck", for you will surely need it. Start praying now, and pray every day because without divine intervention to guide our leaders, we are headed towards greater hardships, while forever being classified as a "Third World Economy".
I say to you, Prime Minister and Government , " He who knows what to do and does not do it, will live to want to do it, thinking of when he should have done it !"Labels: academy awards, education online, free college, free education, high school, student loans |
| posted by ^%&^
@ 6:30 PM
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| Tuesday, June 26
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Student Loan Process Improvements |
The province is hoping improvements to the Student Financial Assistance program will make it easier for students to apply for loans.
Student loan applications are now available on-line and the program call centre hours have been expanded.
Last year the province approved more than 13 thousand 5 hundred student loans totalling more than a hundred and 19 million dollars.
Loan recipients also got more than 35 million dollars in grants and bursaries.
One point 3 million dollars went to students with permanent disabilities, high need part time learners and female doctoral students.Labels: academy awards, career training, education online, financial aid, free college, free education, scholarship, student loans, study abroad |
| posted by ^%&^
@ 9:09 PM
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