Nationwide school shutdown sparked by lack of trust in government, rumors and concerned parents

Marcio Barbosa (EAA) At the end of May, over 130 education ministers and more than 1500 participants adopted the Incheon Declaration in culmination of the World Education Forum held in the Republic of Korea. Among the subjects discussed in the forum was how best to reach the world’s 58 million out-of-school children. These are the children most in need: the poorest, the most vulnerable, the exp...

Ecuador is seeking to expand its education partnership with South Korea to help translate educational improvements into national growth, the country’s Education Minster said. Augusto Espinosa told The Korea Herald that his country was seeking to continue building partnerships with Korean universities and local companies to boost education in the country. Augusto Espinosa One of the projects th...

Providing selective or comprehensive education benefits has long been a topic of discussion in South Korea. Some say the welfare system should cater to those in need, while others say it should extend to all citizens. Bjorn Haugstad, the deputy minister of education and research in Norway, said that paying for education should remain a duty of the government rather than the parents. “We have al...

World Bank adviser voices concern over possible side effects of Korea’s education fervor

South Korea should embark on some soul-searching into its education system and find ways to address some of its problems instead of just praising its own accomplishments, said the head of an international group of teachers’ unions. During her stay in Korea to attend the World Education Forum 2015 last week, Susan Hopgood, head of the Education International, pointed to the forum as an example, s...

Often when countries strive for economic prosperity, investments in infrastructure, finance and technology spearhead their agenda. While those sectors are important, Amina J. Mohammed, the special adviser to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on post-2015 development planning, said investing in education was equally, if not more, crucial. “Education is the absolute backbone (of development). It...

Kailash Satyarthi, cowinner of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, urged South Korea to direct its education toward making children happier and cultivating openness to the world and devotion to the community. South Korea’s high-quality education has been credited for the country’s economic surge but has done little for its students’ happiness, the Indian activist against child labor said. “Education sy...