AccentedTouch

Since 9/11, relations have been strained between Afghanistan and Pakistan with the neighbors each pointing fingers and accusing involvement with terrorist organizations. In a step to ease tensions, education leaders from both countries are looking at ways to cooperate and create a better climate for future diplomatic talks. A 15 member Afghan delegation arrived recently in Pakistan for a ten-day visit to explore potential areas of cooperation.

The idea is to foster mutual trust and respect between people through education linkage. During recent meetings, agreements have been made to initiate fellowships and joint research programs. Hopefully, this is just the first of many such collaborations. There is definitely room for both countries to benefit from continued education diplomacy, Afghanistan hopes to benefit from Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission an organization largely responsible for the country’s growth in higher education. In turn, Pakistan can benefit from increased student numbers from their neighbor.

Overall it has been determined that a joint educational effort would be beneficial to both countries and to that end they have developed a strategic partnership and plan to meet annually to review progress and come up with even more ways to strengthen relations.

Virginia’s Gov. Bob McDonnell is drawing up plans to invest $50 million into the state’s public universities.

McDonnell discussed his intentions at the recent State of the Commonwealth address where he pointed out that boosting accessibility to higher education brings with it increases opportunities for residents and helps create jobs.

McDonnell has noted that significant increases in tuition have been an impediment for many residents seeking out educational opportunities.

McDonnell has noted that tuition hikes have doubled in recent years and he wishes to take steps to reverse such a trend.

The governor’s goal is to infuse the universities with more state money with stronger emphasis on sciences, math, and engineering. Such plans are being drawn up under the legislative title of “Top Jobs for the 21st Century Virginia Higher Education Opportunity Act.”

Such a program is an incentive based one that rewards universities based on their achievements. This has allowed the program to gain support among residents of the state.

The Virginia Board of Education has made a decision to revoke the approval of two history textbooks circulated through the school system. The reason cited is that scores of factual errors were found in the books which necessitated their removal.

The Five Ponds Press published textbooks “Our Virginia, Past and Present” and “Our America to 1865″ have both been cited for factual errors such as erroneous assessments that African-Americans fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War.

The books are not being recalled. Schools that have purchased the books and are using them in the classroom may still use them.

The controversy about these factual errors has led to a new look at how textbooks are approved. A new proposal has been requested of the state superintendent to detail the process required to approve new textbooks. This is intended for the purpose of making sure all future textbooks are completely accurate or as close to accurate as possible.

Sophia Chinemerem Eze has filed suit against Brooklyn College due to a bizarre situation where she was committed to a psychiatric ward at Kings County Hospital after filing a complaint with campus security.

Eze was a student from Nigeria that entered an honors program with the City University of New York (CUNY). While attending Brooklyn College, she had complained to security about problems with her roommates and also complained that the landlord had allegedly placed security cameras in her room.

The response to her complaints saw her committed to a psychiatric ward for evaluation. This has led to Eze filing a lawsuit against the school for having her briefly committed without any justifiable cause.

Currently, university officials are not commenting on the situation due to the pending lawsuit. However, the university has issued the statement that it was the city’s Emergency Medical Service that made the decision and not the university.

Eze has not returned to the university after her hospitalization in the ward.