Last updated 12/04/2006
SCHOOLS
Curb influence of religions in schools, says NUT
The Guardian - 07/04/2006
Teachers are to call for an end to state funding for faith schools in an attempt to halt the growing influence of religious organisations in education and end the controversial teaching of creationism.
Parish challenge to £40m school plans
The Guardian - 06/04/2006
A high court judge will rule today on a dispute between the congregation of a poor east London parish and the UK hierarchy of the Roman Catholic church.
Right to education
Solicitors Journal - 07/04/2006
School dress, exclusions and human rights: Nigel Giffin QC and David Smellie discuss the Law Lords' decisions in Ali and Shabina Begum.
Teachers criticise judge for 'trivialising' racial abuse
The Guardian - 07/04/2006
A judge who attacked the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for pursuing a case against a 10-year-old boy who was accused of shouting racist taunts in the playground has been criticised for trivialising the seriousness of racial abuse.
FURTHER EDUCATION
Agency to target college quality
BBC News - 05/04/2006
A new body aiming to drive up standards in further education in England has been set up by the Government. The Quality Improvement Agency for Lifelong Learning will devise a quality improvement strategy for further education and advise course providers.
HIGHER EDUCATION
Bradford in student proofreading row
The Guardian - 06/04/2006
Bradford University has been accused of "spoon feeding" students after it was revealed that lists of professional proofreaders are issued to undergraduates so they can have their poor English corrected to improve their marks.
Building links for success: the UK and China announce new Higher Education partnerships
DfES - 05/04/2006
Education Ministers from the UK and China today announced new programmes to promote academic, cultural and business exchange between the two countries.
College plans £1bn science park in downland paradise
Daily Telegraph - 04/04/2006
A leading university is planning an unprecedented assault on a protected area of countryside in one of the growth areas established by John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister.
‘Consumer’ students more likely to sue for shoddy lecturing
Independent - 04/04/2006
Universities face a spate of compensation claims over shoddy lecturing standards when top-up fees of up to £3,000 a year are introduced this autumn. A study has warned students were more likely to consider themselves as "consumers" and sue if they felt they were not being taught well.
Eco-friendly St Andrews sets green course as first 'carbon neutral' university
Scotland on Sunday - 09/04/2006
St Andrews University wants to make the royal burgh Britain's first carbon-neutral higher education campus, using a combination of wind power, solar panels and a biomass boiler to generate electricity and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Europe has no need of a flawed elite university
Financial Times - 10/04/2006
One of the more bizarre schemes of Europe's indefatigable reformers is to establish an elite university, called the European Institute of Technology, by 2009. The name suggests that the European Union is trying to create a clone of the famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US.
Heads told to wake up to corporate manslaughter laws
THES - 07/04/2006
Universities could face unlimited fines for causing death through negligence if they fail to take on board new corporate manslaughter laws, a conference has heard.
New stressbusting rules target academic angst
THES - 07/04/2006
The latest official figures have revealed higher than average levels of stress among university staff, prompting employers to issue new guidance on tackling the problem.
Oxford plans its own English test
BBC News - 11/04/2006
Oxford University is considering an aptitude test for its English courses to select the brightest pupils from a growing number achieving top A-levels.
Payout in P&G drug data row
THES - 07/04/2006
Sheffield University has reached a settlement with the whistleblower it threatened to sack after he raised concerns about scientific misconduct at the university. It has also dropped all disciplinary charges against him.
Threat to dawdlers over fixed contracts
THES - 07/04/2006
Universities could find themselves embroiled in costly employment tribunals unless they do more to comply with European Union regulations on fixed-term contracts, the Association of University Teachers warned this week.
Two-year degrees to lure students
Birmingham Post - 11/04/2006
Universities are to offer new two-year "compressed" degrees as part of an attempt to bolster student numbers in higher education.
Unions vs. employers: who is right?
Independent - 06/04/2006
Students may fail to graduate this summer if the lecturers' pay dispute is not settled soon. The universities say they don't have the money. The academics say they do.
