Education Policy Archive

GEJIU, China—Luo Xing stood on the sidewalk outside Gejiu Third High School reviewing her Chinese language and literature test prep guide. She and hundreds of classmates were cramming last-minute for China’s high-stakes college entrance exam, known as the gaokao, as if 12 years of preparation were not enough. The bell finally rang and the school gates opened, allowing Luo Xing and the mass of students to push past throngs of anxious parents, SWAT police and a brigade of motorcycle cops. They disappeared into the school compound to face one of the hardest tests in the world. More than 10 million […]

Editor’s Note: This article is part of anongoing seriesabout education policy in various countries around the world. Thousands of teachers went on strike and marched for better working conditions in Morocco in recent months. The waves of demonstrations, which occasionally turned violent as police used water cannons to disperse the protesters, have since subsided as teachers have returned to classes. But there is potential for further unrest if the government doesn’t meet the teachers’ key demand: being accorded full civil servant status. In an email interview with WPR, Aboubakr Jamai, dean of the School of Business and International Relations at […]

Editor’s Note: This article is part of an ongoing series about education policy in various countries around the world. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Brazil last week to protest President Jair Bolsonaro’s drastic cuts to the country’s education system. The demonstrations were organized in response to the government’s plan to slash discretionary budgets for federal universities by 30 percent. Officials say the cuts are necessary to rein in excessive public spending, but opponents see them as part of a longer-term ideological assault on higher education in Brazil. In an email interview with WPR, Justin Axel-Berg, […]