U.S. Public Education Increasingly Drawing Attention From Private Philanthropy

The Broad Foundation, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization established in 1967 by billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad and his wife, Edythe, announced Thursday that it would donate $100 million to Yale University. But the donation will be directed to training leaders in the realm of public education, from kindergarten to high school (K-12). The $100-million donation will help the Yale School of Management create a master’s degree program, free to students who aspire to lead in America’s public school systems in areas of management, public health, law, child development, policy, criminal…

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Debt investment under NPS becomes safer from today. Check new rules

New Delhi: The quality of debt securities that your National Pension System (NPS) fund manager buys may see significant improvement from today. The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) last month revised the guidelines for the valuation of pension schemes, which becomes effective from today (December 1, 2019). In a circular, the pension fund regulator said that it has made changes in the ‘valuation of debt securities’ as well as ‘valuation policy for securities below investment grade’ in which pension funds in the National Pension System (NPS) can make investments.…

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Mental health days for students: An increasingly accepted reason to stay home from school

Public school students would be allowed to cite the need for a mental health day as an excuse to miss school, under a bill filed in the Florida Legislature for the 2020 session. The proposal is part of a growing movement in multiple states aimed at improving students’ mental well-being. Rep. Susan Valdes, D-Tampa, says she wants to elevate mental and behavior health issues to the same level as the flu, colds and dental appointments as a legitimate reason for students to call in sick. “It is time for us to take mental…

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Two News Stories From Abroad Suggest American Education Is On The Wrong Track

News about schools in England and Finland challenge a prevailing assumption in American education–that it’s better for students to learn on their own than to be explicitly taught. GETTY It can be risky to look to other countries’ education systems for models. Nevertheless, two recent news stories from abroad raise doubts about prevailing American views on how students learn. Too often, American education reformers and policymakers have called for emulating other seemingly successful systems without taking into account the myriad differences between any two countries. An approach that has worked…

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[Funding alert] Education financing startup Propelld raises Rs 15 Cr from Stellaris Venture Partners and India Quotient

Propelld, a Bengaluru-based fintech startup that enables student education loans, on Monday, announced that it has raised Rs 15 crore from Stellaris Venture Partners and India Quotient. Existing investor India Angel Network Fund (IAN Fund) also participated in the round. Other investors in the round include Raghunandan G, founder of Taxiforsure and Ramakant Sharma, founder of Livspace, who participated as members of Stellaris’ Founder Network. Bibhu Prasad Das, Founder, Propelld said, “We are expanding the education credit market by creating tailor-made loan products with inputs from our institute and NBFC partners,…

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US now seeking social media details from all visa applicants

WASHINGTON (AP) – The State Department is now requiring nearly all applicants for U.S. visas to submit their social media usernames, previous email addresses and phone numbers. It’s a vast expansion of the Trump administration’s enhanced screening of potential immigrants and visitors. In a move that’s just taken effect after approval of the revised application forms, the department says it has updated its immigrant and nonimmigrant visa forms to request the additional information, including “social media identifiers,” from almost all U.S. applicants. The change, which was proposed in March 2018, is…

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