Monthly Archives: September 2015

Corbyn Is Right About Education But Needs To Highlight His Views

Corbyn is among those rare leaders who actually practice what they preach. This is illustrated by the breakup with his wife over exclusivity in their child’s education, but in spite of the personal tragedy Corbyn stuck to its stance. And after all these years it appears that he will be the one who will have the last laugh.

His stance bears proof that it is not necessary to be exclusive or “elitist” in order to have merit. Most parents want the best for their children and the credibility of the name alone (of the school or university) stands as one of the foundations of our modern education. But a better option is expanding the spheres of quality education so that meritorious children even from lesser known educational institutions are given equal opportunity to excel in their chosen fields.

But Corbyn is no fool. He fully realizes that the elite who attend private schools (accounting for only
seven percent of all school going children in the UK) are the ones who dominate the decision making
positions in corporate, media and governmental organizations alike. They will do their best to maintain
their privilege and exclusivity but Corbyn is up to the fight.

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Hajj Stampede Claims Over 700

The stampede during Hajj that took place on Thursday morning near Mina two miles away from Mecca during a ritual which may be termed as “stoning the devil” claimed more than seven hundred lives while injuring close to 900 people in Saudi Arabia, according to reports. The footage of the incident is disturbing with piles of bodies, some of which are still moving. Workers are trying to rescue the few who may still be alive.

It is to be noted that in previous years the ceremony has claimed numerous other lives as well and comes in the wave of a crane collapse in the Grand Mosque in Mecca only thirteen days before. The incident is the most fatal in Mina since the incident that occurred there in 1990 which claimed more than 1,426 victims.

The exact figures are stated to be 717 dead and 863 injured but the numbers have seen a steady rise. More than four thousand workers have been deployed at the site in addition to 220 ambulances and supporting vehicles.During the ritual, the pilgrims throw stones at three pillars, an act in memory of the incident where Prophet Abraham rejected the temptations of the devil by stoning him.

The stampede occurred when there was a surge in the pilgrim crowd around 9 in the morning. The
reason behind the surge remained unclear.

Source: CNN

How Economic Disparity Still Affects Education Even in the US

We have come a long way since the seventies of the previous century where African-American children seldom had the same opportunities in education as whites.

Things Have Changed

But things have undergone widespread changes thanks to events like the civil rights movement, desegregation in schools and the notable “War on Poverty” that brought about increased equity and levelled the playing field. The situation as of today stands vastly different.

Within the year 2012 deficit in test-scores in math and reading in black 9, 13 and 17 year olds had been reduced by as much as a whopping fifty percent in comparison to scores that date back to 40 to 30 years.

The Thing that needs to be Done Now

But as the progress of man continues the US just cannot afford to stagnate and be complacent with its achievements. It must continue its march forward. But a closer look at statistics reveal that there are wide gaps in achievement between the less privileged children than their more affluent counterparts according to Sean Reardon who works at Stanford in the Center for Education Policy. The changed scenario of today is that the racial disparity is not the main divider or obstacle to progress. The obstacle that is widely coming into focus now is class.

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