By Ernet Sipes - Al-Fanar. The young women who attend A’Sharqiyah University in Oman wear black abayas, an obligatory custom in this conservative country at the mouth of the Arabian Gulf.
Occasionally, however, a gust of wind reveals a glimpse of a colorful dress or Western-style blue jeans and high heels under the black cloak.
The fashion clash is a metaphor for what’s happening at A’Sharqiyah and a host of other universities that have sprung up in recent years in Oman under a plan to educate young women for free. More...

By D.D. Guttenplan - Al-Fanar. According to the Hadith, the Prophet urges us to “Seek knowledge even in China.” In modern times, when Tony Blair led the British Labour Party in 1997 to victory on a motto of “Education, education, education” he was only reiterating something the ancients had already known: Education is important.  In politics, education is the one priority everyone agrees on.  And of course it is a right enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. More...

By Stephen Gorard and Rebecca Morris. The government’s free school policy, which allows local communities to set up new schools that are funded by the state, has come under attack in recent days by MPs and sparked a row within the coalition. In a new report on free schools, parliament’s public accounts committee said such schools are expensive, and are not generally appearing in the areas of greatest demand for school places. More...

By Graeme Bloch. The recent open letter of concern penned by nearly 100 academics from around the world about the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s international education rankings is more than just a protest. Their criticism of the Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA), calling on its director Andreas Schleicher to halt the next round of tests in 2015, provides real alternatives and suggests a role for the global education community to monitor the administration of the tests. More...