The head of French satellite company Eutelsat has told RFI that its partnership with Facebook to improve internet access will target 14 African countries. Eutelsat CEO Michel de Rosen said on Thursday that the initiative will partner with local providers to roll out satellite connectivity making the internet more accessible.
Eutelsat expects the system to be operational by the end of 2016, according to de Rosen. It will be made available in 14 countries: Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan and Ethiopia.
Facebook targeting 14 African countries with satellite internet initiative, says Eutelsat CEO – – RFI
October 11, 2015
Uncategorized Africa, Development, Education, Eutelsat, Facebook, peter singhateh, Peter Singhatey Leave a comment
Ibrahim Index: Democracy in Africa remains stagnant as Zimbabwe makes progress | Africa | DW.COM | 05.10.2015
October 6, 2015
Uncategorized Africa, Development, Education, Gambia, Ibrahim Index 2015, International Security, People & Society, peter singhateh, Peter Singhatey Leave a comment
Mauritius has retained its top slot as the leading democracy in Africa, while Somalia lagged at the furthest end, according to the 2015 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG).
Young and dyslexic? You’ve got it going on | Benjamin Zephaniah | Comment is free | The Guardian
October 5, 2015
Uncategorized dyslexic, Education, peter singhateh, Peter Singhatey, Research 1 Comment
As a child I suffered, but learned to turn dyslexia to my advantage, to see the world more creatively. We are the architects, we are the designers
Source: Young and dyslexic? You’ve got it going on | Benjamin Zephaniah | Comment is free | The Guardian
I’m of the generation where teachers didn’t know what dyslexia was. The big problem with the education system then was that there was no compassion, no understanding and no humanity. I don’t look back and feel angry with the teachers. The ones who wanted to have an individual approach weren’t allowed to. The idea of being kind and thoughtful and listening to problems just wasn’t done: the past is a different kind of country…
Lack of computers in schools may be a blessing – OECD report
September 17, 2015
Uncategorized Education, Ireland, Lack of Computers, People & Society, peter singhateh, Peter Singhatey Leave a comment
Intense computer use in class linked to ‘significantly poorer student performance’
Source: Lack of computers in schools may be a blessing – OECD report
Ireland has one of the lowest rates of internet use in schools in the world but, ironically, it may be doing students more good than harm, according to a global study published on Tuesday.
The report by the educational wing of the OECD into the impact of computer and internet use on test scores shows there is “no appreciable improvements in student achievement in reading, mathematics or science in the countries that had invested heavily in ICT [Information and Communications Technology] for education”.
Ireland is ranked fifth from the bottom for use of ICT in schools, and fourth from the bottom for the use of ICT for schoolwork at home, the report shows. Irish teenagers spend on average 16 minutes on the internet at school during weekdays compared to an OECD average of 25 minutes, and a high of 58 minutes in Australia…
Schools that ban mobile phones see better academic results | Education | The Guardian
May 19, 2015
Research Ban Mobile Phones, Education, People & Society, peter singhateh, Peter Singhatey Leave a comment
Schools that ban mobile phones see better academic results | Education | The Guardian.
“It is a question that keeps some parents awake at night. Should children be allowed to take mobile phones to school? Now economists claim to have an answer. For parents who want to boost their children’s academic prospects, it is no.
The effect of banning mobile phones from school premises adds up to the equivalent of an extra week’s schooling over a pupil’s academic year, according to research by Louis-Philippe Beland and Richard Murphy, published by the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics.
“Ill Communication: The Impact of Mobile Phones on Student Performance” found that after schools banned mobile phones, the test scores of students aged 16 improved by 6.4%. The economists reckon that this is the “equivalent of adding five days to the school year”.
The findings will feed into the ongoing debate about children’s access to mobile phones…”
Will the world’s hungry benefit from falling oil prices? – TRFN | Reuters
January 13, 2015
Uncategorized Africa, Development, Education, Oil Prices, peter singhateh, Peter Singhatey, Proverty Leave a comment
Will the world’s hungry benefit from falling oil prices? – TRFN | Reuters.
ROME, Jan 12 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A slump in global oil prices has brought cheaper food to many of the world’s poorest, but from the slums of Manila to the fields of Malawi, the benefits are not universal.
Globally, 805 million people still face chronic hunger, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation. While the poorest in cities may see a reduction in food bills, those in rural areas, not integrated into world food markets, may not.
The price of oil dropped by half last year, the second-biggest annual decline ever, hitting a five-and-a half-year low. Oil prices have a knock-on effect on the price of food, which fell for a third straight year in 2014.
“For many poor people who spend a lot of their budget on food, this is good news,” said Shenggen Fan, director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute. “There is a high correlation between oil and food prices.”…
What ISIS Could Teach the West – NYTimes.com
October 3, 2014
Uncategorized Education, International Security, ISIL, ISIS, peter singhateh, Peter Singhatey Leave a comment
What ISIS Could Teach the West – NYTimes.com.
“…the extremists recognized a basic truth: Their greatest strategic threat comes not from a drone but from a girl with a book. We need to recognize, and act on, that truth as well.
For similar reasons, the financiers of extremism have invested heavily in fundamentalist indoctrination. They have built Wahhabi madrassas in poor Muslim countries like Pakistan, Niger and Mali, offering free meals, as well as scholarships for the best students to study in the gulf.
Shouldn’t we try to compete?
Shouldn’t we use weapons in the short run, but try to gain strategic advantage by focusing on education and on empowering women to build stable societies less vulnerable to extremist manipulation?… Girls’ education seems to have more impact than boys’ education, partly because educated women have markedly fewer children. The result is lower birthrates and less of a youth bulge in the population, which highly correlates to civil conflict.
I support judicious airstrikes in the short term against the Islamic State, but that should be only one part of a policy combating extremism. And a starting point should be to ensure that the three million Syrian refugees mostly in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon — especially girls — can get schooling…”
Peter "Just Loves Flying" 
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