Education News, June 10

UNESCO launches 2026 global education data collection

UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics has launched the 2026 Survey of Formal Education, sending questionnaires to 163 UNESCO member states and territories. The survey is important because it feeds global monitoring of SDG 4, the international goal for inclusive and equitable quality education. It includes four core questionnaires and produces 21 global and thematic indicators, covering areas such as enrolment, participation, completion, teachers and education systems. At a time when education access, learning loss, conflict, migration and budget pressure are reshaping schooling worldwide, reliable comparative data is crucial. The survey will help governments, researchers and international agencies evaluate whether countries are progressing or falling behind before the 2030 deadline. (uis.unesco.org)

Trump administration moves from campus investigations to rewriting U.S. higher-education rules

In the United States, the Trump administration is shifting from targeting individual universities to rewriting rules that could affect around 6,000 higher-education institutions. According to AP, proposed measures touch accreditation, federal grants, DEI policies, transgender athletes, antisemitism investigations and civil-rights enforcement. One proposal would require accreditors to assess “intellectual diversity,” while another would tie federal grants more explicitly to the administration’s policy priorities. Universities and higher-education groups see this as a structural change: instead of isolated disputes with Harvard, UCLA, Columbia or Brown, federal rulemaking could reshape the operating framework for all American campuses. (AP News)

UK universities face another £100 million teaching-grant cut

Times Higher Education reports that UK government funding for high-cost subjects and other “strategic priorities” is expected to be cut by another £100 million in the coming academic year. The grant supports teaching in expensive or strategically important areas and access-related programmes, so universities fear the cut will deepen financial strain just as many institutions are already under pressure from inflation, reduced international-student income and long-term erosion in real-terms funding. Universities UK has warned that further reductions would undermine the effect of recent tuition-fee increases and could damage teaching quality, particularly in subjects that are costly to deliver. (Times Higher Education (THE))

China’s gaokao registrations fall sharply amid demographic and job-market pressure

China’s national university entrance exam, the gaokao, has seen registrations fall by 450,000, to 12.9 million students in 2026. Reuters reports this is the second consecutive year of decline, reflecting both a shrinking college-age population and anxiety about graduate employment. Youth unemployment above 16% and a record 12.7 million university graduates entering the labour market this summer are pushing more families to consider vocational routes. The shift is significant because the gaokao has long symbolized academic mobility in China; falling participation suggests that students are recalculating the value of traditional degrees in a tougher economy. (Reuters)

School kidnappings in Nigeria spread to the southwest

Reuters reports that kidnapping-for-ransom attacks on schools in Nigeria have expanded into the country’s southwest, a region previously considered safer than the north and Middle Belt. In Oyo State, more than 30 students and a teacher were abducted after armed attackers raided schools near Yawota. One teacher was reportedly shot dead while trying to escape from a classroom window. The attacks have intensified criticism of security failures and revived fears that children cannot learn safely. The crisis is not only humanitarian but political: school safety is expected to become a major issue before Nigeria’s 2027 elections. (Reuters)

Belgian education reforms trigger violent protests in Brussels

A protest against planned education reforms in Belgium’s French Community turned violent in Brussels on June 4. Police used tear gas, and parts of the city centre were damaged. The reforms include raising annual higher-education tuition from €835 to €1,194, a roughly 35% increase, and requiring some secondary teachers to work two additional classroom hours per week without extra pay. The government says the measures are needed because of strained public finances and a projected €1.9 billion deficit, but teachers and students argue they will worsen working conditions, class sizes and access to higher education. (Reuters)

Italy introduces parental consent for sex education

Italy’s government has introduced a reform requiring parental consent for sex education in schools, while excluding it from nurseries and primary schools. Reuters reports that the measure is promoted by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government. The change places Italy within a broader European debate over parental rights, sexuality education, children’s autonomy and the role of schools in health and civic education. Supporters frame the reform as giving families more control over sensitive subjects, while critics are likely to see it as limiting access to age-appropriate information at a time when young people face online misinformation and social pressure. (Reuters)

India orders universities to upload 2025 academic records by June 30

India’s University Grants Commission has directed all higher-education institutions, including universities and autonomous colleges, to upload students’ 2025 academic records to the National Academic Depository and Academic Bank of Credits platform by June 30, 2026. The records include marksheets, grade sheets, credit data and related academic documents. The move supports India’s National Education Policy 2020, especially its goal of flexible, credit-based education with multiple entry and exit routes. If implemented well, the centralized academic record system could improve student mobility, verification, credit transfer and lifelong-learning pathways across Indian higher education. (The Times of India)

Jordan launches Education Strategic Plan 2026–2030 with UNESCO support

Jordan and UNESCO have launched the country’s Education Strategic Plan 2026–2030, described as a roadmap for a more inclusive, equitable and future-ready education system. The plan is based on sector analysis, consultation and alignment with Jordan’s national development priorities. It emphasizes inclusion, gender equality, equitable access, coordinated implementation, resource allocation and monitoring. Its importance goes beyond Jordan: the country’s schools serve both national development goals and large refugee and vulnerable populations, making education planning central to social resilience. Implementation is set to begin in 2026. (unesco.org)

Philippines earthquake disrupts first day of school in Mindanao

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the southern Philippines on June 8, coinciding with the first day of school for millions of students in Mindanao. Reports cited by People said at least 35 people were killed and more than 200 injured, while UNICEF warned that learner and teacher safety must be the priority. The quake affected about 3.2 million students, damaged school buildings and led the government to suspend classes in affected regions. The education impact is immediate—lost school days, trauma, damaged classrooms—but it also raises longer-term questions about disaster preparedness in school infrastructure across earthquake-prone areas. (People.com)