Education
Why higher education should be mourning the loss of its independence on July 4th
The University of Virginia describes itself as a place where “differing perspectives not only coexist, they co-create.” It’s a sentiment that may no longer ring true at the prestigious public university, and, potentially, all of higher education.
Today, the venerable research institution created by Thomas Jefferson suddenly finds itself in big trouble, its mission and independence threatened by the Trump administration’s demands to weaken its diversity, equity and inclusion programs or risk losing millions of dollars in federal funding.
James E. Ryan, the university’s ninth president, resigned under pressure last week, part of a settlement with the Justice Department into ending the school’s diversity practices. His resignation is among the many signals that we are in a new and unprecedented era for higher education, traditionally a bastion for freedom of thought and speech. It likely marks the first time the federal government has pushed a university to remove its leader.
Ryan’s resignation is a stark reminder that it’s not just the Ivy League that has incurred the wrath of President Donald Trump and suffered from federal overreach into every echelon of university life. The move against UVA will “spread fear across the academy and American society at large,” Siva Vaidhyanathan, a professor of media studies at the university, wrote for The New Republic. “Students, faculty and university leaders will cower, believing that no institutional power will protect us if the right comes after us.”
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As UVA president, Ryan has been a champion of maintaining diversity, and he acknowledged having to resign against his will because the Trump administration does not believe he went far enough in dismantling DEI initiatives aimed at making all students feel included. The university dissolved its DEI office in March, but conservative alumni and others have complained that Ryan did not do more.
“I cannot make a unilateral decision to fight the federal government in order to save my own job,” Ryan said in a statement Friday, while faculty and students protested on the leafy Charlottesville campus. The 58-year-old president noted that he is “heartbroken to be leaving this way,” and many students also said they were sorry to see Ryan go.
Democratic lawmakers in Virginia vowed over the weekend to fight back, including Sen. Mark Warner. “This federal DOE and Department of Justice should get their nose out of the University of Virginia,” Warner said during a television appearance on Sunday. “They are doing damage to our flagship university. And if they can do it here, they’ll do it elsewhere.”
Related: Tracking Trump: His actions to abolish the Education Department, and more
UVA opened with a faculty of eight and a student body of just 68 men, a crowning achievement for Jefferson, who famously believed that an educated citizenry is key to a democratic society. The first Black student was not admitted until 1950; the first woman 20 years later. Today, the top-ranked public research institution enrolls more than 25,000 students, 9.4 percent of whom are Black or African American and 10 percent of whom are Hispanic, the most recent university data shows.
The issue of Ryan’s departure, of course, is about far more than what he did or is perceived to have not done. All of higher education has been under pressure since a divided Supreme Court struck down affirmative action, and even more so since Trump took office and promised to address what he calls an “anti-white feeling” in America.
Trump has questioned the tax-exempt status of universities, issued executive orders aimed at eliminating DEI, gutted funding for critical research and launched an array of civil rights investigations. His Justice Department last week opened an investigation into hiring practices at the University of California, and on Monday said it had determined that Harvard violated federal civil rights law by ignoring the concerns of Jewish and Israeli students during Gaza war protests and threatened to withhold all federal funding from the university.
The University of Virginia has also been pressured by the Jefferson Council, a group of conservative alumni that has been highly critical of Ryan’s leadership, as it details on a website called Reset UVA. “For too long, policies driven by ideology rather than merit, achievement and character have eroded trust, divided the community and betrayed the university’s founding ideals,” Joel Gardner, president of the Jefferson Council, said in a statement.
Ryan previously worked as an education school professor and dean at Harvard (the university that has attracted a great deal of Trump’s ire) and earned a reputation as a supporter of first-generation students during his nearly seven years at UVA, at a time when many college presidents are quietly folding scholarships, pipeline initiatives, race-based mentoring and offices devoted to racial equality.
Many college presidents have been reluctant to speak out openly in opposition to Trump, but not Patricia McGuire, the longtime president of Trinity Washington University, a small Catholic institution. Ryan’s resignation, she told me, “lays bare once more the intent of the Trump administration to silence the leadership of American higher education and to debilitate its leading institutions so that the regime can continue its campaign to deconstruct our democracy without opposition.”
Related: Trump is bullying, blackmailing and threatening colleges, and they are just beginning to fight back
A few other leaders have recently joined forces, including in a new campaign, From Campus to Community; many of the college presidents involved posted commencement speeches filled with calls for courage, including Wellesley College President Paula Johnson, who told graduates: “We are in the midst of a degree of meddling that American colleges and universities have not seen since the McCarthy era in the late 1940s and 1950s.”
Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, called Ryan’s resignation “a dark day for the University of Virginia, a dark day for higher education.”
“It’s clear the administration is not done and will use every tool that it can make or invent to exert its will over higher education,” he added.
In the meantime, it’s the loss of its freedom that higher education, already under pressure due to declining enrollment and lagging public support for its value, needs to be worried about on Independence Day.
Contact Liz Willen at willen@hechingerreport.org
This story about UVA was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter.
Education
Minister won’t rule out support cuts for children with EHCPs amid Send overhaul – UK politics live – UK politics live | Politics
Minister won’t rule out support cuts for children with EHCPs amid Send overhaul
Good morning. Less than a week after the government had to abandon the main pillar of its welfare reform plans 90 minutes before a vote it was otherwise likely to lose, the government is now facing another revolt over plans to scale back support available to disabled people. But this row affects children, not adults – specifically pupils with special educational needs who have education, health and care plans (EHCPs) that guarantee them extra help in schools.
As Richard Adams and Kiran Stacey report, although the plans have not been announced yet, campaigners are alarmed by reports that access to EHCPs is set to be restricted.
The Times has splashed on the same issue.
The Times quotes an unnamed senior Labour MP saying: “If they thought taking money away from disabled adults was bad, watch what happens when they try the same with disabled kids.”
Stephen Morgan, the early education minister, was giving interviews this morning. He was supposed to be talking about the government’s Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life strategy being announced today, but instead he mostly took questions on EHCPs.
On Times Radio, asked if he could guarantee that every child who currently has an EHCP would continue to keep the same provisions, Morgan would not confirm that. Instead he replied:
We absolutely want to make sure that we deliver better support for vulnerable children and their parents and we’re committed to absolutely getting that right. So it’s a real priority for us.
When it was put to him that he was not saying yes, he replied:
Well of course we want to make sure that every child gets the support that they need. That’s why we’re doing the wider reform and we’re publishing the white paper later this year.
Here is the agenda for the day.
Morning: Nigel Farage attends a meeting of Kent county council where his party, Reform UK, is in power.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
11.30am: Keir Starmer and other leaders attend a memorial service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 7/7 attacks.
2.30pm: Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (normally between 10am and 3pm at the moment), or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word.
If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X, but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.
I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.
Key events
Unison and Usdaw join other unions in urging Labour to consider introducing wealth tax
As Peter Walker reports, Neil Kinnock, the former Labour leader, said the government should consider a wealth tax, in an interview with Sky News.
Today the Daily Telegraph has splashed on the proposal.
In their story, Ben Riley-Smith, Dominic Penna and Hannah Boland quote five trade unions also supporting a wealth tax.
Some of them them are leftwing unions long associated with calls for wealth taxes. Unite told the paper it had “led the campaign for a wealth tax inside and outside the Labour party”. Steve Wright, general secretary of the FBU, told the paper that “introducing a wealth tax to fund public services, a generous welfare state, and workers’ pay must be a priority in the second year of a Labour government. And Matt Wrack, the former FBU general secretary who is now acting general secretary of Nasuwt, called for an “immediate introduction of a wealth tax”, which he said had “very significant public support”.
But two unions seen as less militant and more aligned with the Labour leadership (which is wary of ‘tax the rich’ rhetoric) have backed the idea. Christina McAnea, general secretary of Unison, told the Telegraph: “A wealth tax would be a much fairer way of raising revenue to invest in public services and grow the economy.”
And Paddy Lillis, the general secretary of Usdaw, said: “We know wealth in this country is with a small number of people. [A wealth tax] is one way of raising money quickly.”
Government plans to overhaul Send provision will be about ‘strengthening’ the system, minister says
Stephen Morgan, the early education minister, told LBC that the government proposals to overhaul special educational needs and disabilities (Send) provision would be about “strengthening” the system.
Asked if he could say parents of children with Send had nothing to fear from the plans, which are due to be announced in the autumn, Morgan replied:
Absolutely. What we want to do is make sure we’ve got a better system in place as a result of the reform that we’re doing that improves outcomes for children with additional needs.
But, asked if the plans would involve scrapping ECHPs, Morgan replied:
We’re looking at all things in the round. I’m not going to get into the mechanics today, but this is about strengthening support for the system.
Here is the letter to the Guardian, signed by dozens of special needs and disability charities and campaigners, that is covered in our splash story about opposition to proposals to restrict access to education, health and care plans (EHCPs). (See 9.34am.)
Here is John Harris’s column on the topic.
And here is an extract.
Since Labour won the election, rising noise has been coming from Whitehall and beyond about drastically restricting the legal rights to dedicated provision that underpin the education of hundreds of thousands of children and young people. Those rights are enforced by the official Send tribunal, and embodied in education, health and care plans (EHCPs), which set out children’s needs and the provision they entail in a legally binding document. Contrary to what you read in certain news outlets, they are not any kind of “golden ticket”: parents and carers used to unreturned phone calls and long waits still frequently have to fight their local councils for the help their plans set out. But – and as a special needs parent, I speak from experience – they usually allow stressed-out families to just about sleep at night.
For about 40 years, such rights have been a cornerstone of the Send system. But their future is now uncertain: councils, in particular, are frantically lobbying ministers to get parents and their pesky rights out of the way. Late last year, a government source quoted in the Financial Times held out the prospect of “thousands fewer pupils” having access to rights-based provision. Despite the fact that EHCPs are most sorely needed in mainstream schools, a senior adviser to the Department for Education recently said that a consideration of whether EHCPs should no longer apply to children in exactly those settings is “the conversation we’re in the middle of”. There are whispers about families who currently have EHCPs being allowed to keep them, while in the future, kids with similar needs would be waved away, something that threatens a stereotypical two-tier model, another element with worrying echoes of the benefits disaster.
Consumer confidence rising, survey suggests
The majority of UK households are feeling financially secure, with 70% of people confident enough to plan a summer holiday, according to a survey. PA Media reports:
The number of people feeling financially secure has risen this quarter by three percentage points to 58%, while confidence that the UK economy is improving has risen to 17% from one in 10 three months ago, the KPMG Consumer Pulse poll found.
The survey of 3,000 UK adults, taken in early June, found 50% feel able to spend freely, although 14% say they are still having to actively cut their discretionary spending to pay for essentials, and 3% of are incurring debt to do so …
Despite the quarterly improvement in economic confidence, half of people (51%) feel that the economy is still worsening – although this is down from 58% in the previous quarter.
Those saying that the economy is getting worse cite the cost of their groceries (79%), utilities (74%), and the general state of public services where they live (42%).
Linda Ellett, head of consumer, retail and leisure at KPMG UK, said: “Consumer confidence has rallied over the last quarter and only a fifth of consumers now feel insecure about their financial circumstance. Businesses will be hoping that this improvement brings about increased spending confidence during the summer months.
“But macroeconomic confidence still looms large, with half of consumers still to be convinced that the economy isn’t worsening.”
Minister won’t rule out support cuts for children with EHCPs amid Send overhaul
Good morning. Less than a week after the government had to abandon the main pillar of its welfare reform plans 90 minutes before a vote it was otherwise likely to lose, the government is now facing another revolt over plans to scale back support available to disabled people. But this row affects children, not adults – specifically pupils with special educational needs who have education, health and care plans (EHCPs) that guarantee them extra help in schools.
As Richard Adams and Kiran Stacey report, although the plans have not been announced yet, campaigners are alarmed by reports that access to EHCPs is set to be restricted.
The Times has splashed on the same issue.
The Times quotes an unnamed senior Labour MP saying: “If they thought taking money away from disabled adults was bad, watch what happens when they try the same with disabled kids.”
Stephen Morgan, the early education minister, was giving interviews this morning. He was supposed to be talking about the government’s Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life strategy being announced today, but instead he mostly took questions on EHCPs.
On Times Radio, asked if he could guarantee that every child who currently has an EHCP would continue to keep the same provisions, Morgan would not confirm that. Instead he replied:
We absolutely want to make sure that we deliver better support for vulnerable children and their parents and we’re committed to absolutely getting that right. So it’s a real priority for us.
When it was put to him that he was not saying yes, he replied:
Well of course we want to make sure that every child gets the support that they need. That’s why we’re doing the wider reform and we’re publishing the white paper later this year.
Here is the agenda for the day.
Morning: Nigel Farage attends a meeting of Kent county council where his party, Reform UK, is in power.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
11.30am: Keir Starmer and other leaders attend a memorial service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 7/7 attacks.
2.30pm: Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (normally between 10am and 3pm at the moment), or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word.
If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X, but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.
I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.
Key points:
In an era where workforce demands and the needs of high school learners are rapidly evolving, a new survey by Penn Foster Group sheds light on how teachers are reimagining education to better equip students for success.
Conducted at the start of the year, the survey of over 300 high school teachers underscores the growing need for educators to offer career-focused learning content and alternative high school pathways that equip students with workforce-ready skills in flexible ways beyond traditional schooling.
Teachers overwhelmingly reported a surge in interest among students to enter the workforce directly after graduation, with nearly 70 percent noting this trend had increased significantly in the past five years. This shift reflects a broader move toward practical, skills-based learning, as more than half of respondents (54 percent) shared plans to center their curricula around real-world skills. One teacher captured the essence of this approach, stating, “Students want to see how what they’re learning connects to their future. Showing them real-world applications keeps them engaged and motivated.”
By incorporating skills-based learning into their curricula, educators are equipping students with the tools necessary to transition seamlessly into the workforce after graduation–and online education is poised to play a pivotal role in this evolution. Nearly three-quarters of the teachers surveyed predict a rise in demand for online learning programs, with 70 percent agreeing that such programs are essential to workforce preparation. Educators pointed to flexibility and accessibility as key benefits, enabling students to balance education with other responsibilities while building critical skills for future careers.
The data in the survey also revealed that cost, faster completion times, and alignment with job opportunities are driving students toward nontraditional pathways. With 64 percent of educators expressing confidence in online learning as a viable alternative to traditional schooling, the shift toward digital and skills-based education is expected to continue accelerating, especially as high school learners are seeking more options for flexibility in their environment.
“As the educational landscape continues to evolve, it’s clear that traditional pathways are no longer enough to meet the diverse needs of today’s students,” said Andy Shean, Chief Learning Officer at Penn Foster Group. “This survey emphasizes the critical need for flexible, skills-based, and accessible learning options that prepare students for career success and keep them on track for graduation while supporting their overall well-being. By embracing innovative models such as online education, credit recovery, summer school, and blended learning, we can ensure that students not only graduate but thrive in an ever-changing world.”
Mental health remains a pressing issue, with 72 percent of teachers anticipating an increase in anxiety and stress among students in 2025. Teachers cited these challenges, along with social isolation and academic pressure as barriers to engagement and success. In response, many educators are implementing innovative strategies such as project-based learning, internships, and career exploration opportunities to meet students where they are and offer better support.
Online learning also serves as a lifeline for students who need additional support to stay on track for graduation. Penn Foster Group works with teachers and counselors who highlight the growing use of online courses for credit recovery, summer school, and blended learning models, allowing students in traditional schools to customize their education to meet their unique needs. These programs provide students with a second chance to earn missed credits, accelerate their progress, and engage with coursework in a way that accommodates personal schedules, extracurricular commitments, and other responsibilities.
As demand for alternative learning pathways rises, Penn Foster Group remains at the forefront of education innovation by focusing on practical skills and flexible, online program delivery. The latest data reinforces Penn Foster Group’s commitment to delivering forward-thinking education that empowers high school learners’ continued adaptability and success.
This press release originally appeared online.
Education
Microsoft Partners with eVidyaloka to Revolutionize AI Education for 37,000 Rural Students in India, ET Education
In a transformative push to bring Artificial Intelligence (AI) education to the heart of rural India, Microsoft, in partnership with eVidyaloka, is empowering around 37,000 students with Responsible AI training through Build Rural Artificial Intelligence Network (BRAIN) program. Now, in its second year, BRAIN has grown from 300 government schools in its pilot phase to more than 400 schools across 10 states of India.
Drawing on Microsoft’s Responsible AI principles and powered by its technology, curriculum, corporate social responsibility grants, devices, and volunteer network with strategic corporate partners, the program is not only teaching foundational AI concepts, but also enabling hands-on innovation in the classrooms, where access to advanced digital tools was once unimaginable.
One of the milestones in this year was the distribution of laptops to 108 government schools through Microsoft’s in-kind donation program, enabling more than 6,000 students to experience AI for the first time, through hands-on learning. Meanwhile, the Teacher Training (ToT) program equipped 343 educators in nine states with AI pedagogy and digital skills, laying the foundation for sustainable, long-term impact.
At the center of this initiative, offering 22 modules on AI for students and teachers is BRAINIAC 2025, a national AI innovation challenge that puts knowledge into action. It invites students from the government schools to identify pressing local issues in their schools or neighbourhoods and design practical, AI-powered solutions. By blending classroom instruction with hands-on problem-solving, BRAINIAC transforms digital education into a tool for grassroots innovation and community impact.
In this year’s challenge, 748 student teams (1,496 students) have come forward with innovative AI-driven prototypes addressing real-life issues, from smart dustbins and navigational systems to energy management tools and attendance solutions. Guided by trained Class Assistants and volunteer mentors, the initiative is redefining what students can achieve when given the right platform.
The program’s reach is further amplified by eVidyaloka’s Teach Through Television (TTT) model, which blends television and online content to overcome access barriers. In 2024–25, the TTT platform recorded 14.58 lakh views, delivering AI modules in five languages—Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, and English—with redesigned content broken into 66 short, engaging lessons enhanced with motion graphics and interactive quizzes.
“Through the BRAINIAC Challenge, we are not just introducing rural students to Artificial Intelligence, we are enabling them to become thinkers, creators, and problem-solvers in their own communities. It’s heartening to see students take ownership of their learning journeys and build solutions that are meaningful, relevant, and deeply rooted in the community.” said Brinda Poornapragna, CEO of eVidyaloka.
Microsoft’s volunteer ecosystem has played a key role in co-developing curriculum and hosting student’s Meet & Greets with tech professionals. Collaborative efforts with Microsoft’s partner organisations like Nirmaan to adapt the BRAIN curriculum, further extended the reach of this Responsible AI course to 4,100 students across Tamil Nadu, ensuring exposure to global tech thinking even in India’s remotest classrooms.
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