AGP Executive Report

Teacher Training & Literacy: A new National Council on Teacher Quality review finds nearly half of educator preparation programs don’t adequately train future teachers to teach reading, with Pennsylvania among the lowest performers. Learning Recovery: Uttar Pradesh is rolling out “catch-up teaching” with a 15-day revision push, daily remedial sessions, and weekly checks to close learning gaps. AI in Education (and its limits): Philippines consumer advocates argue AI should support teachers and learning recovery, but must not replace values formation, citizenship, and critical thinking. Digital Expansion: India reports ICT and digital education coverage reaching 1.49 lakh schools, with SWAYAM course growth and expanded smart classrooms and labs. Policy Reform Push: Sri Lanka’s president orders officials to finalize an Education Reform Policy Framework within a month, drawing lessons from past reforms. Access & Inclusion: A UK-led project adds new British Sign Language signs for marine species to improve accessibility in marine science education. School Safety: Kenya’s education cabinet secretary urges peaceful grievance resolution as unrest closes hundreds of schools and disrupts learning.

Teacher Shortage & Disruption: Jammu and Kashmir’s education minister says teachers pulled for census duty are worsening an already acute staffing gap, hitting classes and exams. Early Childhood Access: Barbados will start universal free pre-primary for eligible 3- and 4-year-olds in September, with a structured curriculum (not daycare). Equity in Practice: New Zealand educators and health experts stress equity over equality—support should match barriers so Māori can reach the same opportunities. Teacher Training Reform: Ontario is moving initial teacher education to a one-year, 12-month program while keeping an 80-day practicum to get new teachers into classrooms faster amid shortages. Research-Informed Teaching: UK’s researchED Bournemouth returns for its fourth year, spotlighting coaching, oracy, and AI in classrooms. Education Funding Moves: Odisha announces free KG-to-PG education in government schools and colleges, while Pakistan’s budget sets Rs117.75bn for education and Bangladesh proposes a major education allocation jump. AI & Skills: University of Minnesota launches “AI for All” courses and an AI minor, aiming to build AI literacy across majors. Workforce Well-Being: RAND reports K-12 teachers face higher stress, burnout, and depression symptoms than other working adults.

AI and teaching rights: A faculty union at Miami University says the administration won’t guarantee protections against being replaced by AI, even as it pushes AI integration across departments. Funding and access: Odisha announced “free and universal” education from KG to PG in government institutions, plus plans to hire thousands of teachers and expand universities. TVET restructuring: Malaysia’s Education Ministry moved all nine Technical Secondary Schools under a fully residential schools division to boost STEM and technical outcomes. Skills for jobs: UAB Medicine and Junior Achievement of Alabama are launching an Emergency Department Classroom that blends healthcare learning with financial literacy and career planning. International education coordination: Philippines education leaders argue learning recovery needs tighter coordination between education and child services beyond classrooms. Student learning through tech and research: FIU secured $11M+ for robotics and Everglades research, while Kyrgyzstan and Georgia discussed education cooperation and youth exchange. Community learning programs: A new Girl Scout patch uses Oklahoma City bombing history to teach civic lessons through memorial visits.

Play-based Learning Push: UNICEF marked the International Day of Play by urging schools to integrate play into lessons to boost children’s cognitive, emotional and physical development. Student Mental Health: A Sri Lanka report links heavy syllabuses to rising depression among schoolchildren and calls for mental health education in the curriculum. Education Funding Pressure: Pakistan’s education spending fell to 0.8% of GDP while poverty climbed to 28.9%, raising alarms about learning access. Skills-to-Jobs Focus: The World Bank and Pakistan’s Punjab Skills Development Fund stressed that training must lead to meaningful jobs, not just certificates. Local School Accountability: Telangana ordered district officials to improve learning outcomes, fix teacher shortages, and strengthen literacy and numeracy ahead of the 2026–27 school year. Community Education Partnerships: UC San Diego’s Horizon Accelerator added four advisors to support research-based startups moving toward commercialization. Protests for Reform: In Pune, thousands backed education reform demands, targeting exam irregularities and paper leaks.

Assessment Reform: An opinion piece argues India’s exam-first system confuses memorization with understanding and speed with intelligence, calling for evaluation that better reflects real learning. Education Funding & Policy: Tamil Nadu CM Vijay urged India’s Centre to release pending Rs 3,284 crore for education without tying it to NEP 2020 or the three-language formula, warning against conditional support. Digital Learning Infrastructure: Cameroon is rolling out student digital IDs for secondary schools, linking credentials to records, payments, and school services via MTN. AI for Education: Malaysia launched an “AI-Powered Classroom” pilot with Google Malaysia, targeting expansion from 1 school to hundreds over seven years. Literacy Push: Ghana’s first Ghana Literacy Fair 2026 drew 1,000+ participants to tackle weak early reading skills, with calls for coordinated national action. Higher Ed Leadership: Southern Arkansas University named Dr. C. Neelie Dobbins dean of its College of Education and Human Performance. Teacher Workforce: U.S. House leaders urged Head Start to withdraw a rule that would cut wage and benefit standards, warning it will worsen staffing shortages.

Higher Ed & Immigration: Sweden’s stricter migration rules are spooking international students at Karolinska Institutet, who warn the policy could undermine Sweden’s “knowledge nation” goals and research talent pipeline. Policy & Funding: The U.S. Treasury previewed guidance for the new Education Freedom Tax Credit, aiming to give states and scholarship groups a clear path for a January 2027 rollout. Child Development & School Outcomes: New UCL research links smacking at ages 3–7 to worse GCSE results and higher odds of bullying later, renewing calls to end the “reasonable punishment” defense. Special Education Legal Fight: California and other states sued the U.S. Department of Education over special education grant cuts, alleging political motives and rejected applications. Digital Education Administration: Greece’s Onassis Public Schools will get a DOTSOFT club-management platform to digitize proposals, participation, attendance, and reporting by September 2026. Equity in Early Support: Victoria’s Thriving Kids program will add autism/developmental delay screenings for 3- and 4-year-olds as an NDIS replacement alternative. Teaching & Learning Methods: A study finds frequent AI use among graduate students correlates with higher motivation and self-directed learning, while urging clearer university ethics rules.

School Funding & Special Education: California AG Bonta leads a multistate lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Education’s move to stop special education professional development grants, warning it will hurt services for hundreds of thousands of eligible students. AI in K-12: MagicSchool’s new report spotlights nine U.S. districts using AI “with intention,” keeping teachers and families central. Teacher Training in Ghana: Ghana’s Education Ministry signs an MoU with universities to professionalise non-trained teachers through a postgraduate diploma pathway. Higher Ed Governance: Auburn University trustees dissolve the faculty senate and take direct control over curriculum and credentials, a shift faculty say weakens shared governance. Skills Trades Pipeline: Meta and BlackRock back large workforce-training pilots for skilled trades, aiming to build credentials and certifications. Research & Innovation: Bangladesh’s jute research institute wins a national environment award; Rutgers physicist Eva Andrei earns the Kavli Prize in nanoscience. Policy & Accountability: Chicago Public Schools CEO Macquline King testifies under subpoena before Congress amid heated disputes over parental rights and student accommodations. Global Partnerships: Kenya and Finland sign education, climate, and digital innovation MoUs; World Bank head Ajay Banga highlights “small AI” for jobs and development.

Higher-Ed & Tech Partnerships: Stony Brook University’s Ethos Lab teamed with RevBits to build cybersecurity labs and a curriculum using realistic threat simulations, aiming to strengthen hands-on training for students. Global Research Investment: Ireland will fund seven advanced tech research centres under a new national network, including major AI and advanced therapies hubs, with hundreds of research and PhD roles. K–12 Career Pathways: The Christina School District is “reimagining” career and technical education to give students earlier workforce opportunities, starting with culinary/hospitality, EMS, and teaching, with possible expansion into more fields. Outdoor Learning PD: Wild Classrooms is offering a four-day, hands-on outdoor professional development series for K–6 educators, turning local nature and science into ready-to-use lessons. Special Education Funding Fight: Wisconsin DOJ joined a multistate lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Education’s discontinuation of special education professional development grants. International Campus Expansion: India approved new campuses for the University of Bristol, York, and UNSW, signaling continued growth in foreign higher education. STEM for Industry Talent: UAE’s EGA is building STEM labs in schools and universities to train future industrial talent with hands-on equipment and teacher support.

Teacher Prep & Reading: A new National Council on Teacher Quality report finds slightly more than half of teacher preparation programs align with the science of reading—up from a quarter three years ago—but many still fall short, especially for English learners, struggling readers, and students with disabilities. AI in K-12: A TeachingAbout.AI report funded by Google argues schools are treating AI as a single problem to ban or detect, urging educators to rethink how AI changes relationships in classrooms and assessment. Digital Access: Illinois State Librarian Alexi Giannoulias announced a statewide digital library resource program giving residents free access to e-books, journals, magazines, newspapers, and research databases. Teacher Workforce & Support: Round Rock ISD approved Typesy for keyboarding instruction, expanding practical digital skills for K–12 students. Higher Ed & AI Tools: N2N Services launched Helios, a higher-education platform for building and governing AI agents, replacing its Illuminate system. Education Policy & Inclusion: Selangor (Malaysia) launched a Persons with Disabilities Policy and Action Plan 2026–2030 centered on rights, education, accessibility, and governance. Teacher Recognition: Watford City Middle School’s Marshall Krebs was named McKenzie County Public School District #1 Teacher of the Year.

Tertiary Reform Push (Zimbabwe): Zimbabwe’s higher-education minister ordered immediate structural and digital reforms at the Tertiary Education Service Council and the Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education, including securing Treasury funding and fixing reporting lines to curb inefficiency and brain drain. Reading Instruction (U.S.): A new National Council on Teacher Quality report finds teacher prep programs have improved in teaching reading with science-based methods, but many still rely on outdated practices and too little support for English learners and students with disabilities. Special Education Outcomes (Michigan): IDEA 2026 reporting in the Alpena-Montmorency-Alcona ESD shows gains, including improved IEP graduation performance, alongside ongoing gaps in meeting state targets. Teacher Recognition (U.S. Virgin Islands): Joanie Phillip was named 2027–2028 State Teacher of the Year for linking attendance to literacy growth. Skills-to-Jobs Pipeline (U.S.): Meta announced a Workforce Academy to fast-track workers into AI infrastructure skilled trades with free training and job guarantees. Curriculum & Language Policy (India): A former MP challenged CBSE’s three-language mandate in Class 9, arguing it imposes compliance without real support for meaningful study. Community Engagement (UK): Falkirk Council is developing a strategy to strengthen ongoing parent and carer involvement in schools after consultations.

Curriculum Overhaul in Bangladesh: The government says a new primary-to-secondary curriculum will roll out from 2028, adding Sports and Culture in Grade IV and making Technical and Vocational Education plus “Learning with Happiness” mandatory in Grade VI. School Access Boost: Bangladesh also plans a July–August pilot to give free uniforms, shoes and bags to 350,000+ government primary students, with wider rollout next year. Skills-to-Work Focus: Prime Minister’s education adviser Mahdi Amin says technical education will be compulsory from Grade Six to shift schooling toward practical, employment-oriented skills. Digital Learning Partnerships: Cambodia signed a deal with Huawei to expand its digital education strategy, including ICT infrastructure, teacher/student digital skills, and school management upgrades. U.S. Workforce-Education Link: The U.S. Department of Education named 10 states as semifinalists for its Connecting Talent to Opportunity Challenge, aiming to build state Talent Marketplaces connecting learners to jobs. Equity and Inclusion in Education: Qatar amended rules to exempt more non-Qatari students (including holders of travel documents and permanent residency cards) from textbook and transportation fees in government schools. Classroom Safety and Disruption: The Philippines suspended classes across quake-hit areas in Mindanao after a 7.8 earthquake, with inspections underway before reopening. Higher Ed Restructuring: Ukraine’s education ministry says its 116-university network is too large for demographic needs and should be reduced gradually via mergers.

Child Poverty Push: A new Scotland poll of 2,600 young people (ages 11–26) says tackling child poverty should be a “priority from day one,” with many saying ministers aren’t doing enough. School Safety & Inclusion: In Malaysia, a girls’ hostel at SMK Dalat was declared unsafe but still houses students, prompting calls for urgent fixes; in the UK, a council is asking residents where to place a SEND-friendly play space and what sensory equipment to use. Earthquake Disruptions: A 7.8 quake in Mindanao affected about 3.24 million learners and 128,861 education workers, leading to widespread class suspensions. AI in Education Debate: Morocco educators and experts argue AI should help address structural gaps, not just fight cheating; in California, CSU renewed a major ChatGPT deal despite surveys showing most students and faculty doubt AI improves learning. Higher Ed Pathways: Kenya’s universities are joining a Kenya–Romania EU-linked programme for dual, EU-recognised degree pathways. Teacher Accountability: Guyana’s education ministry says it has submitted findings on alleged mistreatment of a special-needs student to the Teaching Service Commission for a disciplinary hearing. STEM Learning Spotlight: A Mark Rober initiative offers free, hands-on science lessons and teacher training; and an Indiana student will represent his state in NBA Math Hoops.

Curriculum Reform & Skills: The Philippines’ Department of Education rolled out major school-year changes for 26M learners, including a three-term calendar, revised assessment with more feedback, and strengthened SHS curriculum. Accountability in Testing: In India, protests and political pressure intensified over the NEET UG-2026 alleged paper leak, with calls for leadership changes and system fixes. Local School Infrastructure: Ghana stakeholders renewed demands to upgrade Paga Senior High School to full boarding status, citing needs like dorms, labs, and fencing. Teacher Support & Classroom Quality: Tanzania recognized 35 teachers at a national teaching skills competition, linking incentives and training to the new competency-based curriculum. Culturally Grounded Learning: Qatar Foundation launched the “Rasekh” accreditation framework to align international schooling with Arabic language, local values, and community needs. Higher Ed Under Strain: UK higher education faces budget deficits and job cuts, with unions warning of a widening crisis. Safety in Schools: Haiti’s civil protection unit ran emergency preparedness drills for students and teachers, aiming to build a prevention culture. Belonging in Schools: A UK school highlighted how using art and student dialogue can strengthen identity and belonging for diverse pupils.

Higher-Education Policy Consultations: Sri Lanka’s Education Ministry has launched a public consultation and online survey to shape a National Higher Education Policy Framework, inviting wider stakeholder input. Teacher Accountability & Transfers: Madhya Pradesh introduced a transfer policy that requires regular e-attendance for teachers seeking voluntary transfers, with extra priority for schools hitting 100% Class 10 pass rates. Exam Leak Pressure: India’s Cockroach Janta Party staged a Delhi protest demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over alleged exam paper leaks, with police allowing the demonstration. AI for Language Access: India and Nepal signed an MoU between BHASHINI and Kathmandu University to build multilingual “voice-first” language tech and digital public services. Inclusive Learning Support: A UK pilot in Coventry expanded accessible play for children with SEND through a new toy collection and family sessions. Digital Benefits Processing: India’s Department of Posts moved Children Education Allowance claims online via APT 2.0, aiming to cut paperwork while keeping verification. School Infrastructure Push: Indonesia is accelerating Phase II “People’s Schools” construction to be ready for the 2026/27 academic year. Autism Support Breakdown: A UK mother says her autistic son was “failed” by a school due to delays and errors in creating his support plan.

Education Policy & Access: Philippines reform group E-Net Philippines is urging DepEd to back its new 2026-27 school calendar and flexible learning with real support for out-of-school youth and “last-mile” learners, warning reforms may not reach those left behind. Skills & TVET: Malaysia’s HR Ministry says a RM50 million fund will be fully used to strengthen TVET 2.0, aiming to mainstream technical training for youth, workers, and MSMEs. Teacher Pipeline: UT Tyler is partnering with Jacksonville ISD to offer discounted, mostly online graduate pathways—especially for educational leadership and principal certification—to help address teacher shortages. Curriculum & Assessment: Bangladesh’s NCTB is considering reducing SSC/HSC subjects and shortening exam schedules to cut stress and disruption to regular classes. EdTech in Schools: Hong Kong’s CoolThink@JC is expanding into Cambodia’s primary schools via a MoEYS adoption and teacher training push. Student Support: Zamboanga City released P4.1M in educational aid to 1,370 indigent students, with guidance to use funds for school needs. Higher Ed Policy Input: Sri Lanka’s education ministry is inviting public feedback on a proposed higher education policy via an online questionnaire.

Early Childhood Investment: Michigan lawmakers and advocates are pushing a renewed focus on birth-to-5 learning, citing that up to 90% of brain development happens before age five. Equity & Access Policy: Maharashtra extends OBC-like education benefits to Maratha students, rolling out eight scholarship and reimbursement schemes aimed at boosting secondary through professional education. Admissions Rules Under Review: Kerala’s education minister signals a rethink of Aadhaar-based headcount rules after migrant children were denied school entry. Special Education Accountability: Guyana’s education ministry has forwarded an investigation file to the Teaching Service Commission after alleged mistreatment at a special needs school, with a disciplinary hearing expected soon. AI, Learning, and Fairness: China warns against fake “gaokao question” sales and “AI predicted” exam claims as the exam season begins. Tech in Schools Debate: A fresh wave of criticism targets tech companies’ “indirect targeting” in classrooms via educational platforms and student data access. STEM in Action: A STEM workshop at Queen’s College (Guyana) uses coding and robotics to connect environmental science with agriculture. Community Learning: UVA announces a $43.4M gift to build an early childhood learning center in Charlottesville.