South African curriculum to embrace Mandarin

Mandarin lessons are to be introduced to South African schools, ministers have said. A new curriculum for the subject would be developed with the help of the Chinese government, the Department of Basic Education confirmed. "As South Africa's biggest trading partner it is important for our children to become proficient in the Confucius language and develop a good understanding of Chinese culture," education spokeswoman Troy Martens said. Plans are still at an early stage but Chinese will not be a compulsory subject.

Father's pride for Malala's activism

The father of education activist Malala Yousafzai has said he is "proud" to be known because of his daughter's work. Ziauddin Yousafzai told a TED conference in Vancouver, Canada: "Malala used to be known as my daughter but now I'm known as her father. In patriarchal societies, fathers are known by their sons. I am known by my daughter and proud of it." Mr Yousafzai said he did not regret inspiring his daughter to dream of freedom from patriarchal Pakistani society. "People ask me, what did I do to make Malala so bold and courageous? I did not clip her wings," he said.

Bill Gates calls on teachers to defend standards

Teachers need to help parents understand the new Common Core - a set of universal standards for US schools - Microsoft founder Bill Gates (pictured above) has said. Speaking at a teachers' conference in the US, he called on educators to join the effort to beat back "false claims" being made by critics of the scheme. …