When classrooms in California reopen for the fall term, all 6.2 million public school students will have the option of free school meals, regardless of their family’s income.

The undertaking, made possible by an unexpected budget surplus, will be the largest free student lunch program in the country.

School officials, lawmakers, anti-hunger organizations and parents are applauding it as a pioneering way to prevent the stigma of accepting free lunches and to feed more hungry children.

Director of food services for the San Luis Coastal Unified School District on California’s central coast, Erin Primer, lauded the move adding that it was beyond life-changing.

Several U.S. cities including New York, Boston and Chicago, already offer free school meals for all but until recently, statewide universal meal programs were considered too costly and unrealistic.

California became the first state to adopt a universal program late last month, and Maine followed shortly with a similar plan.

Under federal rules, a family of four must make less than $34,000 a year to qualify for free meals and $48,000 to qualify for reduced-price meals.

The caps shift annually but are based on federal poverty measures that do not take into account the high cost of living and taxes in California.

About 60% of California students qualify, but experts say the number of children who need food assistance is much higher in a state with vast income inequality.

After schools shut in March 2020, many transformed their parking lots into pickup sites, and federal funding allowed schools to offer meals to anyone. There were no applications or qualifications, and no questions were asked.

The massive turnout showed how much families rely on the meals.

Schools rarely turn hungry kids away but for children who did not qualify and needed lunch, their parents were billed and many racked up huge debts.

A university in South Carolina announced that it would erase $9.8 million in student debts, clearing account balances for more than 2,500 students. 

South Carolina State University, a historically Black university in Orangeburg, said in a news release last week that the move will provide relief for students “who were previously unable to return to college due to financial hardship caused primarily by the COVID-19 fiasco.”

SC State University Acting President Alexander Conyers said in the release that the school is “committed to providing these students with a clear path forward so they can continue their college education and graduate without the burden of financial debt caused by circumstances beyond their control.” 

SC State University students lauded the move as a “big blessing,” according to Kevyn Rice, a junior at the school from Spartanburg, South Carolina.

The decision to erase the student debts will be funded by nearly $10 million the school received in federal aid. 

SC State University is utilizing approximately $4 million in funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act and $5.8 million from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Both pieces of legislation provided economic relief to Americans, businesses and other organizations. 

The South Carolina school is not the first to cancel debts from students in recent months. Wilberforce University announced last month it would clear more than $375,000 in debt, including fines, fees and other balances paid directly to the school. 

This month, the Department of Education canceled $55.6 million in student loan debt for 1,800 students who were victims of for-profit college fraud. 

President Paul Kagame has called on global educationists to advocate and act to ensure girls have access to the digital resources and the skills they need.

Kagame was speaking during the ‘Building the Bandwith’ a virtual conference hosted by the Varkey Foundation, UNESCO, and CJ Cultural Foundation.

The meeting brought together education leaders to among others discuss ways to address the issue of women being left behind as technology advances.

In his remarks, the head of state shared Rwanda’s experience, saying that the current Covid-19 debacle significantly affected all aspects of national life, adding that education has not been spared.

However President Kagame hinted at the opportunity to re-engage in the cause of girl’s education so that they are not left behind.

He highlighted Rwanda’s efforts in making significant investments in digital infrastructure and training for the young people.

He revealed that the Rwanda Coding Academy admits 50 percent women and aims to resolve the shortage in engineers through a focused engineering program at high school level.

Similarly, Centres of Excellence in ICT, including Carnergie Mellon University-Africa, the University of Rwanda, and the AIMS, have dedicated scholarships for female candidates.

Narrowing this gap, he asserted, requires that governments sustain efforts for inclusive economic growth, guarantee security and community safety and continue to promote gender equality more generally.

Kagame reiterated the government’s commitment, as a key partner to UNESCO, regional and global initiatives to leverage technologies for girl’s education.

Education stakeholders say that over the last year, there has been a sudden and profound shift in the role of digital technology in education systems around the world.

Like Rwanda, many countries have turned to online learning platforms after temporarily closing their schools and other learning spaces due to lockdown measures imposed by the government.

However there are growing concerns that the global move toward online learning and other forms of educational technology could be leaving girls and young women behind which will consequently throw up another safety concern; girls’ safety online.

Educationists say, parents and caregivers can limit girls’ time online because of the heightened risk of sexual exploitation, cyberbullying and exposure to harmful content.

The Mozambican Education Ministry is working with the Attorney-General’s Office (PGR) to investigate how 88 teachers were hired illegally in Mecanhelas district in the northern province of Niassa.

All 88 were expelled from the Mecanhelas schools last week with no explanation as to how such a large number of people, who allegedly did not meet the requirements for teaching, were allowed to work in the first place.

Speaking to reporters in Maputo, Education Minister Carmelita Namashalua said the authorities “are following the matter closely, because this is a crime”.

She added that verification was under way in all the country’s districts to check that there are no other teachers working illegally.

She pointed out that all individuals who apply for jobs in the State must pass through a public tender, “and there are rules that must be strictly observed”.

In Mecanhelas, she continued, the next step would be to reorganize the working hours of the teachers, “because this is a district where teachers are not working full time. This is theft from the State. So we are organising so that every teacher has a complete timetable”.

She explained that the hiring of new teachers in 2019 and 2020 was illegal, because in those years the recruitment process was suspended.

Initially, 95 Mecanhelas teachers were regarded as illegal, but seven were allowed to continue teaching after their situation was regularised.