The Education Department hss approved 18,000 claims for federal student loan forgiveness, totaling roughly $500 million in relief for students who attended the now defunct for-profit ITT Technical Institute.
The new batch of relief for borrowers, who filed years ago for loan forgiveness through what is known as borrower defense, is the latest effort by the government to help individuals who enrolled in for-profit colleges that made false claims about the value of their certificates and degrees.
The efforts represent an about-face from the Trump administration, which sought to limit the number of borrowers who qualified for loan forgiveness through borrower defense, as well as limit the amount of relief those who did qualify received.
The announcement brings total loan cancellation through the borrower defense process by the Biden administration to $1.5 billion for approximately 90,000 borrowers.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement that the action will give thousands of borrowers a fresh start and the relief they deserve after ITT repeatedly lied to them.
He added that many of these borrowers have waited a long time for relief, and the government needs to work swiftly to render decisions for those whose claims are still pending.
The announcement provides relief for two groups of borrowers – one based on false claims related to employment prospects and the second on false claims related to the ability to transfer credits.
Education Department documents show that ITT Tech made “repeated and significant misrepresentations” to students related to how much they could expect to earn and the jobs they could obtain after graduation between 2005 and the institution’s closure in 2016.
Department documents also show that ITT misled students about the ability to transfer their credits to other institutions from January 2007 through October 2014, finding that the credits rarely transferred and that borrowers made little to no progress along their educational journey, yet were saddled with student loan debt as a result of their time at ITT.
The Education Department underscored that their ability to provide the relief is in large part due to evidence provided by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Iowa Office of the Attorney General and Veterans Education Success, all of which have been advocating on behalf of former ITT Tech students for the better part of a decade.
Defrauded Student Borrowers: U.S Education Department Approves More Loan Forgiveness
Putin Names Lavrov, Shoigu To United Russia Elections List
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday said his foreign minister and his defense minister will head the candidates’ list for the dominant United Russia party in September’s parliamentary election.
By placing Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on the list, Putin aims to increase voter enthusiasm for the party whose support has been waning.
The Sept. 19 election for all 450 seats in the Duma, is widely seen as an important part of Putin’s efforts to cement his rule ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
The 68-year-old leader, who has been in power for more than two decades, pushed through constitutional changes last year that would potentially allow him to hold onto power until 2036.
Both Shoigu and Lavrov have substantial popularity for their firm positions on the military and and challenges to the West. Being on the party list does not oblige them to take parliament seats if elected.
Notably absent from the list announced at a party convention was Dmitry Medvedev, the former president and prime minister who is United Russia’s chairman.
Medvedev left the premiership in January 2020 and took the less-visible post of deputy chairman of the national security council.
Although United Russia dominates the country’s politics and is Putin’s power base, its support is dipping. A survey in April by the independent pollster Levada Center found only 42% of voters would vote for the party in the parliamentary election.
Myanmar Rejects UN Resolution Urging Arms Embargo
Myanmar’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday rejected a U.N. General Assembly resolution calling for an arms embargo against the Southeast Asian nation and condemning the military’s February seizure of power.
Myanmar described the resolution, which passed Friday and is not legally binding, as being “based on one-sided sweeping allegations and false assumptions.”
The statement issued in the capital Naypyitaw said the Foreign Ministry had sent letters of objection to the U.N. secretary-general and the General Assembly’s president.
The resolution reflects a broad international consensus condemning the takeover that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government and called on the military junta to restore the country’s democratic transition.
It equally condemned its “excessive and lethal violence” since the takeover and called on all countries “to prevent the flow of arms into Myanmar.”
The resolution also called on Myanmar’s armed forces to immediately and unconditionally release Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other officials and politicians detained after the coup, as well as “all those who have been arbitrarily detained, charged or arrested.”″
The measure was approved with 119 countries voting “yes,” Belarus — a major arms supplier to Myanmar — voting “no” and 36 countries abstaining, including Myanmar’s neighbors China and India, along with Russia.
Myanmar’s U.N. Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, who in February denounced the military takeover, voted “yes” and urged the international community “to take the strongest possible action to immediately end the military coup.”
EU Warns Lebanon’s Leaders Of Sanctions Over Internal Crisis
The European Union’s foreign policy chief told Lebanon’s leaders on Saturday they were to blame for the country’s political and economic crisis and could face sanctions.
Speaking after what he called a “frank exchange” with President Michel Aoun, Josep Borrell said he was bringing a firm message that the country stood on the edge of financial collapse and politicians could not afford to waste more time.
Speaking to reporters after talks with Aoun, Borrell said The crisis Lebanon is facing is a domestic crisis and a self-imposed crisis, adding that there would be consequences if they continue to obstruct steps to form a new government and implement reform.
Lebanon’s currency has lost 90% of its value. More than half the population are living in poverty and struggling with rampant inflation, power blackouts and shortages of fuel and food.
The crisis has been worsened by political stalemate, with Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri at loggerheads with Aoun for months over forming a new government capable of introducing reforms which could unlock desperately needed foreign aid.
The possible sanctions are part of an effort by some EU states, led by France, to ramp up pressure on Lebanon’s fractious politicians after nearly a year of gridlock.
The bloc has yet to decide on which approach to take.
Borrell will report back to foreign ministers on Monday after his talks in Beirut, where he was also due to meet Hariri, the speaker of parliament and the caretaker prime minister.
West African regional bloc adopts new plan to launch Eco in 2027
A group of fifteen West African countries have adopted a new road map to launch a single currency in 2027 after its previous plans were derailed by the coronavirus pandemic.
After a summit of the leaders in Ghana on Saturday, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, president of the ECOWAS Commission, told a news conference that the new road map was agreed by heads of state of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Brou said due to the shock of the pandemic, the heads of state had decided to suspend the implementation of the convergence pact in 2020-2021, adding that a new convergence pact will cover the period between 2022-2026, and 2027 being the launch of the Eco.
The countries hope a single currency will help to boost trade and economic growth
Nigeria, the largest economy in West Africa, currently operates a managed float for its currency, while eight others including top cocoa producer Ivory Coast, use the France-backed CFA, pegged to the euro.
Racial Discrimination: Goldsmiths University To Allow Traumatised Students Apply For Extensions
Goldsmiths, University of London, is to allow students to cite cases of racial trauma as having affected their studies, becoming the first UK university to recognise the damaging effects of racism on academic progress.
The move comes after a campaign by the university’s student union to include racial trauma in the categories of “serious life events” that require a student extra time for submitting coursework or assessments.
The warden of Goldsmiths, Frances Corner said: “This change relates to our extenuating circumstances policy, which enables students to ask us to take into account serious life events when assessing their progress with their studies.
“Self-certification for this kind of support is common at universities and students are entitled to proper support when the need arises.
“A student must submit a detailed statement which is carefully considered by academic departments, who then decide an appropriate response.
“Applications are considered on a case-by-case basis, with the college committed to providing the best possible support to each of our students.”
Goldsmiths’ student union said the move was “great news and a step in the right direction”, and was the result of campaigning by the union’s officers.
The college said that its academic board has “noted the intention to include racial trauma” as one of the examples of trauma for which students may apply as extenuating circumstances affecting their work.
Universities allow students to cite extenuating circumstances including personal trauma and mental health issues in applications to extend course deadlines or to delay or replace exams or other assessments.
Iran Election – Hardliner Ebrahim Raisi To Become President
Hardliner Ebrahim Raisi has won Iran’s presidential election in a race that was widely seen as being designed to favour him, after securing 62% of the votes.
Raisi is Iran’s top judge and holds ultra-conservative views. He is under US sanctions and has been linked to past executions of political prisoners.
Iran’s president is the second-highest ranking official in the country, after the supreme leader.
Raisi will be inaugurated in early August, and will have significant influence over domestic policy and foreign affairs.
But in Iran’s political system it is the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the top religious cleric, who has the final say on all state matters.
Iran is run according to conservative Shia Islamic values, and there have been curbs on political freedoms since its Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Many Iranians saw this latest election as having been engineered for Mr Raisi to win, and shunned the poll.
Official figures showed voter turnout was the lowest ever for a presidential election, at 48.8%, compared to more than 70% for the previous vote in 2017.
Raisi has presented himself as the best person to fight corruption and inequality, and solve Iran’s economic problems.
He has promised to ease unemployment and work to remove US sanctions that have contributed to economic hardship for ordinary Iranians and caused widespread discontent.
Free School Meals: England Sees 1.7 Million Rise In Number Of Children
Official data shows that the number of children in England receiving free school meals soared to more than 1.7 million, including more than 1 million aged between four and 11.
Figures from the annual school census show a rise from 1.44 million children, or 17.3% of all pupils, in January last year to 1.74 million, nearly 21%, in January this year.
More than 100,000 of the increase came between October and January, confirming the concerns of headteachers that schools would miss out on more than £100m in extra funding through the pupil premium because of the government’s decision to shift the cut-off date for eligibility.
The premium of about £1,000 per child is linked to the number of pupils on free school meals. The Department for Education (DfE) switched to using its October figures to determine pupil premium support rather than the January census, missing out 100,000 newly eligible pupils.
A senior economist at the National Foundation for Educational Research, Jenna Julius, said these latest statistics confirm that recent government changes to how pupil premium funding is allocated will leave many schools with less funding to support their low-income pupils from April of this year.
Pupils are eligible for free meals if their parents or carers are receiving universal credit with a household income of less than £7,400 a year, or receiving similar benefits.
General secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, Geoff Barton, said the change in pupil premium dates was “nothing short of shameful”.
Barton said child poverty was already a terrible blight on the society prior to coronavirus. The situation is now even worse and tackling this issue simply has to be a top priority for the government.
The shadow minister for children, Tulip Siddiq said: “Thousands more families are reliant on free school meals to stop children going hungry, yet the Conservative government is offering food on just 16 of 30 weekdays this summer holiday.”
The DfE figures show considerable regional variation, with about one in four pupils on free school meals in the north-east and West Midlands, compared with fewer than one in six in the south-east.
The census showed a slight increase in the number of children at schools in England, now totalling 8.9 million, with rising numbers in secondary schools.
Separate figures on school admissions showed the number of applications for primary school places fell by 5% in the space of a year.
The DfE said several local authorities had advised that a larger than usual number of applications were submitted late and so were not included in the figures. Councils said some parents missed the deadline because it fell in January during the lockdown.
The pandemic may have led to more teachers staying on last year. The total number of teachers employed in state schools in England rose by 7,000 compared with 2019, to more than 460,000. The number leaving the profession fell by 17% to 34,000.
The state school workforce including support staff and teaching assistants, increased by 17,000 to 963,000 in total.
Eight Hundred Women In Liberia Graduate In Basic Life Skills From Christ Embassy Vocational School
The Antoinette Tubman Stadium in Monrovia was full of fanfare and jubilation at the event marking the 2nd graduation ceremony of the Christ Embassy Vocational School.
The school, run by the Christ Embassy Church in Liberia graduated almost 800 women following intensive training in basic life skills.
Delivering the keynote address, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Williametta Saydee-Tarr lauded the Church for its contribution to national development by empowering the women.
Minister Saydee-Tarr also pledged the Government’s support through the Ministry of Gender’s commitment in working to empower women amid several challenges confronting them
She revealed that President George Weah has appropriated US$2 million as micro loan to support small businesses and called on the women to take advantage of the opportunity.
Also speaking at the event, ex-president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf thanked the Church for doing what the nation longs for, and that it is “A longing to take all of our young women and give them a skill, to enable them and empower them to be the one that can stand up on their own, and be self-sufficient and hold a job, and be able to pursue their dreams.”
Addressing the graduates, she said “I want to congratulate you and want to say to you that what you have learned is not the end of the story, it is not the end of your road, it is not the end of your education. You just took the first step, now you got to go the other step. Get more education, prepare yourself even more.”
She said the decision taken by the graduates to become professional to learn skills was the best decision they could have ever made for their lives.
Earlier, she thanked the Church’s Pastor for the immense support to the women.
Also speaking, Pastor Alfred W. Mayson said the vocational school is the Church’s way of contributing to nation building.
He said this year, he was excited that the number of graduates doubled from 400 last year to almost 800 this year.
He said women are vulnerable people in the society, and the initiative launched is to empower them to support themselves and their families.
He added ” they look up to men for support. But I am glad to see many young women and the older lady empowered with the skills to make money. I see that it is good for the nation. And it is the way of buttressing government’s effort, to promote the nation. That is today, we are grateful to God.”
He announced that two additional branches of the school will be established in Gardnersville (all women) and the Borough of New Kru Town (all men).
The school is free of charge, and although it is expensive to operate, the “Church is blessed to be a blessing.”
Speaking at the event, some of the graduates thanked the Christ Embassy Church for the knowledge gained.
Miatta Molubah of the tailoring department called on her colleagues to take advantage in learning to do something to be a help to society.
Lewis Twah of the catering department expressed excitement over what she has acquired from the vocational school, and planned to establish her own business.
500 Students to Benefit From Chamber of Commerce Employment Scheme
Over five hundred (500) college/university graduates are to benefit from an employment program through the Liberia Chamber of Commerce (LCC).
Under the Special Employment Scheme, successful candidates shall be initially placed on a definite employment contract for six months to one year, with a probational period of three months in accordance with the Decent Work Act (DWA), reviewable biannually by the employer to ascertain performance to the satisfaction of the employer.
To kickstart the program the LCC, has concluded a Landmark Tripartite Agreement between the Government of Liberia (GOL), the Business Community and the LCC to create employment opportunities for deserving young Liberian men and women.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed on Tuesday 2nd June 2021 under the signature of the Minister of Labor, Hon. Charles H. Gibson and the President of the Chamber, Cllr. N. Oswald Tweh; the Chamber, through its membership, will endeavor to create a minimum of five hundred (500) vacancies for qualified Liberian college/university graduates to be employed by members of the Chamber within sixty (60) days after the signing of this MOU.
This joint initiative is aimed at ensuring that qualified Liberians are given first preference to vacancies and employment opportunities by the business community.
