Apple’s iBooks store will now also have textbooks from The Stephen Perse Foundation in Cambridge. The foundation is the first to publish 12 multimedia textbooks, specifically for IGCSE biology. The books are designed to be used on tablets and cover the entire syllabus. This move is to make sure that the knowledge is available free of charge for students before the exam season. The books will also have multimedia explanations on topics like molecules and animal nutrition. The textbooks will be available for download worldwide.
Right to educationA U.N. report says that about 63 million adolescents (youngsters between the ages of 12 and 15) are still not exercising their right to education worldwide. This makes them more vulnerable to dropping out than younger children. The report puts forth a request to government to change policies so that access to education is more in the coming years. It points out that a total of 121 million children and adolescents have either never been to school or have dropped out.
University for democracyWhen the Berlin Wall fell, a university was created to provide a platform to discuss democracy. Hungarian-born George Soros, an investor and philanthropist, was behind the creation of the Central European University, which aimed at promoting an open democracy and creating open societies. The university, which is in Budapest, is still going strong, even though the challenges it faces today have changed. Every year, graduate students from more than 100 countries are taught courses in English. The current president of the Central European University, John Shattuck, is an American human rights lawyer, law professor, diplomat and former assistant secretary of state in the Clinton administration.
