China tightened lockdowns and increased orders for mass testing in cities along its coast Wednesday amid the latest surge in COVID-19 cases.Checks have been set up in toll stations around the city of Putian in Fujian province, with a dozen of them closed entirely. The nearby cities of Xiamen and Quanzhou have also restricted travel…

As a new semester begins amid a resurgence of the coronavirus, 26 of the 50 largest public university campuses in the U.S. are not mandating that students be vaccinated, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.Approaches on enforcement vary widely, even among universities that do have vaccine mandates, with some offering leniency for students…

With college students back on campus this school year, insect extermination company Terminix ranked the most bedbug-infested cities in the United States.Bedbugs spread by hitching rides on luggage, backpacks and clothing, and can crawl through cracks in the walls, making common spaces of dorm living extremely vulnerable to infestations.”Bedbugs go where people go, so they…

At first, Khadija Ghanizada had a tough time adjusting to the United States.  She was 17 when she first came to America on a full scholarship in 2017 to attend Emma Willard School in rural upstate New York, far from any metropolis. That was tough for Ghanizada, who came from Kabul, Afghanistan’s largest city, populated…

The first trial in the “Operation Varsity Blues” college admissions bribery scandal will begin this week, with the potential to shed light on investigators’ tactics and brighten the spotlight on a secretive school selection process many have long complained is rigged to favor the rich.Jury selection is beginning Wednesday in federal court in Boston in…

Tulane University began evacuating students to Houston early Tuesday and is set to close for two weeks after Hurricane Ida damaged New Orleans’ power grid. Students were required to be off campus by 5 p.m. as buses evacuated those who were on campus. The university said students would remain in Houston, with food and lodging provided…

Throughout the pandemic, college students in the U.S. have struggled with studying remotely. The same is true for foreign students enrolled in American universities.  Connor Smith has this report. …

Some international students in the United States are struggling to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before returning to school this fall. Connor Smith has this report. …

Canadian universities are nervously eyeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases driven by the delta variant, hoping it will not upend plans for a return to in-person classes for international students, many of whom spent the past year studying remotely from their home countries. With more than 72% of the population at least partly vaccinated and new…

Undergraduate Afghan student Saeeda Dilyabi, in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh, is deeply worried about the future that her country holds for her after the Taliban captured power.“Our lives will be in danger, our families’ life will be in danger, so I don’t think we can go back to Afghanistan,” Dilyabi said, sitting in…

Afghan students enrolled in Indian colleges and universities worry about the future that their country holds for them following the Taliban takeover there. India has a large Afghan student community, with most having come on scholarships offered by the Indian government as a goodwill gesture to promote education in the country. Anjana Pasricha spoke to…

Afghan university students in the U.S. and Afghanistan react to the Taliban takeover of their country. …

About half of Nigerians, especially youth, would be willing to leave the country for a better life, according to a July World Bank survey, an increase of nearly 20% since 2014. The report blames poor job opportunities and economic hardships, made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. But as Timothy Obiezu reports from Abuja, some Nigerians…

Critical race theory (CRT) has become a controversial topic in the United States, as the country wrestles with race, immigration, civil rights and civil conflict. Some states have banned its teaching in classrooms.CRT maintains that racism is deeply embedded in U.S. policy, law and society, rather than purely individual and personal, as its opponents contend.FILE…

A student organization is trying to combat misinformation about COVID-19 and pandemic on American campuses through social media.    COVID Campus Coalition’s mission is to dispel “misconceptions surrounding COVID vaccines by providing students with weekly digestible scientific summaries through a plethora of virtual and in-person platforms,” FILE – Masked students walk to a COVID-19 vaccination site…

The Biden administration on Friday announced that federal student loan payments will remain suspended through January 2022, extending a pause that began at the start of the pandemic and was scheduled to expire next month.The Education Department said this will be the final extension.Borrowers will not have to make payments on federal student loans during…

Cyclist Farid Noori hopes to increase awareness of his home country’s scenic beauty. Connor Smith has the story. …

Online learning has been grossly inadequate during the 2020-’21 COVID-19 shutdown, according to college and university students interviewed by VOA Student Union.Domestic and international students at U.S. colleges and universities said the pandemic that shut down many schools in March 2020 disrupted their lives and impacted their academic performance. And online learning, despite being touted…

Young people who have spoken against Taliban rule in Afghanistan or who adopted lifestyles that don’t fit the fundamentalist regime say they fear for their livelihoods and lives as the insurgent group gains more territory. “We live in very critical and dangerous circumstances right now,” said Murtaza Ahmadi, a writer, part-time teacher and government employee. “The Afghan…

The U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association has announced that student athletes can profit off their names, images and likenesses, but what does this mean for  international student athletes? Connor Smith has this report.  …

Farid Noori was teaching online from the United States to high school students in Kabul, Afghanistan, when a bomb attack started.“At that very moment,” Noori said, “I had an online, remote class on Afghanistan’s environment with some of the school’s students. One of my students got injured. As days went by, the death toll climbed…

The largest private employer in the U.S. — Walmart — said Wednesday it will pay 100% of tuition and books for its U.S.-based employees to attend its Live Better U Education Program.  Walmart, a worldwide retailer that typically offers low prices because of the volume of goods it trades, operates 5,342 retail outlets in the…

Adifu Maulana quit school in 2014 to escape punishment she often received for arriving late.She had to walk 7 kilometers to attend classes held under a tree because of Malawi’s shortage of classrooms.But thanks to what is being called the world’s first 3D-printed school, constructed by joint-venture group 14Trees, Maulana has resumed learning. The Swiss-British…

After last year’s summer Olympics in Japan were postponed because of the pandemic, some American student athletes have been balancing school and training in anticipation of this year’s Games in Tokyo. Connor Smith has this report.   …

Six of Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities will be consolidated into two new institutions under a unanimous vote Wednesday by the State System of Higher Education’s governing board.Bloomsburg, Mansfield and Lock Haven universities in northern Pennsylvania will form one institution; California, Clarion and Edinboro universities in western Pennsylvania the other. The change will be phased in,…

Chen Yun, a Chinese student at the University of Melbourne, has always been curious about different political systems. After she arrived in Australia, she started posting on social media about the push for democratic reforms in China.Then came the harassment. She started receiving emails warning that she should be “careful” because if she returns to…

New Zealand students have developed sustainable materials made from cabbage tree leaves and flax that could soon be used to make high-performance skis, kayaks and skateboards. Their plan is to use them to replace traditional fiberglass and carbon fiber. Skateboards need to be tough. Two students at New Zealand’s University of Canterbury, Ben Scales and William Murrell, believe they can make them even…

Students in Afghanistan have lacked access to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, as schools have remained closed and the virus has not been controlled.”The real tragedy is that over 3,000 students in Kabul who come from poor families simply do not have the ability to pursue online education during the pandemic when schools are…