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The decline of the U.S. is real and partly long-running. Country notes from OECD PISA 2022 drive the nail into the wood: Socioeconomic status predicts a large share of US variation in math performance-about 15%-in PISA 2022, and the most-advantaged US students continue to perform weaker than similarly advantaged students in top-scoring countries. Other inequities in learning opportunities identified in the report include the lack of access to pre-primary education, growing shortages of teachers, and high shares of students being distracted by digital devices.

According to national trends reported by NAEP, the Nation's Report Card, in recent assessments, performance in reading and math fell for many groups of students. Though the decline started well before Covid, pandemic disruptions accelerated it. What we are seeing is not a shortfall in the "top" kids nor in one single cohort; rather, it is a broad weakening of learning outcomes, one pointing away from fixed cognitive differences and toward systemic issues.

If the gap were primarily innate, added resources wouldn't move the needle, but the evidence is otherwise: Harvard CEPR analyses of federal pandemic relief spending found measurable, short-term learning gains tied to funding. It showed roughly the equivalent of a few days of learning per $1,000 spent, with larger benefits where funds were used for targeted tutoring, summer programs, and teacher support. Responsiveness to funding implies that instructional time, better staffing, and targeted interventions can and do improve outcomes. As Eric A Hanushek and Ludger Woessmann stated in 'The Knowledge Capital of Nations: Education and the Economics of Growth', published by The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2015, national economic outcomes correlate with what students learn, not merely how “smart” they are by birth.

 High-performing countries combine strong early childhood participation and coherent curricula with effective teacher training and selection and fewer disparities across schools. Where the US diverges is in fragmented governance, unequal school funding (tied to local property taxes) and inconsistent adoption of instructional best practices — again, policy and systems, not innate ability. What shall we do, then? For example, researchers and education journalists have joined the dots between increased screen use, less time devoted to reading long texts, and lower classroom engagement and weaker comprehension and attention stamina. 

Fund tutors and extended learning via targeted spending, since studies of ESSER federal relief demonstrate targeted programs delivered measurable gains. Likewise, expand proven models at high-need schools. Stabilise and empower the teaching workforce: address shortages with competitive pay, coaching and professional development, and with smarter hiring so students see consistent, high-quality instruction. PISA links teacher shortages to lower performance. Prioritize reading stamina and deep work, reducing shallow digital distraction during class, and advance sustained reading and analytic tasks which have proved to build comprehension and reasoning. Close the opportunity gaps by funding equity: move away from property-tax dependence, target resources to schools serving disadvantaged students, and support wraparound services that remove learning barriers - transportation, health, family supports. As Stanford University's analysis shows, early and persistent gaps require non-school investments too. Stripped of the political rhetoric, the science says American kids are no more inherently inferior than their peers anywhere else but that they end up embedded in a system that generates unequal early opportunities, tolerates uneven-quality schools, struggles to retain highly qualified teachers, and lately has endured massive disruptions in learning. These are problems with solutions; the research points to practical evidence-based levers that produce gains when implemented at scale

This growth is reflected in the over 40 percent increase that student enrollments in Dubai's higher education are expected to see before the year 2030.

That is according to a new whitepaper from the Dubai International Academic City and Dubai Knowledge Park, collectively termed the Education Cluster of TECOM Group PJSC. The report entitled, Future Skills and the Workforce of Tomorrow was developed in association with Times Higher Education.

The announcement follows the British Council's Going Global conference in London, attended by international education leaders, to help shape the future of higher education and alludes to growing opportunities for universities and institutions as Dubai strengthens its position as a global hub for talent and innovation.

"Education has the power to change the face of individual prosperity and our collective economic growth, and we must work together in order to futureproof our sector for the greater good," said Marwan Abdulaziz Janahi, Senior Vice President of Dubai International Academic City, Dubai Knowledge Park, and Dubai Science Park, which are part of Tecom Group PJSC.

"Future Skills and the Workforce of Tomorrow, developed in partnership with THE, underlines a way ahead for education institutes on how to take advantage of the opportunities to grow student intake and build robust pathways from higher education into work. The higher education sector here will continue to grow, powered by the Dubai Economic Agenda 'D33' and Education 33 Strategy 'E33', while our Education Cluster remains committed to offering an integrated educational ecosystem and further developing relations with decision-makers and academics with a view to sealing the position of the city as one of the world's premier centers of higher education." It is estimated that more than 42,000 students will be enrolled in higher education institutions in Dubai for the 2024-25 academic year, a figure likely to rise sharply by over 40% by 2029-30. This new growth reflects the rising popularity of the city among international students, the report says, with the number of its higher education providers increasing by 37 percent in just two years. Recent arrivals have included the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, IIMA, which officially opened its maiden overseas campus at Dubai International Academic City in September 2025. Today, more students want to go to Dubai because of the career-oriented nature of its programs and strong industry links. Indeed, one report found that 73 percent chose Dubai because of jobs available and wanting to stay and work in the city when graduating. Employers share that confidence too: 88 percent of those polled said graduates from Dubai's universities have the skills needed in the workplace and further add to the reputation the city has as a bridge between education and employment. Dubai: The Emerging Global Education Hub Over the last twenty years, Dubai has risen as a favored destination for international education, buoyed by infrastructure that is world-class, matched by a progressive attitude and approach from the government. Currently, the city hosts 41 private providers of higher education, encompassing 37 international branch campuses that represent 12 different countries. Some of the world's most prestigious universities, including the University of Manchester, the University of Birmingham, and the University of Strathclyde Business School, operate within the Tecom Group's Education Cluster. Dubai's Economic Agenda D33 and Education 33 Strategy E33 support the government's vision to make sure that a pool of future-ready talent is created while continuing to position the city as a global learning and innovation destination. A diverse business ecosystem in Dubai-particularly represented by its 10 specialized business districts under the Tecom Group-provides students with hands-on experiences while connecting to industries that shape the future of the economy.

The 22-year-old founders of Mercor have become the world's youngest self-made billionaires, replacing Mark Zuckerberg, who debuted on the list at age 23 in 2008. Mercor, an AI recruiting startup, was founded by three high school friends: Brendan Foody, Adarsh Hiremath, and Surya Midha.

In fact, in a recent funding round, the San Francisco-based startup raised $350 million, valuing the company at $10 billion, according to a recent Forbes report. That turns the company's CEO Brendan Foody, CTO Adarsh Hiremath and board chairman Surya Midha into the world's youngest self-made billionaires.

The founders of Mercor have joined the ranks of the world's youngest self-made billionaires, putting them among a select group of young tech entrepreneurs whose personal fortunes recently crossed the billion-dollar mark. They follow Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan, 27, who became a billionaire just 20 days earlier after a $2 billion investment from Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the NYSE. Before him, Scale AI's Alexandr Wang, 28, held the title for about 18 months. His cofounder Lucy Guo became the world's youngest self-made woman billionaire at age 30, taking that spot from Taylor Swift.

Indian-American friends turn billionaires

Interestingly, two of the three co-founders of Mercor are Indian-Americans. Surya Midha and Adarsh Hiremath attended Bellarmine College Preparatory, an all-boys secondary school in San Jose, California where they were on the debate team together. The two then became the first-ever duos in history to win all three national policy debate tournaments in one year.

Surya Midha is a second-generation immigrant. On his website, he reveals that his parents moved from New Delhi to the United States — “My parents immigrated to the US from New Delhi, India. I was born in Mountain View and raised in San Jose, California,” Midha said.

Indian-origin Hiremath also attended Bellarmine College Preparatory. He then studied computer science at Harvard University. He spent two years at Harvard before dropping out to work on Mercor.

“The thing that's crazy for me is, if I weren't working on Mercor, I would have just graduated college a couple months ago,” Hiremath told Forbes. “My life did such a 180 in such a short period of time.”

When Hiremath was at Harvard, Midha was a student majoring in Foreign Studies at Georgetown University. Brendan Foody was also at Georgetown, where he was studying economics.

Both Foody and Midha dropped out of Georgetown around the same time that Hiremath left Harvard to focus on Mercor. All three founders are Thiel Fellows. “During my sophomore year, I co-founded Mercor in my dorm room. Convinced that labor aggregation was the greatest opportunity of the 21st century, I dropped out of Harvard, moved to San Francisco, and was awarded the Thiel Fellowship,” he writes on LinkedIn.

A visit made by the education minister to Israel has been labelled as a "propaganda mission" by the education committee chair of Stormont.

Nick Mathison reported that there is "questionable judgement" regarding Paul Givan going on the visit because it was funded by Israel.

He said: "I think those fears are right to be voiced and I think it's right that we do so."

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MLA is part of a group of unionist politicians on a six-day visit to Israel, which the minister referred to as a "fact-finding mission".

In an interview with BBC Talkback programme last week, Givan said the visit had been arranged by the Israeli embassy.

The Alliance Party MLA Mathison said to BBC Radio Ulster's The Nolan Show: "It appears to me as a propaganda visit actually to listen to one specific side of the argument.

"That the people of Gaza have no voice at all in anything we're listening to from the education minister from Israel is really troubling."

Last week, Givan and other politicians have posted pictures of their tour, including a trip to a Holocaust National Memorial Centre and Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and meetings with victims of Hamas attacks in Israel.

Mathison described the "optics" of images of the minister in Israel as "quite a jarring image when we think of the the complete destruction which has been visited on the people of Gaza after those attacks on the 7th of October".

'Lines have become very blurred'

On Tuesday, the organization which speaks for Northern Ireland's largest teaching unions denounced Givan for making an Israeli visit in the face of worldwide criticism of its Gaza policy. 

The Department for Education (DE) stated Givan had been "invited by the Israeli government to be part of an official visit as a member of a delegation of Northern Ireland representatives.".

Northern Ireland Teachers' Council (NITC) called on him to justify his actions and it also condemned the DE for "promoting" his visit on the department's website and social media handles.

The department advertised Givan's visit to Jerusalem's Ofek School on both its main website and its social media handles.

It affirmed that Givan had a meeting with the staff and students of the school "along with representatives of the Israeli Ministry of Education".

https://twitter.com/Education_NI/status/1982862765183426644

Mathison stated that the Ofek School visit is "where the concern really does begin to become more of an issue".

He went on: "I think it's really important in our system that we have clear lines between individual members, party political activities and their official roles if they hold an office such as minister and I think the lines have become very blurred here.".

"I don't think that's an acceptable state of affairs in our system."

"I think that the notion that we're supposed to be there as guests of the Israeli government to hear what the message is that they want to go out around this conflict, to me, is unacceptable," he said.

"It is very questionable coming from the minister, and I believe when then the lines are then blurred about whether he is actually there, maybe in his official capacity as a minister of the Northern Ireland Executive, I believe those concerns are absolutely right. to be raised and I believe it is appropriate that we do so."

No confidence motion

The Sinn Féin MLA, Cathy Mason, has penned a letter to the education minister and put forward a set of questions regarding the trip.

In a statement released on Tuesday, she told that Givan has "decided to visit Israel at a time when that very same state is committing genocide against the Palestinian people.".

"Meanwhile, schools here are still staggering from crisis to crisis. Israel has bombed almost every school in Gaza out of use and killed tens of thousands of children."

Mason also said she queried if this visit had been "undertaken in an official ministerial capacity", or if parts of Givan's visit "have been carried out with departmental support".

"If not, I am asking for an explanation why departmental social media has been employed to provide comment on aspects of this visit."

Opposition leader, Matthew O'Toole of the Social Democrat and Labour Party, stated Givan's "propaganda junket to Israel following the murder of thousands of children is an appalling thing to do".

"Particularly alarming is the employment of civil service funds to advertise it," O'Toole said on X, previously Twitter.

Earlier on Tuesday, People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll stated that he planned to table an assembly motion of no confidence in Givan.

"The Department of Education has been actively facilitating the Minister's visit, which is completely inappropriate. The trip is manifestly political," he stated.

"It's an insult to add that the minister and his fellow ministers embarking on this junket at the same time as the Education Authority announced a £300 million black hole in its accounts."

A DUP spokesman claimed that the party's delegation is part of a larger group and that the visit incurs no expense for UK taxpayers.

The group representing the Israeli visit also comprises DUP colleague Sammy Wilson of Givan; Steve Aiken of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) party's Ron McDowell.

"It is not a trip surrounded by secrecy - since the moment our representatives arrived in Israel they have given full accounts of the activities they have been involved in," stated the DUP spokesperson.

https://twitter.com/paulgivan/status/1983227916290011345

The Northern Ireland Teachers' Council (NITC) said on Tuesday it was "deeply troubling" that Givan had accepted an invitation to a state that is accused of genocide - something Israel denies.

The present military operation in Gaza started after a Hamas-led assault on Israel 7 October 2023, in which approximately 1,200 people died and 251 were kidnapped.

Israel has countered by staging ground and aerial attacks that so far have caused over 68,000 fatalities, the territory's Hamas-controlled ministry of health reported.

Early last month, the global premier society of genocide scholars stated that Israel is engaging in genocide in Gaza.

The UN and certain Western countries at the time stated that they would only accept a decision by a tribunal that genocide is occurring as authoritative.

Analysis - 'A very rare statement'

The big teaching unions do not normally speak as one. They do so invariably over pay or education policy.

Therefore, the robust statement they released over Paul Givan's trip to Israel stands out.

It is extremely unusual that all the unions would condemn a minister – and opine on world affairs – in such direct terms.

Reports indicate that union bosses were getting a lot of complaints from their members regarding the minister's visit, and how he had publicized it.

Others also felt it was needlessly singling out the Department of Education for being on one side of the Gaza conflict.

It will have been an unpopular balancing act for some teaching unions, though, who will be aware that not all of their members will share the same view as the joint statement.

It is also unlikely to persuade the minister to retreat, although he can anticipate more examination of his visit to Stormont in the days and weeks to come.

The US Congress is considering a bill that could abolish the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, and there is mounting panic among Indian students who come to American universities for higher studies. OPT enables international students to work in the US for a year upon graduation and two years of extension for STEM graduates who work for eligible US companies. But if the pending bill becomes law, this path can be suddenly shut down, and thousands of students will be stranded without a means to stay or transfer to another visa.

As per the Open Doors 2024 report, this allows more than three lakh Indians to work in the US. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students pursuing studies in the US from India and other places are threatened with being forced to leave the country once they complete their studies after US Congress proposed a new bill. While earlier such efforts have been unsuccessful, this bill arrives during a string of anti-immigrant steps, including bulk deportations, by the administration as Donald Trump completes his campaign vow to heighten measures that started in his first term.

In accordance with some analysts, this bill has frightened current F-1 and M-1 student visa holders who are frantically looking for work that could lead to the status of an H-1B work visa, sponsored mostly by big US and Indian tech firms.

If the bill is passed, OPT could be abolished without a cushion, and students would have to leave the US right away," Poorvi Chothani, the managing partner of immigration law firm LawQuest told Economic Times. "Non-STEM graduates already have to leave within a year of finishing their course," he said.

Chothani urged current OPT holders to hasten their transition to the H-1B work visa if they are selected in the lottery or explore options in other countries. New foreign students, however, may need to prepare themselves to deal with policies such as the UK's, where graduates must leave the country after finishing courses.

Indian students reworking holiday plans

Concerns over travel restrictions have also led Indian students to cancel summer vacations back home. Ivy League schools like Columbia, Cornell, and Yale have also told foreign students to avoid traveling until further guidance on the issue.

Though the US is still the number one study-abroad destination for Indian students, the stricter visa policies implemented by the Trump administration have brought about a shift. Experts note a 20 per cent rise in applications to Canada and European nations for the 2025 and 2026 intake years.

Economic and talent impact

International students brought over forty-three billion dollars into the US economy and funded over three lakh seventy-eight jobs in the 2023–24 academic year alone, according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators. The opponents of the bill warn that eliminating OPT will drive high-skilled talent abroad.

The majority of companies hire OPT candidates because they are talented—not to cut costs," said Keshav Singhania, private clients head at Singhania & Co. "Taking away OPT would lead to a massive talent outflow." US universities are stepping in to reassure nervous students. "Universities are booking appointments with immigration attorneys and establishing peer networks to navigate the uncertainty," Foreign Admits founder Nikhil Jain told ET.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) is going to approve foreign universities to open campuses in India. This has been done to provide the students with education from foreign universities in their own country and not abroad.

There are three foreign universities operating in India at present. The government has altered rules to enable foreign institutions to become a part of the Indian education system.

According to Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, around 14 to 15 lakh Indian students pursue higher studies abroad, resulting in an outflow of funds. In an effort to provide opportunities for students to study within the country, the government is going to allow foreign universities to open campuses in India.

Over 50 major international universities have shown interest in getting UGC recognition and are holding talks with state governments, says Dharmendra Pradhan.

"Approvals will be made after these universities have been rated according to our standards. Pradhan asserted that this measure is in the best interests of the pupils."

The UGC will rate these foreign universities on its standards and grant approvals. Pradhan asserted this is in the students' interests and will enable them to achieve access to education opportunities.

The government has also pledged to supporting institutional independence and guaranteeing foreign universities shall enjoy self-governance upon settling in India. And wishes to maintain standards high in the education sector. While answering a question regarding punishments for universities for violating rules, Pradhan mentioned that the government will do what is required.