WATCH: Get to know the latest news from around the globe on Stories from the Grid. | October 6, 2023
WATCH: Get to know the latest news from around the globe on Stories from the Grid. | October 6, 2023
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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 Pleasant greetings, y'all.
00:16 Proud Filipina, Sharms Espina here,
00:19 who's never relied on school alone for her education.
00:22 Then again, college enrollment has
00:24 been dropping steadily in the United States
00:26 since the turn of the last decade.
00:28 The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated that slide.
00:32 Kids or teenagers and their parents
00:34 have done the math and figured out one simple fact.
00:38 A college education or degree is no formula for success,
00:41 let alone survival.
00:43 VOA's Inside Story takes a closer look
00:46 at how perceptions and philosophies in higher
00:49 education have changed, driven by a rapidly evolving
00:53 and tech-driven global community in this presentation,
00:56 The Price of Learning.
00:58 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:02 This week on The Inside Story, The Price of Learning.
01:06 Let's back to school season for much
01:08 of the northern hemisphere.
01:10 What does it cost to get an education,
01:12 and is it even worth it?
01:14 Meanwhile, a humanitarian crisis grips Sudan,
01:18 and yet another unfolds in Ukraine.
01:20 Now, on The Inside Story, The Price of Learning.
01:24 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:28 Welcome to The Inside Story.
01:53 I'm Elizabeth Lee in Washington on the campus of the George
01:56 Washington University, just a few blocks
01:59 from the White House.
02:00 More than 900,000 students from around the globe
02:04 come to the United States each year
02:06 to pursue college degrees, overcoming challenges
02:09 ranging from high costs to restrictive visas.
02:12 They often leave behind unimaginable hardships
02:16 as they study far from home.
02:18 However, returning home is where many students
02:20 intend to put their America diplomas to work,
02:23 hoping that what they learned here
02:26 will help them improve the lives of their families
02:28 and fellow countrymen.
02:30 As the school year begins in the United States,
02:32 we'll explore the value of an American college degree.
02:35 [MUSIC PLAYING]
02:39 According to Forbes, as of 2021, more than half of Americans
02:44 aged 25 to 64 possess some form of higher education,
02:49 whether that is through a university degree or industry
02:52 recognized certifications.
02:54 However, for foreign students who
02:56 are interested in studying in the US,
02:58 the pursuit of knowledge may appear intimidating
03:01 even before it starts.
03:03 We spoke with Carol Kim, Vice President
03:06 for Global Recruitment, Admissions, and Financial Aid
03:09 at New York University, which is one
03:11 of the most popular destinations for international students.
03:16 I think families should really sit down and say,
03:18 what is important?
03:20 What is the importance for us as a family
03:23 and for the student who is actually looking?
03:25 What are they looking for in their college experience?
03:30 And so a US college experience offers
03:32 things that are very different than a college
03:36 experience elsewhere.
03:37 And I say that because here is also a place where
03:42 you can come and be undecided.
03:46 Undecided doesn't exist in any other part of the world.
03:50 And so someone who actually has turned 17 or 18 or 19 years
03:56 older, a young adult, and they're not really sure
04:00 what they want to do yet, in most other parts of the world,
04:04 you have to decide.
04:06 And that's what you're going to study.
04:08 And that is what your path is set on.
04:13 This is a place that we actually recognize
04:15 that your frontal cortex is not quite formed yet.
04:19 Your brain is still developing.
04:21 You're still trying to figure out who you are as a person.
04:24 And that we do not have students declare
04:27 their major from the beginning.
04:29 You can, if you would like.
04:30 You can decide if you are very decided on the fact
04:35 that you want to be a filmmaker.
04:39 You would like to be an engineer.
04:43 You want to come and start from the very beginning
04:48 to be a neuroscientist.
04:49 I mean, you can do all those things.
04:51 But you can also come to college anywhere in the US
04:54 and be undecided and explore.
04:56 And I think curiosity and exploration is something
05:00 that we in US higher education really support,
05:06 as well as we think it's an important part of a student's
05:10 discovery.
05:11 And so it's something that is different than other parts
05:15 of the world.
05:17 And if that is something that is exciting for a family
05:21 to see and to experience, I think it would be great--
05:27 this would be a great place for them to come to.
05:29 [MUSIC PLAYING]
05:33,
06:00 More than 90% of American schoolchildren study
06:03 in the public school system.
06:05 However, it's important to note this number
06:07 includes a variety of factors.
06:10 According to the National Center for Education Statistics,
06:13 approximately 59% of children in the United States aged five
06:17 and younger who are not enrolled in kindergarten
06:21 have experienced some form of early childhood education,
06:24 commonly known as daycare.
06:26 This early form of education serves
06:28 as the initial stepping stone for many children,
06:32 putting them on their paths toward elementary, high school,
06:35 and beyond.
06:36 VOA's Arash Arbasadi conducted interviews
06:39 with three experts who play a crucial role in shaping
06:43 how children learn today with the aim of preparing them
06:46 for higher education.
06:48 The building blocks of education.
06:51 And according to the US Census Bureau,
06:53 early childhood programs like this one at the YMCA
06:56 are where it all starts for nearly 7 million
06:58 American children.
07:00 That's nearly a third of the entire childhood population.
07:04 Any child from infant to five years old
07:06 can attend a program like this at one of the YMCA's
07:09 roughly 1,000 early childhood education centers,
07:13 where more than 100,000 children spend
07:15 some or all of their days.
07:17 And that includes nutritious meals.
07:20 But child care doesn't come cheap.
07:22 While each YMCA location is different,
07:24 the price tag can be thousands of dollars per month.
07:28 Organizers know not everyone can afford that.
07:31 - Our Head Start program, we have 10,000 kids at Head Start,
07:34 which is not an astronomical number,
07:37 but that's 10,000 youth who are in low-income areas
07:40 that are able to go to programs with little to no cost.
07:44 - But they say the value is in preparing the kids of today
07:47 for the schooling of tomorrow.
07:48 The National Education Association, or NEA,
07:51 represents about 3 million members,
07:54 including teachers and support staff
07:56 that make learning possible for the more than 90%
07:58 of US children that attend public school.
08:01 - I really believe if this country takes the next step
08:04 and invests what it needs to in public education,
08:07 we will have and continue to have a world-class system
08:12 that will prepare every individual for their future.
08:15 - Even if that future looks different for everyone.
08:18 - Some students don't wanna go to university right away,
08:22 or they might not wanna go at all.
08:23 They might wanna choose a different career path.
08:25 So that's why having counselors,
08:27 that's why having the right professionals in every school
08:30 to help students make those decisions
08:32 when they're in those formative years.
08:34 Every student has to do what they feel is best
08:37 for what they're interested in
08:38 and where they can most contribute to our society.
08:42 And I really believe that the public school system
08:44 is the place to begin that process.
08:45 - Arash Erebosadi, VOA News.
08:48 - The war in Ukraine has damaged thousands of schools
08:52 and destroyed hundreds.
08:54 As a result, students living near the battle zones
08:56 are facing significant challenges in accessing education.
09:00 Heather Murdoch reports from Eastern Ukraine.
09:03 It is important to note that this report
09:05 contains graphic images that may be unsettling
09:08 to some viewers.
09:09 - Every school in the city of Liman, Ukraine
09:13 has been damaged and many are destroyed.
09:16 This school was hit before the city was captured
09:19 by Russia in May, 2022.
09:21 And it has remained shut down
09:23 since Ukraine took the city back four months later.
09:27 - Over here, we ran long and short distances for gym class.
09:32 Here we played football.
09:34 On the second floor was a cafeteria.
09:36 On the first floor was an assembly room.
09:39 We had assemblies there.
09:42 In the basement, we had industrial arts and health classes.
09:45 - Now, as the battles once again approach Liman
09:49 with an attack killing eight civilians in early July,
09:53 students say they are facing yet another year
09:56 of the online education that began with pandemic lockdowns.
10:01 Local leaders say volunteers provide some supplies
10:05 and internet links.
10:06 - They are not enough, but they provided us with laptops,
10:11 tablets, printers, and stationary items.
10:14 But it was very, very difficult.
10:16 - But students say supplies are useless
10:19 when battles draw near as the internet is down
10:22 or only available in hospitals or military bases.
10:25 The Ukrainian government says thousands of schools
10:28 have been damaged in the war and hundreds are destroyed.
10:32 Studying online under these conditions
10:34 is better than no education at all,
10:36 but just barely, says Zafar.
10:39 - I'd rather study at school than on the phone online.
10:44 On the phone, sometimes the topics are not even clear.
10:47 At school, they will explain everything to you,
10:50 show you, and you write things down,
10:52 go to the blackboard, answer questions.
10:55 - Other students tell us they are forgetting more
10:57 from their in-person school days
10:59 than they are currently learning.
11:01 In Liman, there are just over 500 children
11:04 struggling to get an education,
11:06 as most families have long fled the area.
11:10 Across Ukraine, millions of children's educations
11:13 have been disrupted.
11:14 Millions more children have fled the country,
11:17 and more than 500 have been killed.
11:20 Heather Murdoch, VOA News, Liman, Ukraine.
11:23 As Russia's war on Ukraine continues,
11:28 Ukrainian leaders claim that Russia
11:30 has been holding over 20,000 Ukrainians captive
11:33 since the start of its full-scale invasion.
11:36 Reporting from Warsaw, Poland,
11:38 journalist Lysia Bakalets shares the heart-wrenching story
11:42 of a woman who has been anxiously waiting for her husband
11:45 since his detention in October
11:47 when he was taken to a prison in Moscow.
11:50 - He sent me this selfie and said,
11:54 "Look, I'm officially a volunteer now."
11:57 - Olga and Yuri Kayove are from Kherson in southern Ukraine.
12:01 When the war started, Yuri joined
12:03 the local Red Cross initiative,
12:05 bringing humanitarian aid from Ukrainian-controlled
12:08 Zaporizhia to Kherson, which Russia occupied at the time.
12:12 On one of these trips, Yuri was arrested
12:14 by Russian forces.
12:16 - On August 6, 2022, an acquaintance who was with Yuri
12:22 called me and told me that my husband had been detained.
12:25 - Later, she found out that her husband had been held
12:33 in the occupied cities of Melitopol and Kherson
12:37 and then transferred to a detention center in Simferopol.
12:41 She heard no more and feared he was dead.
12:43 - On October 6, a lawyer from Simferopol called me.
12:47 She sent me a photo of a note handwritten by my husband.
12:50 That's when I realized that he was alive.
12:53 The lawyer said Yuri was accused of participating
12:56 in international terrorism.
12:58 - She said that a couple of weeks later,
13:01 the lawyer informed her that her husband had been taken
13:04 to the Lefortovo prison in Moscow.
13:06 This October, it will be a year since he has been there,
13:10 and there are many more like him, civilians from Ukraine,
13:13 considered Russian held hostages.
13:16 The UN says there are hundreds of cases.
13:19 Ukrainian leaders say there are tens of thousands.
13:22 Russia does not acknowledge holding civilians at all,
13:25 let alone its reasons for doing so.
13:28 - The Ukrainian Parliament Commission for Human Rights
13:31 claims about 23,000 to 25,000 Ukrainian civilian hostages,
13:36 so such a high number.
13:39 - The Kayo family's story was included in the film
13:42 "Her Sons," which was based on evidence collected
13:45 by the Rafael Lemkin Center
13:47 for documenting Russian crimes in Ukraine.
13:50 - The film has four stories about civilian hostages.
13:56 Three of them are currently in prison in Russia.
13:59 Two in Moscow's Lefortovo prison.
14:01 The third is in the city of Rostov.
14:04 The fourth person spent 54 days in captivity
14:07 and then occupied her son and is now free.
14:11 Director Hanna Beregova says there is enough material
14:14 for at least three more sequels of the film.
14:17 Analysts say that the only thing relatives
14:20 and human rights defenders can do
14:22 for captive Ukrainian civilians is publicize their cases.
14:26 Unlike prisoners of war, abducted civilians
14:29 are not part of exchanges under international law.
14:33 - Prisoners of war at least have an international status.
14:39 It is stated in the Geneva Convention,
14:41 but when it comes to civilian hostages,
14:44 their captivity has no legal basis.
14:46 - She says that in any case,
14:51 exchanging Ukrainian civilians for Russian prisoners of war
14:55 is not an option for Ukraine.
14:57 - Without exaggeration, there are millions of Ukrainians
15:01 in the occupied territories.
15:03 And if the Ukrainian state allows exchange
15:06 of Ukrainian civilians for Russian soldiers,
15:09 then by tomorrow we'll have another
15:11 20,000 plus civilian hostages.
15:13 - Ukrainian authorities and human rights activists
15:18 are calling for international third-party mediation
15:21 to help gain the release of captured civilians.
15:24 Olga Kayova, meanwhile, has managed to find her husband
15:27 a private lawyer.
15:29 Thanks to the lawyer's efforts,
15:30 she periodically gets notes from her husband
15:33 that give her hope that he will come home one day.
15:37 Lysia Bakalets for VOA News, Warsaw.
15:40 - According to the most recent available statistics,
15:43 Sudan and Chad each have more than 300 students enrolled
15:46 in US academic institutions.
15:48 Back home along the Chad-Sudan border,
15:51 humanitarian groups say refugees
15:52 from the war-torn Darfur region
15:54 face catastrophic conditions.
15:57 VOA's Henry Wilkins has more.
15:59 - Rahaf is 18 months old.
16:02 She has just been brought to a field medical center
16:05 near Adre, Chad, to receive treatment for malnutrition.
16:08 Her mother, Reham Abdallah Idris, fled with her
16:11 from Sudan's Darfur region three months ago.
16:14 Since then, they've been in desperate need
16:16 of food assistance, but almost none has arrived.
16:19 - Yes, it has been three months.
16:24 We are facing a shortage of both food and funds.
16:27 Unfortunately, there's an inadequate supply of nourishment
16:30 for both children and mothers.
16:32 The children are unwell.
16:33 - In August, Doctors Without Borders, also known as MSF,
16:37 short for its French name, Médecins Sans Frontières,
16:41 called on the international community multiple times
16:43 to give money to alleviate the Sudan crisis
16:46 triggered by its civil war that started in April.
16:49 They say that some refugees have gone five weeks
16:52 without food aid and that there is now
16:54 a malnutrition crisis in eastern Chad.
16:56 According to the UN Office for the Coordination
16:59 of Humanitarian Affairs, the international community
17:02 has donated just 26% of the funding
17:05 needed to deal with the crisis.
17:07 Many humanitarian organizations in eastern Chad
17:10 say they are hamstrung as a result.
17:13 Kenneth Lavelle, an operations director with MSF,
17:16 recently visited the refugee sites in eastern Chad.
17:20 - I've not seen something like that in years.
17:22 I was really, I was lost for words
17:24 when I did the first tour around Adra camp.
17:27 There's 200,000 people there in the most appalling conditions.
17:32 I think we're already beyond the brink.
17:34 I think we're already in a humanitarian catastrophe.
17:38 - The Sudanese government distributes food
17:40 to its citizens in nearby Orang Chad.
17:43 But what the water-borne country can provide
17:45 is a drop in the ocean relative to the size of the need.
17:49 One Chadian analyst says that the host communities
17:51 deserve a response too, as the crisis strains
17:54 the local market for food, and that a proper response
17:58 could help prevent Sudan's insecurity
18:00 from spreading to Chad.
18:02 - Actually finding a solution to the suffering
18:05 of those that cross in Chad might be also a way
18:08 of contributing to conflict management
18:11 and conflict prevention and ramping up insecurity in Chad,
18:15 as those people might be turning
18:18 to illegal ways of earning a life.
18:21 So, I mean, there are a lot of risks.
18:24 - Asked what the international community could do
18:26 to help her and her baby, Idris said...
18:29 - It's imperative for them to furnish food for the infirm.
18:32 For instance, biscuits or milk would be greatly appreciated,
18:36 as malnutrition is affecting the children severely.
18:40 - As the desperately underfunded Sudan crisis continues,
18:43 humanitarians say they are at a loss
18:45 as to how to get donors' attention.
18:49 In recent months, South Sudan has received
18:51 hundreds of thousands of the displaced,
18:53 mostly returnees of South Sudanese origin,
18:56 who pass through the town of Renk on the Sudan border here.
19:00 One, Yana Liwa, said she fled the country
19:04 with no possessions.
19:05 - I just fled without anything in hand.
19:10 I wasn't able to take anything from my home.
19:13 We were living in a makeshift tent,
19:15 so when the bombs started to fall on our compound,
19:18 we fled as fast as we could.
19:20 - As thousands continue to arrive in South Sudan every week,
19:24 Egypt, on Sudan's northern border,
19:26 has effectively stopped refugees from entering the country.
19:30 Initially, it allowed around a quarter of a million
19:32 to cross its border, but a new rule in June
19:35 required Sudanese to obtain a visa to enter.
19:38 Rights groups say this violates international standards
19:41 and onerous wait times for visas
19:43 endanger those trying to flee.
19:46 Abdullahi Halakeh is with Refugees International.
19:50 - Egypt is also experiencing serious economic crisis,
19:55 and as a result, it is very, very careful
19:57 in the number of people it's allowing in.
20:00 And I think this is where, you know,
20:01 countries like the United States
20:04 need to lean on Egypt and the UNHCR
20:07 to ask the Egyptian authorities
20:09 to allow the Sudanese to come in.
20:11 But that is not enough.
20:13 - He added that donor countries
20:14 must increase humanitarian funding to Egypt
20:17 if they expect the country to begin taking refugees again.
20:21 Other Sudanese neighbors,
20:23 including Libya and Central African Republic,
20:25 have their own security problems,
20:27 and few are seeking refuge in either country.
20:30 Fleeing to Eritrea on Sudan's eastern border
20:33 would be an even worse choice
20:35 for those seeking to escape the war,
20:37 according to Eritrea Focus, a UK-based human rights group.
20:41 The government is known as one of the most authoritarian
20:44 and isolated regimes in the world.
20:47 Sometimes referred to as the North Korea of Africa.
20:50 - And indeed, the president has said
20:53 that the Sudanese people are welcome to come to Eritrea.
20:58 How many Sudanese have actually taken that offer is unknown,
21:04 and why would anybody,
21:07 why would anybody want to seek refuge in Eritrea?
21:11 - As international aid groups are not active in Eritrea,
21:14 it's unclear whether any Sudanese refugees
21:16 have arrived in the country.
21:18 But even for those who have managed to escape,
21:21 like Bokra Hassan Abdallah, who recently arrived in Chad,
21:25 the difficulties do not end.
21:27 - We were forced to abandon our homes
21:33 due to attacks by Janjaweed.
21:35 As you can see, our current circumstances
21:37 are a result of this displacement.
21:40 Regrettably, I had to leave without my identity documents.
21:44 - Lacking identity documents
21:46 can make it hard for the displaced
21:47 to register as refugees in Chad,
21:50 in turn making it difficult to obtain support.
21:54 As options for where to flee narrow,
21:56 the number of internally displaced in Sudan
21:58 is approaching four million,
22:00 almost four times the number of refugees.
22:04 Henry Wilkins for VOA News, Adrie, Chad.
22:07 - Native Americans were deprived of education
22:10 regarding their native cultures.
22:12 They were coerced into attending residential schools
22:15 operated by the US government,
22:17 which had a preference for assimilation.
22:20 However, in present times,
22:21 there are only a few schools remaining
22:23 that not only acknowledge, but also celebrate native culture.
22:28 VOA's Michael Sullivan went to Riverside, California
22:31 to tell us more.
22:32 - Through much of the 19th and part of the 20th century,
22:39 US authorities forced many indigenous children
22:43 into boarding schools, where they learned domestic
22:46 and farming skills and were forced to abandon
22:48 their religions, languages, and cultures.
22:52 In Riverside, California, family members heard the stories
22:56 of survivors at Sherman Indian High School,
22:59 one of a handful of remaining government-funded
23:01 boarding schools where today native cultures are embraced
23:05 instead of suppressed.
23:07 US Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland,
23:10 and Assistant Secretary, Brian Newland,
23:13 both native Americans, came to listen
23:16 as part of the department's year-long tour
23:19 called The Road to Healing.
23:21 Curiosity brought one woman.
23:23 - I'm here because I wanted to see where my grandparents
23:27 went to school, where they were taken,
23:30 and also where my dad was born.
23:32 - Her grandparents fell in love here,
23:34 and her family adopted a strategy to fight prejudice.
23:38 - They came out of the situation basically saying,
23:41 well, the white man won the war,
23:43 and maybe the only way to end discrimination
23:46 for our kids would be education.
23:48 - Some stories ended badly.
23:50 About 60 former Sherman Indian High School students
23:53 who died while attending the school
23:56 are buried in a nearby cemetery,
23:58 victims through the years of disease or accidents.
24:02 At some Indian schools, students were the victims of abuse.
24:06 Erica Ben, a Navajo and more recent student here,
24:10 says her time at the school expanded her horizons.
24:13 She's working on a doctorate
24:15 in the field of native education.
24:17 - I never really encountered anybody other than Navajos.
24:22 So when I came here, and the school was open
24:26 to all students all across the nation, right?
24:30 So, and that was my actual first time
24:33 actually interacting with other native tribes
24:36 besides myself, and that was just,
24:38 you know, for me that was an experience.
24:40 You know, I'm not gonna forget.
24:42 - Greg Coluck of the Luiseno Indians
24:45 sees renewed interest in the traditions among young people.
24:49 - All four of my children are participating
24:53 in the cultural things that our tribe is offering,
24:56 including basket weaving,
24:58 including language, beading, and such.
25:02 - Like many Native Americans,
25:04 they're re-embracing their culture
25:06 and learning about a painful history of forced assimilation.
25:10 Mike O'Sullivan, VOA News, Riverside, California.
25:15 (singing in foreign language)
25:19 - Thank you for being with us.
25:24 Stay up to date with all the latest news at voanews.com.
25:28 Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @VOANews.
25:31 Follow me on ex-formerly Twitter @elietv1.
25:36 Catch up on past episodes
25:38 at our free streaming service VOA+.
25:41 For all those behind the scenes
25:42 who brought you today's show, I'm Elizabeth Lee.
25:45 We'll see you next week on The Inside Story.
25:48 (upbeat music)
25:58 And that's a wrap for today and for the whole week.
26:02 Hopefully you've been a tad more informed
26:04 and even more enlightened with this feature presentation.
26:07 And I look forward to next week's set of offerings
26:10 as well as you.
26:11 Till then, keep in mind to always work hard, aim high,
26:15 be kind, stay true, and catch the news right here on PTV.
26:20 This has been Sharm Zespina for Stories from the Grid.
26:23 (upbeat music)
26:26 (dramatic music)
26:30 (dramatic music)
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