Nation/World
University Daily Kansan / Tuesday, April 9, 1991
7
World briefs
Kuwait City, Kuwait
Emirate wants forces to stay
A government minister said yesterday the United States would be asked to keep forces in Kuwait to deter any Iraq aggression, which could escalate. The country still posed a threat to the emirate's security.
Kuwait's ruler, Sheik Jaber al-Alhmed al-Sabah, said Sunday the emirate still needed military assistance from its allies as it faced an attack from the devastation of the Persian Gulf War.
Abdulrahman al-Awadi, the minister of Cabinet affairs, made clear yesterday that the emir had been referring to the United States, which has more than 300,000 troops in the region but is withdrawing them rapidly now that Iraq has agreed to cease fire terms.
Jerusalem
Israel will free Palestinians
Israel will free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, the government announced yesterday, just hours before the arrival of Israeli President James Baker for talks on Middle East peace.
The statement by the Defense Ministry also pledged tax concessions for new business.
During a visit one month ago, Baker urged that steps we taken by Israel to coax Arab疆国 into accepting the new terms.
But the Defense Ministry said in the statement that the prisoner release and tax concessions were not gestures made in connection with Baker's visit, but rather were measures that had been under consideration to the defense establishment in recent weeks.
Tirana, Albania
Tirana, Albania Communists keep majority
Preliminary results indicated yesterday that Albania's Communists had picked up six more parliamentary seats in run-offs and were able to secure two-thirds majority in the legislature.
But the opposition Democratic Party also said it was satisfied with the results of Sunday's repeat balloting. With counting still going on in some districts, unofficial results released by the Democrats showed them winning or leading in 10 races.
From The Associated Press
Student-aid program will be restructured
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — With 17 percent of the $55 billion in student loans in default, the administration announced plans yesterday to restructure and refocus the Education Department's Guaranteed Student Loan program.
Ted Sanders, deputy secretary at the Education Department, said efforts would be made to monitor schools and educational programs that use federal student loans, as well as to strengthen oversight of banks, lenders and agencies that administer the loan program.
Also, all student aid operations will be consolidated under one responsible official — New Hampshire businessman Michael J. Farrell. The Pooria, Ill., native, who served on the White House staffs of presidents Nixon and Bush, is now leading the Secretary Lamar Alexander on financial aid issues as well as serve as deputy assistant secretary for student financial aid.
Farrell, an administrator at Wheelabler Technologies Inc., will have overall responsibility for implementing the administration's new management reform plan, which is based on recommendations made by a joint Education-Office of Management and Budget
"This department will return accountability and professional management to the financial management."
review team.
The student financial aid programs are the largest single component in the department, employing about 1,000 people who oversee $10 billion in annoiorations.
By the end of 1991, there will be more than 22 million GSL loans totaling more than $55 billion. The gross cumulative default rate has increased from 13.7 percent to the net default rate approaching 12 percent.
Key findings of the review team were:
* Too many shoddy schools participate in student aid programs. The default rate for proprietary schools averages 27 percent. The cost of loan defaults grew from $151 million in 1981 to an estimated $2.7 billion in 1991.
- The department failed to react early and take effective steps to prevent the collapse last year of one of the nation's largest student loan guarantee agencies, the Higher Education Assistance Foundation. This failure threatened millions of students and cost the government at least $100 million.
- Accounting records of the GSL program are poorly maintained.
U.S. education spending ranked 10th by report
Teachers' union survey says investment not top
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — The United States spends a smaller share of its wealth on schools than two-thirds of the world's most advanced countries, and it buys a teachers' union study released yesterday.
Government spending on U.S. public and private education — from kindergarten through post-secondary education — equaled 5.1 percent of the gross domestic product. That ranked 10th of 15 advanced nations in 1987, the latest year for which comparable data are available, according to the study by the American Federation of Teachers.
Trailing the United States: Japan, Britain and Switzerland each devoted 5 percent of GDP to schools, while Italy spent 4.7 percent, and West Germany spent 4.5 percent.
Denmark spent 7.6 percent of its gross domestic product, followed by Sweden. 7.2 percent; Canada. 7.1 percent; the Netherlands, 6.8 percent; Norway, 6.7 percent; France, 6 percent; Austria, 5.9 percent; Belgium, 5.3 percent; and Australia, 5.2 percent.
"This study lays to rest the myth that the U.S. spends more than other nations," said Albert Shanker, president of the 750-member U.S. military coalition, "you measure it, our investment falls short."
Among factors contributing to lower U.S. spending, the APT study said the United States is not at risk of rising oil prices.
Survey reveals free trade with Mexico favored
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The heads of mid-sized U.S. companies overwhelmingly favor a freetrade agreement with Mexico, according to the findings of a survey released yesterday.
The American Business Conference, in a survey of its 100 members, found that 92 percent supported a free-trade agreement with the United States. Eight percent had no opinion on the matter.
"None were against it," said Barry Rogstad, president of the ABC, which is made up of chief executives of fast-growing companies with annual revenues of at least $25 million or income growth at least double the rate of the economy's real growth.
President Bush, who is vigorously pushing for a free-trade pact with Mexico, said a continent-wide free trade zone would make the U.S. more competitive against Japan and Europe.
But the AFL-CIO and some in Congress fear
will lead to a loss of U.S. jobs to Mexico's chalcidians.
ABC officials, however, said at a news briefing in Washington that their survey showed overseas expansion ultimately led to more jobs in this country.
Of the 67 firms that supplied employment data for the survey, 17 replied that they had no foreign-based employees. Those without work experience came from the country by 6.6 percent during that 10-year period.
The survey compared business practices in 1981,1991 and the year 2000. It did not specify individual responses to the questions.
Among the survey's other findings:
■ Only 34 percent of those responding to the survey said they thought U.S. workers' competence had improved in the past decade. Forty-one percent think worker competence has declined.
Of those who thought there had been a decline, 71 percent said their companies were becoming less dependent on workers and more dependent on mechanization.
"We're taking significant interest in education and re-training," said Rogstad.
He said the trade group, which thinks a capable domestic workforce will help U.S. companies expand overseas, had created a project, known as Vital Link, between companies and schools to improve the school-to-work transition.
The 10-year-old group favors making it easier for growing companies to raise capital
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