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Education Department Contracts Worth $900 Million Have Been Terminated by DOGE.
(VOR News) – The U.S. Department of Education said on Monday that it had chosen to terminate more than $1 billion in research contracts.
Opponents of this plan contend that the government’s research division would be almost eliminated and that important data sources regarding the American educational system would be denied.
The managing director of DOGE, a newly formed quasi-governmental body, is Elon Musk, the owner of X. The abbreviation DOGE stands for Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE posted the formal notice on several social media platforms.
Elon Musk, a tech entrepreneur, chaired the task force that canceled 89 contracts for $881 million. The mission team claims that this information was given. Another article on X claims that the Department of Education has revoked 29 “DEI training grants” worth $101 million since the funds were awarded.
Funds were provided by the Department of Education.
The agreements’ expiration made it nearly impossible for the Education Department’s Institute of Education Sciences, which collects data on students and schools around the country, to continue its work.
This was the outcome of the agreements’ eventual termination. Among the contracts that were sustained was the National Assessment of Educational Progress, popularly referred to as the “Nation’s Report Card,” and this has to be recognized.
Some people call this accord the “National Report Card.” In a statement issued on Tuesday, the government said that a large number of contracts were kept.
Additionally, the College Scorecard, a tool developed during the Obama administration to assist students in determining whether a specific institution is worth the cost, has remained unchanged. This text is meant to help pupils get to this conclusion. College Navigator, a government portal that is quite similar to this one, is one of the other websites that were rescued.
However, numerous other important scientific endeavors were promptly shelved. The What Works Clearinghouse initiative, which has been assisting educators and school administrators in making decisions for a long time, was formally terminated as a result of this decision.
The School Pulse Panel, which had begun surveys on education-related topics in public K–12 schools for the 2021–2022 academic year, was also abolished. A number of surveys were sent out over the academic year. These surveys were also carried out by public entities such as universities.
The Department of Education reportedly considered reducing funding for research in early childhood education, vocational and technical education, and international education after examining a list of government contracts for fiscal year 2024.
The manifesto revealed this when the department reviewed it.
However, Michael Itzkowitz, who was in charge of the development of the College Scorecard, has asserted that fewer critical evaluations of colleges and universities could have detrimental effects, such as the potential loss of the US’s competitiveness in the world market.
He stated in the news release, “We do not wish for consumers to possess more information regarding the acquisition of the most effective blender than they do regarding enrollment in a higher education institution.”
The termination of the contracts is just the most recent indication of the turmoil that has gripped the federal Education Department in recent months.
President Donald Trump has been vocal in his criticism of the department due to the chaos that has been occurring inside it. An insider said that Musk’s DOGE team had gained access to extensive databases that contain the financial and personal information of millions of students, according to a report that was published in USA TODAY last week.
The worker disclosed this information. The report was already available to the public. A number of agency employees have been suspended and placed on paid leave since the president issued an executive order prohibiting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the federal workforce.
Administrative leave has also been granted to them. This incident happened after the president signed the executive order
SOURCE: USA
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