A look at education stories from around the world

Guns 'easily' in school

Students at the New York high school where two teenagers were shot said it was easy to bring in guns, despite metal detectors at the entrance.

Andrel Napper, 17, and Andre Wilkins, 18, were shot from behind last week in a hallway at the Martin Luther King school. One was wounded in the back and the other in the buttocks.

No one had been arrested for the shooting, which Schools Chancellor Harold Levy said may have stemmed from a dispute about a girl. A .380 calibre handgun was recovered on the school's fifth floor, along with three shell casings.

Students pass through metal detectors each morning that detect weapons, mobile telephones and pagers, all of which are prohibited.

But several students said their peers sneak weapons in through side doors that are locked from the outside and are not manned by security guards.

The shooting - the first inside a New York public school since 1994 - occurred on what would have been the 73rd birthday of Martin Luther King.

Thirteen security guards and two police officers watch over the school's 3,000 students. There have been 10 cases of weapons possession this year at the school, double the number for the same period last year, according to police statistics.

Jumbo school aid package

Thailand's "Non-formal Education Department" has used elephants to deliver educational material to people in remote jungle villages as part of a campaign to eradicate illiteracy.

The elephants, accompanied by department officials, have been delivering textbooks, education kits and satellite dishes to assist in the government's campaign.

Thailand has a high literacy rate compared to many developing countries. However, it is estimated that about three million of the country's 62 million people are illiterate, most of them living in 2,000 remote villages in northern Thailand bordering Myanmar.