The following are editorial opinions from newspapers from around the world which may be of interest to Royal Gazette readers.

Memphis Commercial Appeal, Tennessee,

on college aid programmes

Recent developments at public colleges and universities leave little doubt that there is a need for the major overhaul of college aid programs approved by the U.S. House of Representatives . ... So it was gratifying to find a bit of good news among all of higher education's low notes when the House passed the biggest overhaul of college aid programs since their inception in the 1960s. The bill removes private lenders from the student loan business, which will save an estimated $47 billion to $87 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. It boosts Pell Grants and creates additional grant programs to improve community colleges and college graduation rates. The measure faces a less certain future in the Senate, but its primary compromise — a shift away from President Barack Obama's call for making Pell Grants an entitlement program much like Social Security and Medicare — should help quell some of the concern over its impact on federal spending. Americans could do a lot worse than to get behind a shift in national priorities that places a higher value on higher education. The United States can't perform on the global economic stage unless it competes with the rest of the world in its commitment to learning

Cherry Hill Courier-Post, N.J.,

on driving while impaired

Judges must send drunken drivers who do not change their ways to prison for long terms. No matter how many times they're arrested; no matter how many times their licenses are suspended or they are forced into substance abuse programs, some people will just never stop drinking and driving. With these people, the only thing to do is to put them in prison for a long time, long enough to make sure they never put the rest of us at risk again. This month, a man died and his wife and daughter were seriously injured because a habitual drunken driver got behind the wheel again. ... Judges in the United States need to start handing down the kinds of prison sentences — 10 years, 20 years, even life — that fit for people who clearly won't change their ways and stop drinking and driving. They need to be punished for flouting the law, but more so, the rest of us need to be protected. License suspensions, short stays in jail, rehab programs and community service just aren't cutting it for some of these offenders.