Hyderabad, March 13 -- In a major development that will likely impact the funding of scores of scholars and students in America, the United States Department of Education on March 11 announced that more that 1,300 of its employees will be fired.

The move comes as US President Donald Trump inches closer to shut down the agency that takes care of federal loans for college, tracks student achievement and enforces civil rights laws in schools. At the beginning of 2025, the education department had 4,133 employees. It will now have a work force of about half that size after less than two months with President Trump in office.

In addition to the 1,315 workers who were fired on March 12, 572 employees accepted separation packages offered in re...