'No child shall be subjected to physical punishment and mental harassment', says clause 17, Chapter IV of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act. During a visit last week to a government school in JC Nagar, a group of 20 bare-footed children were seen practising 'attention' and 'stand at ease'. The Kannada medium students were intimidated not so much by the English commands as the trainer brandishing...

-The Times of India Indian government is very actively working towards e-governance and the citizens with access to internet-enabled computers and smartphones too look forward to an easier life. After all, who doesn't like to use the online option provided by almost all the organizations and save time by avoiding the long queues at different utilities and departments.  However, the biggest irony is that many government or PSU websites that offer online...

-The Times of India NAGPUR: In an urgent meeting convened on Saturday, city CBSE schools decided to send admission related details to the state education department by June 18 and reopen admissions for Std I two days after that. TOI had reported on Friday that almost all CBSE schools will start distributing admission forms from June 20 to meet provisions as mandated under the Right To Education (RTE). City principals were briefed...

Around 32,000 schools in the state will be slapped with notices for not following the rule of giving 25% of their seats to students from weaker socioeconomic sections under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education 2009 (RTE) Act this academic year. Another notice will also be issued to schools that haven’t started the process for obtaining a certificate of registration which has become mandatory for all schools under...

The proposed liberalisation of the mining and minerals sector is an assault on the rightful owners of the land and its resources. Tribal and indigenous communities across the world have been asserting their rights to the mineral wealth often found under the land they own or possess or have traditional rights to. They have been historically denied even a share of that huge wealth, leave alone legal rights of ownership. Under...