-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Government has proposed standards for playschools that include the size of the classroom and outdoor space, mandatory use of mother tongue or vernacular language as medium of instruction and student-caregiver ratio. These conditions are part of the 'early childhood care and education' (ECCE) formulated by the women and child development (WCD) ministry and slated to be discussed in the Union Cabinet on Friday. Among the "base...

-The Times of India HUBLI (Karnataka): At least 14 students fell ill in government school in Karnataka's Dharwad district after drinking milk supplied under a government scheme on Monday. Soon after the morning prayer, students of the Kannada Government Girls' Primary school in Kusugal village queued up to have milk under 'Ksheer Bhagya' scheme. Within minutes, a girl complained of stomach pain and started vomiting. Within half an hour, 13 other students...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Even as minority politics takes centrestage in the wake of recent riots in Uttar Pradesh, a report by the Council for Social Development shows how the UPA government has failed to implement the recommendations of the Sachar Committee, with its response to Muslim deprivation at best being "cautious and minimalist". The report said most of the benefits intended for minorities were being cornered by either...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government plans to bring in a regulatory framework to rein in play schools, creches and day care centres' charging exorbitant fees without providing standardized curriculum and learning aids. The policy, which includes implementation and monitoring of early child care and education for children below six years, is likely to be discussed in the Union Cabinet on Thursday. The women and child development (WCD) ministry...

-The Business Standard FSSAI will put the draft guidelines in front of a seven-member expert committee Mumbai: In what would alter the consumption pattern of products such as burgers, pizzas, sandwiches, snack foods and soft drinks in schools, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is putting in place final guidelines to determine what counts as healthy food in educational institutions. The guidelines, to be released by December this year, would...