Barely days after right to education was enforced in the country, the Act was cited in the Delhi high court when it stayed the expulsion of a 12-year-old girl from her school for failing to clear the class VI exams and sought an explanation from the school. Justice Kailash Gambhir issued notice to St Xavier's School in the city seeking an explanation by May 11 on why Suman Bhati and...

Food inflation rose marginally to 16.35% for the week ended March 20 mainly on account of high prices of pulses and milk. The inflation stood at four-month low of 16.22% for the week ended March 13. The rise in food prices is mainly driven by pulses, which became dearer by 31.55%. Milk prices rose by 18.74% on the yearly basis. On weekly basis, the index for food articles rose by...

The Centre has claimed that India’s Northeast has never been as peaceful this century as it has been since January 2009. The “peace”, however, appears to have flowed from the barrel of a gun. The last 15 months have witnessed the lowest number of civilian and security force casualties in the region since January 2000, according to Union home ministry data for six northeasern states (minus Mizoram) released today. At the same...

One hardly needs a reminder that the Right to Education is different from the others enshrined in the Constitution, in that the beneficiary cannot demand it nor fight a legal battle when the right is denied or violated.  Now that India's children have a right to receive at least eight years of education, the gnawing question is whether it will remain on paper or become a reality. One hardly needs...

In our 63rd year of Independence, the Right to Education Act comes into effect on April 1. On the eve of its launch, the Union education minister has balanced our perspective by another resolve. India’s enrolment rate for higher education is around 12 per cent. He would increase this to 30 per cent, in line with the advanced nations. There is only one snag. Unlike in advanced countries, one Indian in...