-PTI/ The Indian Express As per official statistics, there are over 35 crore students in the country. However, it is not clear as to how many of them have access to digital devices and Internet. From virtual classes to open-book exams, the coronavirus pandemic may have forced classroom learning online but the digital divide in the country may turn it into an “operational nightmare”, experts have warned. Suicide by a Kerala schoolgirl allegedly...

-TheWire.in An RTI query shows that the mid-day meal allowance for Tripura primary school students is less than Rs 5 a day. New Delhi: The BJP government in Tripura, led by Biplab Kumar Deb, has not provided food to any child under the mid-day meal (MDM) scheme while the schools remained closed during the lockdown, according to documents accessed by The Wire under the Right to Information. Given that a lack of proper...

-Vikalp.ind.in The spread of COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdowns in India since the last week of March 2020 have put not just people’s health concerns at the forefront, but most of the economic and social sector activities are at halt. Amidst the virus spread and subsequent lockdowns, schools, colleges, universities (educational institutions) are closed without completing the academic calendar year. To deliberate on teaching and learning processes and research activities in...

-Moneycontrol.com The COVID-19 pandemic brings a new perspective to the Sen vs Bhagwati 2014 debate. Just before the general elections in 2014, a rather unlikely fight erupted in the pink papers. In the Left corner, wearing what some people said were bright red shorts, was Nobel Laureate and economist Amartya Sen. In the Right corner, wearing true blue shorts, was eminent trade economist Jagdish Bhagwati. The dispute was whether social welfare and health...

-The Indian Express We have long ignored the vital role public educational institutions play as exemplary sites of social inclusion and relative equality. In Indian conditions, this role is arguably even more important than the scholastic role. The current craze for online education (OE) reminds me of the wall graffiti advertising sex clinics that are visible across urban north India. These ads promise guaranteed cures — shartiya ilaj — for all kinds...