If you thought the recent spate of violent crimes against women in the national capital was an aberration, take a look at this. A poll of women in Delhi and Gurgaon has revealed that almost two-thirds feel unsafe in these cities aspiring to be considered world cities. Incidentally, it is in Delhi that a larger proportion of women feel unsafe (70%) compared to Gurgaon's 65%. This feeling of being unsafe is...

A seven-state survey on rural internet awareness revealed that close to 84% were ignorant of the medium’s existence. Of the ones who did know about it, 85% used the net only to access emails, 13% to know about the latest farming techniques and 8% to look up fertilisers, among other uses. We can acknowledge that internet penetration so far has been weak; but the past is not a guide to...

The 25 per cent quota in all schools envisaged by the RTE has created a big debate Do upper middle class people in a city believe that the quality of their child's education is compromised when they share classroom space with the children of construction labourers or domestic workers? This fundamental question is at the heart of the heated debate on a clause in the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act,...

Trigerring a fresh controversy over some provisions of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, a Bangalore school’s circular to parents virtually warns them of what could be in store once the act comes into force. Bethany High School, in a circular dated July 26, a copy of which is with TOI, said: "Under this Act, all private unaided schools will have to accommodate 25% of their strength of children around...

A social audit on the working of the ban on child labour in the domestic and hospitality sectors reveals a sorry state of affairs.  LIKE any normal child, Illyas from Varanasi, a 13-year-old, wanted to go to a regular school and become an important man some day. But poverty forced him to start working at an eatery for Rs.200 a day so that he could feed his younger siblings. He,...