-The Indian Express The growing influence on policy issues of activists who call themselves “civil society” is a worrying trend and needs to be objectively analysed. Two recent policy pronouncements will illustrate how government seems to be yielding to their pressure. It is well established that absenteeism of teachers and poor quality of outcomes in government schools is the main factor behind the popularity of private schools with poor infrastructure that cater...

-Economic and Political weekly Drawing on the research on basic education in West Bengal, this essay argues the case for a much criticised public education system, which needs to be reconsidered as regards its potential as a provider of quality education, even while addressing its many failings. The essay follows an approach, both critical and constructive, that underlines the collective onus of the public in realising the value of the public...

-Outlook The Delhi University today assured the high court here that it would ensure punctuality among its teachers and install biometric attendance register system in its various colleges. "The university is committed to implementation of the biometric system, said the Delhi University (DU) registrar in an affidavit to the Delhi High Court bench of Acting Chief Justice A K Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw. Accepting DU's assurance, the bench today disposed of...

-IPS News RAYAGADA- The deafening din of the lunch gong is sweet music to the 200-odd tribal girls rushing down the stairway, clutching stainless steel plates and tumblers. Sikhsya Niketan (House of Education) in Chattikona administrative block of Rayagada district is a residential school meant exclusively for girls of the Dongria Kondh tribe in eastern Odisha state. The school is part of the federal government’s intensified efforts to take universal education to...

-The Times of India NAGPUR: The state education department has moved into an aggressive mode on learning that 10 lakh students have ditched government schools (zilla parishad and corporation) and shifted to private institutions in the last five years. The revelation came from Sanjay Deshmukh, director of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) and the man leading RTE implementation in Maharashtra. "Five years ago we had about 78 lakh students, now the figure has...