-PTI With two years into the RTE and 32 states having notified the rules, government today said they should now also focus on strict implementation of provisions against corporal Punishment and detention and initiate curricular reforms. HRD Minister Kapil Sibal asserted that improving quality is critical if the objective of the Right to Education (RTE) is to be fulfilled even as he noted a decline in dropout rates in states like Bihar...

Two years after the Centre notified the Right of the Children to Free and Compulsory Act, 2009, which guarantees free education to children aged 6-14 years, Karnataka and Goa are yet to notify the rules. “Last year this time, only 15 States notified the RTE rules. Today, this number has increased to 21. The Ministry will continue to follow up with these States as notification would entitle them to funds from...

-The Times of India   With a year left for schools to adhere to the norms under the RTE Act, Aaditi Isaac finds out what more needs to be done  It has been two years since the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act came into force (April 1, 2010). As per RTE, every child in the age group of 6-14 years would be provided eight years of elementary education...

Block the loo and train the child. If a recent report of the National Commission of Child Rights is to be believed, barring students bathroom breaks seems to be teachers’ favourite form of Punishment. According to the report, “Eliminating Corporal Punishment in Schools”, released earlier this month, almost 18 per cent students are not allowed to go to the restroom as Punishment for bad behaviour in class. This is at the top of...

-The Times of India Suicide may be a crime in law but the jury is still out on the question of Punishment for those who survive the attempt. A bid to take one's own life attracts a jail term of up to one year, but a number of experts feel this amounts to punishing the victim. Now a trial court in Delhi has said that a person who attempts to commit suicide...