-human rights watch New Delhi: School authorities in India persistently discriminate against children from marginalized communities, denying them their right to education, human rights watch said in a report released today. Four years after an ambitious education law went into effect in India guaranteeing free schooling to every child ages 6 to 14, almost every child is enrolled, yet nearly half are likely to drop out before completing their elementary education. The...

-The Times of India   NEW DELHI: "The teacher tells us to sit on the other side," said "Pankaj," an eight-year-old tribal boy from Uttar Pradesh, "If we sit with others, she scolds us and asks us to sit separately. The teacher doesn't sit with us because she says we are dirty." "The teacher didn't let us go to the toilet. One day, I asked her for permission to go to the...

-The Times of India MANGALORE: The India wing of human rights watchdog Amnesty International is seriously looking into the issue of undertrials' unwarranted long stay in prisons and is likely to set up a bail fund to secure their early release. Amnesty International secretary general Salil Shetty told TOI: "India has over 2.5 lakh undertrials, including 8,940 in Karnataka, as of December 2012. Of these, over 2,000 have been in jail for...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), sought to be empowered by the Prevention of Communal Violence Bill to oversee action taken by the states to prevent and control communal violence, has declined to monitor performance of duties by civil servants under the Act, saying that it was for their superiors to do so. The human rights body also insisted that collecting information on communal build-ups...

-Outlook New Delhi: Investing in education of girls, especially the most marginalised, is required to make progress on most social indicators in India, according to UNICEF. To mark the second International Day of the Girl Child, UNICEF today organised a meeting with top Urdu editors in the capital. Speaking at the event, Urmila Sarkar, Chief of Education UNICEF, said, "Innovation in girls education will be instrumental to female empowerment and breaking the cycle...