-The Telegraph Patna: Students of around 210 government schools in Patna district would have to skip their midday meal for the next fortnight. A day after a dead rat was found in the midday meal supplied to the Government Primary School in Saidpur, the chief minister today ordered stern action against the non-government organisation (NGO) which supplied the food to the school. Ekta Shakti Foundation, a Delhi-based NGO, supplies midday meals to 210...

-The Indian Express New Delhi: Stating that denying out-of-school children admission constitutes a "clear cut deprivation of their right to education", Directorate of Education has ordered schools to enrol all such children. A fact sheet released by the Delhi Right to Education Forum has revealed that only 70 per cent of Delhi's children go to school, against the national figure of 94.5 per cent and 100 per cent for states such as...

-Outlook New Delhi: The Centre today asked state governments to put all information related to implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and Public Distribution System in public domain. It has also asked states to ensure proactive disclosure under Right to Information (RTI) Act of information on public works done by a department at block and panchayat levels. Section 4 of the RTI Act, 2005 lays down that information should be...

-Outlook The case of the gutsy young Tehelka journalist, who has blown the cover on the sexual assault she faced from Tarun Tejpal, underlines the need to enforce the implementation of the Vishaka guidelines Listen. Can you hear it? That low growl on the horizon, coming closer, growing louder? It's the dam bursting its bounds. It's the quiet shriek of convivial silence being ripped apart. The silence around the normalizing of a...

-The Telegraph Ranchi: The lid is off a basic reason why generations of girls drop out of school, never discovering their potential. Schools, state-run or otherwise, may have a toilet, but if existing loos lack basics such as privacy or water, girls prefer to stay at home. Reason - they feel too unsafe and ashamed to answer nature's call or take care of personal hygiene during menstruation. A detailed research on life skills...