-Deccan Chronicle The Annual Status of Education Report 2012 has revealed the standard of school education is not up to the mark in rural India, and claimed over half the children in these areas were at least three grade levels behind in reading and arithmetic abilities.   The report, prepared by Unicef backed NGO Pratham, claimed of all Class V students only 46.8 per cent could read a Class II text. Though 2012...

-The Times of India AHMEDABAD: Even as the state government tom-toms its high enrollment rates in primary government schools in rural areas, it has done little to tackle teachers' deficit or to improve teaching quality in government schools. The poor quality of education - highlighted by the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2012, released on Friday - is being squarely blamed on the despairing and overburdened primary school teachers in...

-The Telegraph Bengal leads in dependence on private tuition but bottom of the pack in basics More schoolchildren in Bengal take private tuition than in most other states but they are anything but the best when tested for basic reading and arithmetic skills, a national survey has revealed. Although the survey by the NGO Pratham focused on schoolchildren going to government institutions in the districts, teachers say students of the top schools...

-The Indian Express learning from the success of Greyhounds, a special police unit in Andhra Pradesh, the Centre has approved funds to raise specialised forces in four Naxal-hit states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa. The special units will be trained in guerilla warfare and will be assisted by other Central forces during operations against the rebels. The four states will get funds to create and upgrade infrastructure, weaponry and equipment. The proposed...

-DNA Prominent RTI activists on Tuesday said violence on users, court stay on prominent decisions of the information commission, rulings that limit the scope of RTI and threats from the government through legislations were major challenges facing the Act. Aruna Roy, member of National Advisory Council (NAC), Shailesh Gandhi, former central information commissioner, Nikhil Dey, member of National Council for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI), Shankar Singh, member of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti...