-The Hindu The government has approved a Rs. 4,038 crore programme to tackle the Japanese encephalitis and acute encephalitis syndrome in 60 priority districts With thousands of young lives being lost and an equal number of children rendered disabled for life, the government has prepared a comprehensive strategy to tackle Japanese encephalitis (JE) and acute encephalitis syndrome (AES). The dreaded disease has already spread to 17 States affecting 171 districts. With the Cabinet...

-The Telegraph Nisha Kumari, a Class VIII student in Uttar Pradesh, has taken her school to court because it charges fees her father cannot afford. The Dalit girl from Hathras district today petitioned Allahabad High Court to direct the government-run Girls’ Inter College in Sasni to stop charging her — or any other student — any fee till they reach Class IX. Else, Nisha’s petition said, she may have to drop out of...

-The Telegraph Hyderabad: Forty-three institutions in Andhra Pradesh figure on technical education regulator AICTE’s “unapproved list”, in a further blow to the state where engineering education touched its nadir this year. The list includes the Indian School of Business (ISB), founded by former McKinsey chief Rajat Gupta, who has been convicted of insider trading. The ISB has, however, never sought approval from the regulator, so it wouldn’t be affected by the All India...

-PTI Amid reports of discrimination against students admitted under RTE, the government today issued fresh guidelinesprohibiting schools from announcing community, castes or tribes of students and labelling students as reserved category in classes. School shall prescribe procedures and mechanism to deal with complaint and will be obligatory on its part to decide such complaints within a maximum period of 60 days from the date of receipt or submission of complaint, the...

-Outlook Out in our streets, disabled people feel the pain everyday The Gaping Holes     India yet to get a cohesive, standardised sign language     Barrier-free infrastructure yet to be implemented in public areas like bus stations, railway stations, schools, cinema halls     Lack of basic, inclusive civic facilities: no audio-enabled traffic signals, pavements with ramps, few disability-friendly toilets, negligible penalties     Poor functional entertainment accessibility, like no subtitling on local language TV channels     Reservation...