-Newsclick.in Just reopening schools won’t make an unequal education system more equal without public funding. It may speed up SARS-CoV-2 mutations and risk another brutal Covid-19 wave. The Delhi government recently decided to reopen schools and other educational institutions after a long Covid-19 related shutdown. Previously, several other states had taken similar decisions. Such decisions have been backed by several experts and activists, principally on two grounds. Firstly, socially and economically disadvantaged...

-Leaflet.in/ Newsclick.in While we may have entered the 21st century, bonded labour is still a reality in India. Manav Gupta and Kashish Gupta analyse the laws in India to probondtect from bonded labour and comment on the inadequacy of State initiatives to curb this menace. Last month, a man was booked by police in Palghar district’s Mokhada for allegedly putting a tribal villager who had borrowed Rs. 500 from him into bonded...

-Hindustan Times The All India Muslim OBC Organisation (AIMOBC) is looking at expanding their campaign to press for caste-based census across the country and wants a scientific headcount of all castes, including those among Muslims, for enhanced affirmative action benefits. As the demand for a caste-based census intensifies, an organisation of backward Muslims has launched a state-wide campaign to press for it. The All India Muslim OBC Organisation (AIMOBC) is looking at...

-The Hindu ‘Only Special Courts can consider plea’ The Supreme Court has held that magistrates cannot favour the probe agency to extend the period of investigation in the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) cases at will. Under UAPA, the investigation has to be completed within 90 days. If not, the accused is entitled to default bail. In so far as “extension of time to complete investigation” is concerned, the “magistrate would not be competent...

Remote teaching and learning promoted by Edtech companies as an alternative to physical classrooms, especially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, may have a sizeable consumer base in our country. However, at the bottom of the pyramid, there are only a few takers of online education. In reality, class and caste-divide, which is more prominent in rural areas, affects access to digital learning. The majority of the school going...