-Live Mint   72% of respondents across major cities were ignorant about govt schemes exclusively for girl education     Three years after the Right to Education (RTE) Act was passed, around 50% of families in slums across the country are still unaware of its existence, according to a report released by Child Rights and You (CRY), a non-government organization. The report analyzes various barriers in the way of educating girls, drawing on data from a...

-The Hindu Here is a classic case that will reveal how the “high-handedness” of a few officials has affected the lives of two Dalit women in Udupi. The two women, Akku and Leela, have put in about four decades of service at the Government Women teachers’ Training Institute on a monthly salary of Rs. 15. Although they were promised that their services would be regularised, they did not get any benefits even...

-Economic and Political weekly Drawing on the research on basic education in West Bengal, this essay argues the case for a much criticised public education system, which needs to be reconsidered as regards its potential as a provider of quality education, even while addressing its many failings. The essay follows an approach, both critical and constructive, that underlines the collective onus of the public in realising the value of the public...

-The Telegraph The human resource development ministry plans to sponsor a certain number of Indian students for PhD and MPhil courses in leading foreign universities every year. It has asked higher education regulator University Grants Commission (UGC) to work out details such as the number of students to be sponsored and the institutions with which the arrangement would be sought. “The focus may be on science and technology,” a ministry source said. The...

-PTI Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and six other states having literacy levels less than the national average will get enhanced Central share under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan programme, with the Planning Commission approving a proposal to this effect. These states will be getting funds in the ratio of 75:25 as against the existing ratio of 65:35. Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand will also be included along with the northeastern states where funding...