-TheWire.in A recent survey in 16 states and union territories suggests has revealed that there has been a catastrophic slide in literacy among children from poor and marginalised sections. However, there seems to be no plan to help them. October is the month for new beginnings, not least for scores of children who have been unable to attend school in its physical form for the last year and a half. The pandemic...

-The Hindu Centre rebrands mid-day meals scheme PM POSHAN; no progress on National Education Policy’s recommendation to start offering breakfasts. The Centre has rebranded the 26-year old national mid-day meal scheme to give a hot cooked meal to 11.8 crore government school students from Class 1 to 8, with the Cabinet approving a proposal to rename it as the PM POSHAN (Poshan Shakti Nirman) scheme on September 29. From the next financial year,...

-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...

-The Hindu Use of technology helped students pursue both online, offline modes of learning Jaipur: A new initiative launched in Rajasthan with appropriate use of technology has led to access of students to both online and offline modes of learning during COVID-19, with the availability of synchronised competency-based contents, supplemented by home visits of teachers. The innovative solution has also addressed the digital divide in the desert State. The Aao Ghar Mein Seekhein...

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...