-The Hindu   A helpline in Odisha is empowering students to act as watchdogs to monitor implementation of the RTE Act, which completes three years in April "My teacher does not come to school," speaks a little voice on one end of the phone line. At the other end, a woman responds reassuringly, asking for the child's details - name of the school, the district. Within a matter of days, the ‘teacher' is...

-The Indian Express Satara: Despite five women accusing author and activist Laxman Mane of rape and sexual harassment, police in Satara say they are finding it difficult to get evidence and witnesses in their investigation. Mane, a Padma Shri and winner of the Sahitya Akademi award, continues to be on the run, police said. Three employees of Shardabai Pawar Ashram Shala, a Jakatwadi-based residential school for underprivileged children, on Sunday accused Mane of...

-The Business Standard Govt must recognise that RTE is not working as it should There is little doubt that one of the most crucial tasks of the Indian state at present is to ensure that its young people receive an education sufficient to meet their aspirations. Given India's demographic profile, it could well end up with an under-educated generation if it does not scale up its educational infrastructure and effectiveness of policy....

-The Hindu   ‘They cannot charge for tuitions but only for extra facilities' Bangalore: A 37-year-old taxi driver, Manjunath Gowda (name changed), had brought a chocolate cake for his family after his six-year-old daughter secured a seat in a sought-after private school in Uttarahalli under a provision of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act 2009, which guarantees 25 per cent of the seats in private unaided schools to...

-The Indian Express As in the case of lawyers and doctors, a formal qualification must be prescribed for journalists Journalists comment on everything under the sun. But when someone comments on their profession, they let loose furious fusillades flaunting the slogan, "the freedom of the media in danger". Most condemn even the suggestion of a public debate on the issue of media regulation and responsibilities. No one can deny my credentials as a...