Ranchi, April 3: Newbie eighth grader Radha Kumari at Government Middle School in Ranchi’s Tharpakhna is happy over her promotion, but says it does not feel like she is in a new class. “No new textbooks,” she frowns. Radha is not alone. In fact, 60 lakh students between classes I and VIII studying in 40,000-odd state-run primary and middle schools are in a similar quandary. They have not received their new,...
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A Two-tier System by Sukanta Chaudhuri
When the fledgling Indian government drafted its higher education policy after Independence, it formed two separate tiers for teaching and research: colleges and universities in one, exclusive research establishments in the other. The intention was of the noblest, to deploy our best talent exclusively to create an indigenous knowledge pool; in particular, to provide research input for the nation’s development. Sixty years down the line, the outcome has patently failed those...
More »As RTE turns two, monitoring division sans staff by Aarti Dhar
On Saturday last, as the government was highlighting with much fanfare the achievements under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 in the past two years, the RTE Division of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) — entrusted with the responsibility of monitoring the implementation of the Act — was virtually winding up. It all happened as the term of Kiran Bhatty, the...
More »RTE affidavit to avoid detention in private schools
-The Times of India Parents who wish to seek the district education department's help for promotion of their detained ward in the schools will now have to lodge complaint with the department in affidavit. Following the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2008, coming into effect in the district since 2011, several parents have approached the RTE cell of the education department seeking promotion of their detained wards to higher class in tune...
More »Kudankulam row: Government has problems with foreign-funded NGOs, but is comfortable with corporate lobbying-Kiran Karnik
Do dollars dictate dissent? Are agendas altered as advised? Government statements related to these questions - specifically, the foreign funding of non-government organisations (NGOs) involved in the protests against nuclear power at Kudankulam - generated much discussion. The uproar is over, and Kudankulam will soon be operational. However, many wider issues remain, and these merit consideration. Among these, two significant ones are the role of NGOs - or, more specifically, civil...
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