-The Times of India BENGALURU: A Union government-backed survey has revealed a disturbing trend: in the six years since the Right to education Act, around 60 lakh children between ages six and 13 years remain unschooled in the country. While children from Scheduled Castes and Tribes form 49% (29.73 lakh) of the deprived kids, those from Other Backward Classes constitute 36%, which shows RTE has brought little change in the lives of...

-Economic and Political Weekly A survey to identify who the poor are and how many are actually poor is necessary if programmes and benefits targeted at the needy are to reach them. The Socio Economic Caste Census, of which partial results have been published, was intended to do this. Yet, even a cursory look at the figures indicates that they call for a willing suspension of disbelief. N C Saxena (naresh.saxena@gmail.com) was...

-PTI With barely three weeks left for Independence Day celebrations, Parliament was informed last week that 2.86 lakh toilets have been constructed so far Government seems to be racing against time to fulfill Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise of ensuring toilets in all schools across the country in a year as about 1.94 lakh toilets are yet to be made operational as against the target of 4.19 lakh toilets. Modi had in his...

-The Hindu A little used provision in the Constitution may hold the key to protecting the interests of Scheduled Tribes as they fight to hold on to their traditional lands Even 67 years after Independence, the problems of Adivasi communities are about access to basic needs. These include, but are not restricted to, elementary education, community healthcare, sustainable livelihood support, the public distribution system, food security, drinking water and sanitation, debt, and...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Centre has nudged schools and colleges to appoint student gender monitors who will report any incident of gender bias or sexual harassment on the campus to designated teachers. Although the government has dubbed the measure an "outreach for creating an environment that fosters equal treatment", social activists said a sensitisation programme would have worked better than a system that will only create snitches. According to government guidelines issued...