-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Studying mathematics scores of the same set of kids in multiple rounds of tests, a researcher has concluded that kids learn better in their mother-tongue. Kids attending Telugu medium schools - data was gathered in Andhra Pradesh - "on average perform significantly better as compared to English medium students" once factors such as native ability, household characteristics and "parental aspirations" are considered and "controlled for." P...
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Facing uncertain rains, farmers dig in -Amita Bhaduri
-India Water Portal Bankura in West Bengal receives 1000 mm of rainfall a year, yet thousands of adivasi farmers in the area were faced with irrigation issues -- until 'happas' came to the rescue. Amulya Soren couldn’t get stable yields in the kharif (monsoon) paddy in his farm. A member of the Santhal tribe, he was the beneficiary of a surplus land redistribution programme in Hirbandh block of Bankura, West Bengal....
More »Revisiting the legend of Niyamgiri -Ashish Kothari
-The Hindu It will need a caring partnership between the Dongria Kondh, civil society organisations and the government to figure out how to navigate the very difficult terrain the tribals face Till last week, I'd never visited Niyamgiri, scene of the iconic fight between the Dongria Kondh tribal group and Vedanta, a powerful multinational corporation bent on mining in the area. So why have I titled this ‘revisiting Niyamgiri'? Partly because I've...
More »A template for teacher education -Rohit Dhankar
-The Hindu None of our Teacher Education programmes has ever seriously tried to achieve a clear and convincing enough understanding of what one tries to achieve through education. It always has been a rhetoric of larger aims and working for myopically understood parental and market aspirations All curricula are situated in contexts and are simultaneously guided by ideals. Therefore, an understanding of and a balance between the two is essential. We have succeeded...
More »Jumping the gun in Rajasthan -Kiran Bhatty
-The Hindu Without adequate preparations for its consequences, the State has gone ahead with the merger of small schools with the larger ones. Is there a way out? The Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani's act of consulting an astrologer in Rajasthan may be a personal choice, but her mention of possible amendments to the Right to Education (RTE) Act has definitely created a mess in the State. While she has...
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