-The Hindu Business Line Two nationwide surveys of learning levels among schoolchildren show a worrying gap between their aspirations and their ability to achieve them Muskan was in Std VI when she knew she wanted to be a police officer. “People fear you,” says this 17-year-old resident of Painchri village, Shimla, her eyes gleaming at the idea of commanding all that respect. “But it’s not possible for me,” she says the very...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Centre is examining Finland's school education model, focused on each child learning at her own pace, to see how much of it India can emulate. The Prime Minister's Office sent a note to the human resource development ministry this month asking it to study Finland's system, highlighting the 100 per cent government funding, flexible curriculum and teaching methods, and the high salary of and rigorous training for...

-The Indian Express Competencies and achievements of young people will need to be aligned with expectations The Right to Education Act came into force in 2010. However, the trend towards universal elementary education was well in place before that. For example, for the age group 6 to 14, enrolment levels have been high and rising for quite some time. Even as early as 2005-6, the first Annual Status of Education Report...

-The Hindu Many States have initiated ‘reforms’ of the public distribution system that are hurting millions of people India’s public distribution system (PDS) is in danger of being derailed in several States across the country. Recent disruptions of the PDS have taken different forms, from compulsory biometric authentication to so-called direct benefit transfer (DBT). The consequences are alarming, but tend to go unreported. Biometric mix-ups Jharkhand is a prime example of this problem. By...

-The Indian Express Study indicates that gender disparities and lack of skills to match aspirations could upset India’s demographic dividend The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), released on Tuesday, is significant for several reasons. In looking at the age group of 14-18, the survey — to begin with — offers insights into the performance of the Right to Education Act, eight years after it made elementary education a fundamental right....