National Advisory Council Chairperson Sonia Gandhi today voiced concern over the high dropout rate and the absence of teachers in village schools. She noted that "one fourth of the teachers" in village schools remain absent and said the dropout rate, particularly amongst the minority and poor, was high. Speaking at a function after inaugurating 31 Navodaya Vidyalayas in various parts of the country, Gandhi said, "Everyone has a right to education and...

The must debated Right to Education (RTE) Act has raised several questions with regards to its overall impact on the education system in the country. In order to put the Act in the right perspective so that all the stakeholders — schools, teachers, families, parents, children, and civil society —understand its provisions better, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Karnataka, will jointly start a campaign withfocus...

The Karnataka Unaided Schools Managements' Association (KUSMA) submitted its suggestions on Wednesday for amending the government's Right To Education ( RTE) draft. One suggestion highlighted by KUSMA is responsibility of the school to ensure 'out of school' or 'drop-out' children are given special training to integrate them into class. "Responsibility will burden educational institutions with a social obligation to implement for which they lack necessary resources," the release said. It...

The government of India's Sarvashiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is preparing to provide education to at least 50,000 students in the state, in the age bracket of 5 to 14. This project, 65% of whose cost is being borne by the Centre and the rest by the state government, will educate children who're presently deprived of schooling. The total cost of the initiative is slated to be Rs1,330 crore for the present financial...

Investing first in the world’s most disadvantaged children and communities can save millions of lives and help spur progress towards achieving internationally agreed development targets, according to a new study by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The agency found that an equity-based approach, focusing on the needs of the most disadvantaged children, can be a cost-effective strategy to reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – eight targets that include slashing...