While Jammu and Kashmir government makes tall claims about the implementation of Right to Information (RTI) Act, on the contrary its departments are not furnishing the mandatory information to the State Information Commission (SIC), thereby affecting monitoring and reporting of the law. Informed sources told Greater Kashmir that majority of the administrative and field departments of the state are defaulters vis-a-vis submission of the quarterly and annual information to SIC on...

In the initial months of governance by the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, attempts appear to have been made to begin subverting the positive results of the land reform programme of the Left Front. What is happening appears to be the inevitable outcome of political rivalry, the hegemonic rule of one party giving place to another, with the citadel of power changing its colour, making the “red” one “green”. But...

-Express News Service   The stay order issued by court over reserving 25 percent seats in schools for students from economically weaker sections (EWS) has delayed the implementation of the Act in the coming academic session. While the quota is mandated by the Right to Education (RTE) Act, there is no clarity on who will foot the bill. The ambiguity over fees is a major concern for private school managements. “The unaided...

-The Hindu   Convention suggests steps to combat malnutrition   The second “national convention on children's right to food” concluded here on Sunday with a call to link anti-malnutrition strategies to inflationary indices. The three-day convention in which about 1,000 delegates from 21 States participated, adopted a 25-point “charter” on combating malnutrition. Shanta Sinha, chairperson of the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), stressed on focussing on the disadvantaged sections in the...

When the Right to Education Act was enforced in April 2010, it looked like millions of schoolchildren could dare to dream. The Act guarantees access to schools, a target that has been met, with the enrolment rate at 90% among children in first grade. The Act demands schools to meet certain requirements, including infrastructure (building, libra-ry, kitchen, toilets), teacher-student ratio, teaching hours etc. However, far from helping improve the situation,...