When the fledgling Indian government drafted its higher education policy after Independence, it formed two separate tiers for teaching and research: colleges and universities in one, exclusive research establishments in the other. The intention was of the noblest, to deploy our best talent exclusively to create an indigenous knowledge pool; in particular, to provide research input for the nation’s development. Sixty years down the line, the outcome has patently failed those...

Two years after the Centre notified the Right of the Children to Free and Compulsory Act, 2009, which guarantees free education to children aged 6-14 years, Karnataka and Goa are yet to notify the rules. “Last year this time, only 15 States notified the RTE rules. Today, this number has increased to 21. The Ministry will continue to follow up with these States as notification would entitle them to funds from...

The country which faces police vacancy to the tune of over 5 lakh personnel deploys three cops to protect its one VIP as against availability of merely one cop for 761 lesser mortals. Recently released data on police organizations in the country revealed how different states and Union Territories tend to deploy more and more cops for VIP security than the sanctioned strength of police personnel for this purpose. Though the Union...

-PTI With two years into the RTE and 32 states having notified the rules, government today said they should now also focus on strict implementation of provisions against corporal punishment and detention and initiate curricular reforms. HRD Minister Kapil Sibal asserted that improving quality is critical if the objective of the Right to Education (RTE) is to be fulfilled even as he noted a decline in dropout rates in states like Bihar...

-The Times of India The provisional population figures up to the tehsil-level released by the directorate ofcensus operations, Rajasthan, on Wednesday showed an overall decrease in the child population in the 0 to 6 years age group and a clear divide on the social issue between rural and urban areas.  The child population of both the boys and the girls in rural areas has decreased between 2001 and 2011, while the same...