-Business Standard Why the public-private partnership model in education doesn't get a show of hands from its naysayers   Jaipur   July 8, 1 pm: Around 500 school teachers were protesting outside the building of Shiksha Sankul, which houses the various educational departments in the state. They burnt effigies of the education minister, demanding the Vasundhara Raje-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government withdraw the order on increased man-days. The teaching fraternity wanted the government to revisit...

-The Indian Express Chandigarh: Of the total 13,894 government school students who had appeared for class IX exam this year, 3,796 of them have failed in the final exams held in March. As these students could not qualify the 25% criteria to get promotion to the next class, they have been asked to re-appear in another exam, likely to be held soon. In case they flunk even this exam, they will...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Finance minister Arun Jaitley today promised gifts for children, women, patients and the poor but slashed his government's funding across the social sectors. Budget outlays for education, health, rural development, social justice and women and children have fallen sharply or remain close to the outlays these sectors had received last year. The allocation for children under the women and child development ministry witnessed the sharpest fall from last...

-The Hindu FM's Budget speech dwelt on agriculture, public investments in infrastructure, manufacturing and social sector spending. States to be equal partners in economic growth; move to making India cashless society; social sector programmes to continue. Some of the challenges mentioned by the Finance Minister are: poor agricultural income, decline in manufacturing ; and the need for fiscal discipline. Here are sector-wise highlights: TAXATION 1 Abolition of Wealth Tax. 2 Additional 2% surcharge for the super...

-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...