-Live Mint The experience of Kerala and Tripura shows how panchayati raj can help in the empowerment of women Chulubari (Tripura)/Kanjikuzhy (Kerala): Her relatives warned Hena Das, a resident of Chulubari in Tripura, against taking up political office because it wasn't "meant for women". Das disregarded the warnings. Two years on, she has no regrets. She also has no male colleagues; her fellow representatives on the board of an 12-member panchayat are all...

-Live Mint Reimbursing schools that reserve 25% seats for underprivileged children may end up costing the govt about Rs.16,000 cr The central government is faced with the prospect of a large bill to pay for the implementation of one of the key elements of the right to education (RTE) legislation-reimbursing private schools that reserved 25% of their seats for underprivileged children-even as the 31 March deadline for most of the law's other...

-The Indian Express A nationwide study by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to examine the enrolment, access and retention of children with disabilities (CWD) has revealed that while 99 per cent of these children liked attending regular schools, 57 per cent teachers were not trained to understand their special needs. The study has found that special needs of children with mental illnesses were "neither being identified nor...

-Outlook Only seven out of 80 samples of mid-day meals served in schools under North Delhi Municipal Corporation in the last one year passed the minimum requirements for both adequate protein and calorie content. The figure was presented before the NDMC House during a special meeting today. Officials said the food was not found to be contaminated or adulterated but it lacked prescribed protein and calorie content. Over four lakh students are being served...

-The Indian Express They are denied entry to temples, given restricted access to water, made to work for a pittance. Now that Orissa's Dalits are asserting themselves against traditions, many are facing ostracism or violent attacks. Debabrata Mohanty reports Until a month before Naveen Patnaik became Orissa's chief minister in March 2000, Dalit labourer Ganapati Naik, now 42, had been living a happy if impoverished life with his bride and parents in...