Painting a grim picture of the standard of education in Indian schools, a report on Friday disclosed that half the students in class V cannot read class II texts. The report, released by vice-president Hamid Ansari in the Capital, said that in spite of the Right to Education (RTE) Act roll-out in April, ground realities have not changed much. The nationwide survey found that though enrolment has increased, the role of...
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In India, 96.5% kids go to school
India took another step towards universal elementary education last year, with 96.5% of all children aged 6-14 years being enrolled in schools, an extensive private audit has revealed. NGO Pratham`s Annual Survey of Education Report says the proportion of girls in the age group of 11-14 years too increased to 94.1% although Quality of education remained a big concern. The survey, the only private audit of elementary education in the country,...
More »Master card: The UID faces opposition by Udit Misra
Why is the opposition to the UID scheme growing? The unique identity (UID) numbers being issued with much fanfare have no legal sanctity. This may surprise many who casually know about the UID scheme and believe it represents a progressive and transparent new India. The problem is, the Bill which proposes setting up an Authority mandated to issue such numbers was introduced in Parliament only in December 2010. This is yet to...
More »RTE Act: ‘Awaaz Do’ to all the street children out there
Driving down the road to your office early in the morning, you stop at a traffic signal. A group of boys, armed with books and magazines, pound on your car window — begging you to buy their wares. That is when the light turns green and you drive away, not giving a second thought to the ones outside. ‘Awaaz Do’, a digital campaign launched by the UNICEF, is an attempt to...
More »Bitter harvest by Lyla Bavadam
A small farmer in Maharashtra, whose high-yielding rice variety is popular in five States, is denied the benefits of his research. TWENTY-SEVEN years ago, Dadaji Khobragade of Nanded Fakir village in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra noticed yellow seeds in three spikes of a paddy stalk in his field. Intrigued by the freak harvest, he preserved the grains. He subsequently planted them in a six-foot square plot, which he covered with thorny...
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