At a time when farmers across the country have been agitating against acquisition of their land for developmental works, a delegation from Delhi’s villages called on Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and presented to her a resolution offering 540 bighas of land in the Ghumanhera village in Najafgarh for opening of a State university. The delegation, led by Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Naresh Kumar and president of 360 Khap Palam...

Bhaskar Dutta’s recent article on this page confirms the new trends in educational planning since Kapil Sibal took charge. Action on the education front is long overdue, but it should not pre-empt ample debate. Such debate has barely got off the ground: Dutta’s article is a valuable contribution. We lament that with sadly few exceptions, our higher education system does not reach international standards. Most of our young talent goes...

The minister for human resource development, Kapil Sibal, is a man in a hurry. His haste would be welcome, if the government’s proposals for higher education were not so scandalous. Amazingly, despite a few distinguished voices of dissent, there has been no national debate on the United Progressive Alliance government’s plans. Existing state and Central universities, likely to be worst affected by the broom of change, seem reconciled to their...

Social audit of rural jobs scheme promises to empower people Social audit of rural jobs scheme promises to empower people with information about how they are being denied the benefits of the schemes meant for them. Something comes between entitlements and beneficiaries when it comes to social sector schemes. It is not necessarily corruption or greed of the providers. It is the ignorance of the beneficiaries. If one were to drive through villages...

Noting that low female literacy was impeding growth, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh launched a major initiative in the education sector saying all steps to empower women socially, economically and politically would be taken by the government. Launching the Saakshar Bharat Mission in the capital, Singh also announced that a National Mission for the empowerment of women would be set up soon. While the Cabinet has already decided to amend the...