-Kafila.org The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill was meant to be an enactment to codify India's obligations under the UNCRPD, which it ratified without reservations. There was a Committee set up in 2009 by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, headed by Smt. Sudha Kaul, to draft a Bill to this effect. Like the UNCRPD says, the Committee included different people with disabilities - across disabilities - to draft...

-Down to Earth UPA gives sops under MGNREGS to attract rural voters ahead of elections WITH most of its recent schemes struggling, a desperate UPA government is pinning its hopes on Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to win votes in 2014 elections. The government is overhauling the employment scheme that helped it return to power in 2009 for a reason. It touches the lives of over 55 per cent...

-The Times of India BHUBANESWAR: toilets, electricity, playgrounds and boundary walls are a rarity in government-run schools in Odisha, if a latest government report is any indication. According to "Status of Elementary and Secondary Education in Odisha-2012", a report prepared by Odisha Primary Education Programme Authority (OPEPA) released recently, of the total 53,193 elementary schools (up to class VIII), 12,588 schools have no toilets at all. More than 50% schools (27,516) have no...

-Down to Earth More than a fourth of rural students opt for private schools for better education, says Annual State of Education Report by non-profit Pratham The Union government may have made right to education a fundamental right by bringing into force the Right To Education (RTE) Act of 2009, but government schools are lagging far behind in providing quality education, according to the latest report released by Delhi-based non-profit, Pratham. At...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Three years of Right to Education has resulted in expansion of schools with 98% of habitations having primary schools within one kilometre and 92% habitations having upper primary schools within three kilometres. The government has now decided to shift the focus on quality of education and decided to formulate national standards for schools' performance to keep students and parents well informed. Making a presentation on...