-DNA The central government is contemplating extending the Right to Education (RTE) till class 10. Presently, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act covers up to class 8: Children up to the age of 14 years are eligible to get free and compulsory education till class 8 in any school. The Centre now wants to extend free education for two more years. The pros and cons of such a move...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: Pre-primary admission to non-state board schools in the city that usually start in the end of October or beginning of November has been postponed at least till December over continuing confusion on the latest amendment to the Right to Education (RTE) Act. "There are confusing and contradicting views and we are not sure how or when to conduct our admission session. We have yet to decide the...

-The Times of India PUNE: The much-anticipated extension of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, to the pre-school and secondary education may still take time to come through. The act, which at present covers primary and upper primary schools, provides for free and compulsory education to children between the ages of six and 14 and directs government, aided and non-minority unaided schools to reserve 25% of...

-The Telegraph Nisha Kumari, a Class VIII student in Uttar Pradesh, has taken her school to court because it charges fees her father cannot afford. The Dalit girl from Hathras district today petitioned Allahabad High Court to direct the government-run Girls’ Inter College in Sasni to stop charging her — or any other student — any fee till they reach Class IX. Else, Nisha’s petition said, she may have to drop out of...

-Outlook Out in our streets, disabled people feel the pain everyday The Gaping Holes     India yet to get a cohesive, standardised sign language     Barrier-free infrastructure yet to be implemented in public areas like bus stations, railway stations, schools, cinema halls     Lack of basic, inclusive civic facilities: no audio-enabled traffic signals, pavements with ramps, few disability-friendly toilets, negligible penalties     Poor functional entertainment accessibility, like no subtitling on local language TV channels     Reservation...