Newsroom

Schools hold interviews under garb of counselling: Forum for Fairness in Education

Times of India, December 19th, 2012
While discussions surrounding the Right to Education (RTE) Act have been going on for the past three years, its slow implementation has been questioned by many. Keeping in line with the RTE provisions, education minister Rajendra Darda announced in the legislative assembly on Monday that no schools in the state will conduct interviews during admissions.

Maharashtra bill seeks to bring new KGs, nurseries under government control

Times of India, December 19th, 2012
The legislative council on Tuesday passed a bill that will bring pre-primary education under its control. After the Maharashtra Self-Financed School Bill becomes a law any institution or person desirous of opening a nursery or KG will have to seek permission from school education department. More importantly, permission will be granted only if the applicant is ready to provide primary education too. This bill will not effect the existing nurseries and kindergartens.

Free bicycles for boys also to check school dropout rate

The Hindu, December 20th, 2012
Rajasthan Governor Margaret Alva on Tuesday chaired a meeting to review the implementation of schemes meant for tribals in the State under the Tribal Sub-Plan.

The meeting, convened for the first time at Raj Bhavan here, was called by the Governor to discuss several issues concerning the tribal areas in the State.

Soon, a helpline for school students to report abuse

Hindustan Times, December 20th, 2012
Soon, school students will have a helpline to report cases of sexual harassment. The Parents Teachers’ Association United Forum plans to start a women’s grievance cell to look into it.
“We discussed the need for a helpline on Tuesday and plan to take it to the education department for implementation,” said Arundhati Chavan, president of the forum. “With the recent cases of violence against women in the city, we decided to take this measure and create awareness among school students,” she said.

Applications under RTE from Jan 10

The Hindu, December 20th, 2012
The State government will begin receiving applications for admissions under the Right to Education (RTE) Act from January 10, S.R. Umashankar, Commissioner, Department of Public Instruction (DPI), has said.

Not wanting to repeat the mistakes it made during the ongoing academic year’s admissions, which started at the last minute, the government will begin checking the availability of seats on January 5 with the aim of making RTE implementation reach 100 per cent from the present 50 per cent.

Weighing Options for Expanding School Choice

The New York Times, December 13th, 2012
In debates over school choice, like the one brewing as the 83rd legislative session draws closer, traditional public school districts are often cast as stubborn defenders of the status quo.Proposals allowing parents to use public money to send their children to private schools — which will probably never gain the support of most major public education associations in the state — tend to suck the oxygen out of any discussion.

Effects of Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Education on Economic Growth

World Bank Policy research paper no. 3610

Do not divert SSA funds for fee reimbursement under RTE: State

The Hindu, November 20th, 2012
The State government has opposed the Union government tagging funds provided under the Sarva Shikshana Abhiyan (SSA) to the expenditure involved in the implementation of the Right To Education (RTE) Act in the State, and demanded exclusive allocation of the funds for reimbursing fees to private educational institutions for students admitted under the RTE provisions.

HC holds back recruitment of Punjab rural teachers

Hindustan Times, November 17th, 2012
The Punjab and Haryana high court on Saturday restrained the Punjab education department from finalising the recruitment of 5,078 rural associate teachers advertised through a public notice on September 9.
The directions came from the bench headed by justice Tejinder Singh Dhindsa on a petition filed by Parminder Pal and three other unemployed B Ed qualified people.

Free, Compulsory Education Bill passed

The News,November 13th, 2012
The bill provides for free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to sixteen years and ten percent quota in all the private educational institutions has been reserved for poor children besides penalty up to Rs50,000 or six months imprisonment provided in the bill. The bill has already been passed by the Senate.

School Districts Brace for Cuts as Fiscal Crisis Looms

The New York Times, November 15th, 2012
During the campaign, both President Obama and Mitt Romney repeatedly extolled the value of schools and teachers. Mr. Romney, in their first debate last month, even vowed, “I’m not going to cut education funding.”

“Sensitize schools in inclusivity”

The Hindu, November 10th, 2012
It is important to sensitise schools in inclusivity, said Shekhar Seshadri, Professor, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (Nimhans).

Speaking on the sidelines at the symposium’ for school principals of IB, CBSE, ICSE and State boards organised by Macmillan Education and Franc Bros here on Friday, Dr. Seshadri was commenting on the implementation of the Right to Education Act (RTE).

RTE Act

Education: Move away from excessive focus on exams, says Shashi Tharoor

The Indian express, November 9th, 2012
Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said the country needs to move away from excessive focus on examinations.

“With this competition, and the competitive relationships that engenders in the educational field, learning sometimes suffers. The focus is on achievement,” he said.

He was addressing more than 500 educationists, principals, vice-principals, school managements, school and state-level administrators at the first National Conference of School Principals.

Teacher recruitment hits salary roadblock

The Hindustan Times, November 17th, 2012
A disagreement over the salaries of teachers has created a hurdle in their recruitment in municipal schools.

North corp proposes to recognise schools built on smaller plots

The hindustan Times, November 17th, 2012
With school admissions becoming more and more difficult in the city because of limited options, the North Corporation has proposed to start recognising schools built on small plots.