The Right to Education Act that came into operation from this academic session prohibits screening of students and parents for admissions in schools, but it has been flouted by not only by many private schools but even by the Navodaya schools run by the Centre in Andhra Pradesh and many other states.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that the government was committed to ensuring that all children irrespective of gender and social category have access to education and fund constraints would not be allowed to hamper implementation of the the Right to Education Act. Addressing the nation as the Right to Education Act went into force today, he said "the government is committed to ensuring that all children irrespective of gender and social category, have access to education.
Unrecognised schools have been given three years to fix their infrastructure and five years for their teachers to get the necessary qualifications, says Kapil Sibal.
'No matter how many government schemes there are for the poor, the system works more for the privileged, less for the little guy,' notes T N Ninan.
If private schools are indeed better, as Aser says, and cost a lot less than government ones, involving them in programmes like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the Right to Education Act may be a good idea.
Nachiket Mor is today championing the concept of residential bridge schools for dropouts.
The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) need to revise their curriculum to compete at the international level, newly-appointed Union Minister for Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Kapil Sibal, told mediapersons while taking charge today.
The move comes after Taliban gunmen stormed the Army Public School in Peshawar in December last year.
They will enable the people to access and enjoy the same rights, same privileges and same facilities as their fellow citizens in the rest of the country, he said.
BJP president and Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the prime minister shared his vision and commitment for the development of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh region and and urged them 'to be a part of this historic journey'.
Both the governments and school authorities in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh are in a fix over the implementation of the Right to Education Act--that came into effect from April 1 --for children in the age group of six to 14.
Terming the Right to Education Act as apparently being only on paper, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the government to change its attitude towards education and cautioned that China would become the world's largest English-speaking nation in the world in another ten years.
Based on visits by its correspondents to schools in six states of the country, Business Standard brings you a six-part series on how ready or otherwise the system is to implement the new legal guarantee of free and compulsory schooling for all in the 6-14 age group.
The legislation was passed by 125 votes in favour and 61 against.
Unrecognised private schools, which cater to the poor in slums and villages of India, have been under threat for a long time.
However, it remains to be seen if this is enough to finance the new fundamental right to education between the ages of six and 14 years.
According to a Cabinet minister, the UPA's focus during the remaining period of the Budget session will be on passing the Right to Education Bill. Apart from this, the government is planning to bring a Bill to amend the Rubber Act and the National Commission for Heritage Sites Bill. The government will be occupied till July 27 with the General Budget, as contained in the Finance Bill. It will actually not get more than seven days to deal with other legislative business.
Improving the quality of education is the greatest challenge before the government, says Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal.
While Rs 37,461.01 crore has been allocated for higher education, Rs 56,386.63 crore has been earmarked for school education.
UN intervention has been sought to address the grievances of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
'Once our voices are crushed, they can bring in an agenda of privatisation.'
In a major boost to education sector, the Union Cabinet has cleared the long-pending Right to Education Bill, which promises free and compulsory education for children between 6 and 14.
The government needs to allocate more funds for basis amenities like primary education and healthcare in order to attain its inclusive growth target, noted economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen said on Wednesday. "Fear of wastage stops the government from spending too much on education and healthcare," Sen said, adding the overall economic growth cannot be enough in itself if these resources are not properly developed.
'Our confidence has been strengthened by the fact that the Supreme Court has decided to examine the Constitutional validity of all that has been done on August 5.' 'That in itself is an achievement because the Supreme Court could have very well said you don't have a case at all.' 'The very fact that the honourable court has decided to admit it for regular hearing, and refer it to a Constitutional bench, tells us that the Supreme Court has found merit in our case.'
Private schools are of two types: those that are aided by the government and those that are not.
CBI not to need prior approval to probe corrupt govt officials.
Major strengths and weaknesses, if any, in respect of schools would also be highlighted in respect of all the 1.04 million schools, an official release said.
That's what teachers are telling students in many Indian schools.
The Adhyayan Quality Standard engages schools in self-review to improve education standards, says Anjuli Bhargava.
It may stifle the development of private schools and add to the bureaucracy
'You come out of the theatre feeling happy, inspired, with moist eyes and in awe.'
Enthused by the consensus in reaching four-tiered GST tax structure, particularly the unanimity achieved with Congress-ruled states, senior government sources were confident that the Central GST and Integrated GST Bills will be passed by both the Houses.
Eminent scientist and Bharat Ratna awardee CNR Rao believes that 90 per cent of the universities and higher educational institutions in the country have outdated curriculum, keeping them from making into the top institutes of the world.
There is an Assam connection to this year's Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm with a special tea served at the grand banquet coming from the northeastern state of India.
The CAG audit may look into expenditure on printing of notes, RBI dividend payout and banking transaction data.
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They also want the right to education, right to employment, right to marriage, right to child adoption and voting rights.
'We should not use and confuse the word Right to define Hindutva.' 'Doing so blurs the issue because it gives the BJP attributes that it does not have and does not even want,' says Aakar Patel.
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