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Weekly Update on Education

04 October 2011

Education Journal: Where are the Leaders?
Wall Street Journal, 4 October 2011

“What is a black hole?” The gentleman who had applied for the post of Principal at our school and whose resume advertised him as the holder of two advanced degrees in Physics looked in considerable distress on hearing this question from a Grade 9 Science textbook. In the time that all members of the selection committee shared concealed shakes of their heads with each other and offered me a look of helpless dejection, the candidate managed to ask us with a sheepish grin: “This is a black object in space?”

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RTE is there, but proper education still far away
The Times of India, 3 October 2011

NEW DELHI: About 15 non-profit organizations went around 60 schools in the city only to find that the right to education is still a distant dream for many. Provisions of the Right to education Act notwithstanding, dirty toilets, shortage of books and staff, broken benches, no playground and absenteeism are still the major issues in many Delhi government schools.

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Dual degree through distance education
The Hindu, 3 October 2011

The Institute of Distance Education, University of Madras, has introduced a dual degree system wherein graduates and postgraduates could pursue another degree at the same time through distance education, said university vice-chancellor G. Thiruvasagam. At the academic council meet, he said as per the guidelines, candidates undergoing UG degree courses in regular colleges of the university would be permitted to do another UG course.

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Govt to launch $35 computer on Oct 5
The Times of India, 28 September 2011

NEW DELHI: The much-awaited $35 computing-cum-access device, to be made available to students right from primary schools to universities, will be launched on October 5. “The computer will be launched next month,” HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said at a function. “This is not just a dream, it is a reality,” he added. Officials in the Ministry said the low-cost device will be launched on October 5.

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Infighting sullies education dept image
The Times of India, 30 September 2011

NAGPUR: The education department in the city is plagued with infighting thus keeping it in the news for all the wrong reasons. Education officials keep filing complaints against each other which lead to a never-ending series of inquiries. There are three prominent education officer posts in the city, namely the deputy director, education officer (middle school) and education officer (primary school).

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Vocational education in schools
IBNLive, 2 October 2011

BANGALORE: The State Government is mulling over introducing vocational education for class 9 students from the next academic year. Speaking at the first state-level brain-storming session of the National Vocational Education Qualification Framework (NVEQF), Primary and Secondary Education Minister Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri said that the government is determined to introduce vocational training under NVEQ framework.

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CCE system for all schools
The Hindu, 28 September 2011

The School Education Department will introduce the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) system for classes I to VIII from the next academic year. According to a Government Order dated September 19, the initiative seeks to help the students move from rote learning to an application-based approach. The decision to introduce CCE has been taken following the recommendation of an expert group constituted by the Directorate of Teacher Education Research and Training (DTERT).

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School-based management, school decision-making and education outcomes in Indonesian primary schools
Research: Policy Working Paper
Authors: Chen

Abstract:This paper examines the key aspects of the practices of school-based management in Indonesia, and its effect on education quality. Using a conceptual framework of an accountability system of public service delivery, the paper explores the relations among Indonesian parents, school committees, schools, and government education supervisory bodies from three tenets: participation and voice; autonomy; and accountability. Using the data from a nationally representative survey of about 400 public primary schools in Indonesia, the paper finds that the level of parental participation and voice in school management is extremely low in Indonesia.

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Charter school performance in Indiana
Research Paper
CREDO, Stanford

Abstract: Expanding on the 2009 CREDO National Charter School Study Multiple Choice: Charter School Performance in 16 States, this report examines the performance of Indiana charter schools for the period 2004 – 2008. Compared to the educational gains the charter students would have had in their traditional public schools, the analysis shows that students in Indiana charter schools make dramatically larger learning gains. While there are a small number of schools with inferior performance in reading, nearly half the charter schools have significantly more positive learning gains than their traditional public school counterparts.

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Visit the OECD Factblog’s interactive chart that measures teacher salary costs per student across 35 countries.

 

Teaching is a marvellous profession. However successive governments have eroded the creativity of teachers and imposed central diktats that have lead to many teachers being no more than bureaucrats there to discharge government targets and churn young people out with minimal knowledge that will aid them in the real world.’

Read the Guardian blog on what teachers say about teacher training.

 

RTE Coalition

To initiate and continue the discussion amongst concerned groups and individuals on the issue of right of education and monitor the implementation
of the RTE Act, an RTE Coalition has been formed. Join the coalition to make universal elementary education a reality in India.

Log on to www.righttoeducation.in
for more information

 

Poll

Sec 15 of RTE mandates private schools to have a playground. Should they be forced to close if they do not meet this requirement

To vote click here

 

Skill Vouchers - Global Experiences and Lessons for India

Leah Verghese and Parth J Shah

A study of the role that skill vouchers can play in catalysing demand for quality skill development services. This study examines global experiences with skill vouchers and draws lessons for India from these experiences.

For more click here

 

Reservation in Private Schools under the Right to Education Act: Model for Implementation

Shekhar Mittal and Parth J Shah

Through this document the Centre for Civil Society seeks to highlight the lacunae in the current framework for 25% reservation for weaker and disadvantaged groups in unaided private schools and seeks to provide inputs on effective implementation of the same.

For more click here

 

School Vouchers for Girls

400 girl children from poor families of North East Delhi receive school vouchers for a period of 4 years.
For details visit our website

 

Support Children's Right to Education of Choice!
DONATE


For more details on how to support, log on to www.schoolchoice.in or email us at [email protected]

 

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