Schools Go Soft On Fee Hike, Many Promise Roll Back
Times of India, 7 May 2009

“Allahabad: As per the decided programme, a meeting of representatives of English-medium schools was held at the collectorate presided over by DM Rajeev Agarwal where the issue of rolling back the hiked fee was discussed at length. The principals of Jagat Taran and Golden Jubilee School informed that they had reduced the hiked fee from Rs 300 to 115 and the school had also reduced an additional amount of Rs 105 from the fee.” More [+]

Nursery School Competition Heats Up In India
CNN, 12 May 2009

“New Delhi: There was stone cold silence in the car, as the Kumars drove home. Salwan Montessori School in New Delhi received 2,500 applications - for 150 spots - for the 2009 school year. The married couple had stopped speaking out of sheer frustration and disappointment. They had been rejected for the 10th time. Their three-year-old daughter, Janhavi, would not be attending any of the nursery schools to which they had applied.” More [+]

India to Provide Training to Afghan School Teachers
IndiaEdunews.net, 9 May 2009

“New Delhi: The National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) has been directed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) to prepare a specific curriculum to train Afghan school teachers on student- friendly methods of teaching to strengthen the education system in Afghanistan.” More [+]

PM's 15-Point Programme for Minorities Remains Behind Target
Press Trust of India, 12 May 2009

“As the UPA government completes its tenure, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's ambitious programme for educational development of minorities remains much behind target. Prime Minister's 15-Point Programme, started in 2006 after the Sachar Committee found the social and economic condition of Muslim minorities poor, was aimed at, among other things, providing them the access to quality education. According to a report compiled by the HRD Ministry, the implementation of different programmes under the 15-Point Programme has been poor.” More [+]

Teachers to Be Imparted Training In German Language
Times of India, 12 May 2009

“Patna: Kolkata-based Max Mueller Bhavan and German Language Centre, Patna, would impart training in German language to teachers of private and government-run schools. This was announced by Max Mueller Bhavan director Reimar Volker here on Monday.” More [+]

Probe Ordered Into MP's Poor High School Results
Headlines India, 11 May 2009

“Bhopal: Shocked by the declining pass percentage in Madhya Pradesh's high school examinations, state Education Minister Archana Chitnis has ordered a high-level probe to find out the reasons for the poor results, official sources said. After reaching a record high of 57.88 pass percentage last year, only 35.33 percent of regular students passed the 2009 examination, conducted by the Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE).” More [+]

Pass Percentage in Jharkhand Secondary Exam Dips
IANS, 9 May 2009

“Ranchi: Students in Jharkhand performed poorly in the 2009 secondary school examination with only a 77.82 percent pass rate, compared to 86.99 in 2008, according to the results announced Saturday. A total of 355,393 students appeared in the examination of which 276,588 cleared it. The Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC) had started grading system in examination this year onwards.” More [+]

Supreme Court Asks States to Form Panels to Prevent Ragging
NDTV, 8 May 2009

“The Supreme Court has directed the state governments to set up committees to deal with cases of ragging. The apex court also said that the state governments should take steps to provide treatment for victims. In addition to these, the Supreme Court asked the state governments to take steps to deal with alcohol and drug use in colleges. The apex court also directed the governments to make provisions for de-addiction treatment in colleges.” More [+]

KV Principal Suspended for Demanding Bribe
Expressindia.com, 7 May 2009

“New Delhi: The principal of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Sector 5, Dwarka, has been suspended after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested him on Monday for allegedly demanding bribe from a parent. The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), an autonomous body under the Human Resources Development ministry, suspended principal R K Dass and school peon Shiv Lakhan after a parent, Vipin Kumar Gupta, complained that Dass had asked for Rs 50,000 to admit his daughter to Class I. Dass had allegedly received an advance of Rs 10,000.” More [+]

The Promise of Special Needs Scholarships

Following Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Ohio and Utah, a growing number of states have recently decided to provide scholarships to families with special needs. Parents can then use these special needs scholarships to send their children to the public or private school with the program the parents feel will best meet their children’s special needs. Though these special needs scholarship programs are new, the initial research studies show extraordinarily high parental satisfaction, reductions in student harassment, and improvement in academic performance. Still, the greatest testimony about the promise of special needs scholarships comes from the stories of the families they have transformed.

Read the full report here

ASER 2008 Findings:

Primary schools are available within 1 km of 92.5% rural habitations, 67.1% villages have government middle school, and 33.8% have government secondary schools. Private schools are available in 45.6% Indian villages.

Reading levels: Class-wise % of children who can read a Standard 2 text:

Std. I: 2.7

Std. II: 8.8

Std. III: 22.2

Std. IV: 40.9

Std. V: 56.2

Std. VI: 69.6

Std. VII: 78.0

Std. VIII: 84.8

ASER Report 2008

Action for School Admission Reforms (ASAR) More[+]

Action for School Admission Reforms (ASAR) is School Choice Campaign's initiative to usher in fairness and transparency in nursery admissions. If parents in your city too are suffering, please write to us at
[email protected]

This is our new initiative. Please give your feedback to make it more useful to you at [email protected]