Right to Education Bill passed in Rajya Sabha
The Hindu, 5 Aug 2009

NEW DELHI: Parliament has adopted ‘The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2009,’ which envisages free and compulsory education to children in the 6-14 age group with the Lok Sabha approving it by voice vote on Tuesday. The Rajya Sabha passed the Bill on July 20. More [+]

Put them back on track
The Hindu, 9 Aug 2009

With the Right to Education Bill being passed by the Parliament, education now becomes a fundamental right. But what about the needs of those who have dropped out of the school system? Starting with our Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, everyone in the government and those engaged with education acknowledge that an overwhelming majority of our young people (14-20 years) are not attending any educational institution — schools, technical training institutions, colleges, universities etc. More [+]

Education Bill flawed, will move court, says expert
Thai Indian, 9 Aug 2009

Unhappy over provisions of the education bill passed in the Lok Sabha Tuesday to ensure free and compulsory education to children aged 6-14 years, a leading educationist Wednesday protested the “highly flawed bill” and said he will challenge it in the Supreme Court. Rejecting Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal’s claim that it was a “historic legislation”, eminent educationist Anil Sadgopal said: “It will be the most unfortunate day when the bill eventually becomes legislation.” More [+]

Beginning of term
The Indian Express, 6 Aug 2009

It is easy to fall into the trap of either overstating or understating the importance of the freshly-passed Right to Education Act. On one hand, you could argue that it merely legislates an outcome, insufficiently spelling out solutions to the more nitty-gritty problems. On the other hand, the act is the first real attempt in decades to revolutionise India’s entire paradigm for primary education. Both are true; and focussing on either to the exclusion of the other would be a mistake. More [+]

Parents ecstatic over Supreme Court's judgment on school fee
The Times of India, 8 Aug 2009

LUDHIANA: The Supreme Court’s judgment that no school could hike fees without government’s permission has been welcomed whole-heartedly by students and parents as it brings a ray of hope for them. The decision follows the Delhi Parents Association's petition in the high court, against the decision of private schools, to revise fee structure by nearly 30 to 40%. This follows an announcement made by the Sixth Pay Commission to increase the salary of teachers. More [+]

For this Magsaysay awardee, education is the key to rural uplift
The Indian Express, 6 Aug 2009

Named as one of the six winners of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award 2009, prominent social activist Deep Joshi has been feted for “professionalising development work” and for “combining head and heart in the transformative development of rural communities”. In other words, as the co-founder of the NGO, Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN), Joshi has directed his efforts towards uplifting the rural poor through professional training. More [+]

Institutes of higher learning should be granted autonomy: Shourie
The Times of India, 9 Aug 2009

KANPUR: With a view to introspect and plan for future, the experts, who were present in the Outreach auditorium of IIT-K on Sunday on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee programme, delivered lectures on the subject `Challenges in Higher Education'. Expressing his concern over the delay in the implementation of the policies chalked out for improving the standards of the higher technical education in India, Sam Pitroda, chairman of the National Knowledge Commission said, "Most of the problems have solutions on the table, still the debate is going on for long. In reality, it is the time to act now. It is time for the vice-chancellors of the universities, directors of the institutes and the heads of the departments to act but unfortunately everybody is waiting for the other person to take the initiative." More [+]

HRD to update legal education system
The Times of India , 10 Aug 2009

NEW DELHI: Legal education in the country is set for a major overhaul. HRD ministry has set up a 12-member 'Round Table on Legal Education' with a mandate to suggest how legal education could not only meet the requirements of the legal system but also the needs of trade, commerce and industry, society and governance as well as in areas of research. More [+]

The right to cut-rate education
Business Standard, 1 Aug 2009

The right is limited to some children for some kind of schooling with no guarantee of universal access or quality education for all. How much does the government spend on average on the schooling of a child? One would assume this is a critical figure for calculating not just the input costs but also the outcome. Yet, it is this very figure that is most difficult to come by. Try the Ministry of Human Resources Development (HRD) or the state education departments. None of them is able to provide an answer with any degree of certainty. As a nation, we simply do not know how much we spend on education. More [+]

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