CBSE open to public-private partnerships in affiliated schools
The Times of India, 26 Nov 2009

CHENNAI: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has said that it is now open to public-private partnerships in affiliated schools, not just in infrastructure but in other aspects of providing quality education to its students, including curriculum, assessment, training teachers and classroom technologies. More [+]

House panel alarmed over faculty vacancies, cautions Government
Indian Express, 30 Nov 2009

Two reports prepared by the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Human Resource Development (HRD) have raised serious concerns about the large number of vacancies in faculty positions across higher education and secondary education institutes. Pointing out that faculty shortages were affecting quality of education, the committee report on Higher Education says that in such a situation, even the fate of the new Central universities was under a cloud. More [+]

Foreign varsity bill in freezer
The Telegraph, 27 Nov 2009

NEW DELHI: A proposed law to allow the entry and regulation of foreign universities will now be reviewed afresh under a panel of top bureaucrats, threatening to delay indefinitely a legislation scheduled for cabinet approval. The move, which effectively sends the bill into cold storage for the time being, came even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama announced plans to strengthen ties in education. More [+]

Major reforms Bills in higher education likely in Parliament session this week
Express India, 29 Nov 2009

NEW DELHI: Aimed at taking its reforms process on a fast track, the HRD Ministry plans to introduce three Bills on higher education during the current Parliament session. The three Bills are on setting up of a national accreditation body, setting up of educational tribunals and on checking malpractices in institutions of higher learning. The Bills are expected to come before the Union Cabinet this week. More [+]

An accidental crusader…
The Hindu, 30 Nov 2009

This article covers the transition of Nimmu Vasanth from a software consultant to a social worker after the closure of a school in her area. The story covers her struggle to run a school including the constant legal and land battles. More [+]

Sibal defends policy on board examinations
The Hindu, 25 Nov 2009

Union Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal found himself in a spot of bother in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday over his decision to make board examinations optional for Class X in schools under the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).While Bhola Singh (Bharatiya Janata Party) wanted to know whether the Minister had taken into account Indian realities before importing this educational norm, Sharad Yadav (Janata Dal-United) sought to point out that the examination system with its roll number format was conceived with a special purpose. More [+]

School vouchers at risk: Low-income D.C. students may lose out
Washington Times, 30 Nov 2009

President Obama and other Democrats are battling among themselves over school vouchers, with low-income D.C. schoolchildren caught in the middle. "The president doesn't believe that vouchers are a long-term answer to our educational problems and the challenges that face our public school system, where the vast majority of students are educated in this country," White Housespokesman Robert Gibbs said in March. More [+]

School choice shapes educational landscape
JSOnline, 29 Nov 2009

This article advocates that school choice shapes the education sector by giving example of Milwaukee,Wisconsin (USA).It discusses the significant impact that competition has on education. More [+]

A Question of Status-Quantity cannot be quality in higher education
The Telegraph, 24 Nov 2009

There is a new excitement in the air concerning higher education. It has been decided by the powers that be, warmly supported by the academic community, that turning selected colleges into universities will open the gates to a Valhalla of knowledge. A commission entrusted with the qualitative improvement of higher education has recommended that on top of some 350 universities and/or equivalent institutions, another 1,500 will be created by upgrading colleges to the university status. Our very highly educated and highly intelligent prime minister has decided to open 14 world class new universities. This article is meant to examine the viability and implications of such proposals. More [+]

Restructuring Higher Education in India

Authored by Sudhanshu Bhushan - This book is an attempt to analyze issues relating to privatization, emergence of foreign education providers and issue of Foreign Direct Investment in higher education. The author attempts to present a critique to the neo-liberal agenda of reforms and provides solutions through institutional and academic reforms. The book on the whole seeks to provide solutions for the desired qualitative shift in higher education.
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Centre for Civil Society’s “Performing Arts for School Choice” bags 2009 Templeton Freedom Award for Initiative in Public Relations.
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