Private schools move apex court against education act
Hindustan Times, 23 March 2010

Some private schools have challenged the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE Act), saying it was an attempt by the government to abdicate responsibility of providing education to children and shifting the burden on private schools. Arguing for the Society for Un-aided Private Schools, advocate Harish Salve told the Supreme Court on Monday that the Act was "unconstitutional" and "violated fundamental rights" of unaided private educational institutions. A bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan has issued a notice to the Centre and also the human resource development ministry.

More [+]

$1 billion soft loan from World Bank
Sanjiv Shankaran and Liz Mathew, The Mint, 20 March 2010

The World Bank has approved a $1.05 billion (around Rs4,780 crore) soft loan to fund India’s ongoing education projects, particularly those aimed at universal elementary education. However, experts were sceptical about the utility of this loan; they claimed the aim should be to fix flaws in existing programmes, not raise new funds.The issue of quantity, which is one of the three issues related to education sector, does get affected by funding but the same cannot be said for other issues like quality and access to education. More [+]

MCD to merge ‘low enrolment’ schools
The Hindu, 16 March 2010

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi is seeking to merge 20 of its schools with other schools in the area on the grounds of “low enrolment” which it claims is primarily due to relocation of people and shifting of population from one area to another on account of commercialisation. The maximum number of schools being shut down are in South Zone,” said an MCD official. More [+]

Schools must focus on marketing
Prakash Nedungadi, The Economic Times, 20 March 2010

The pendulum is shifting away from schools more to parents who will ask questions and “shop” around much more extensively to decide where they are going to put their children. For a school to “win” the battle of the parents’ minds, the management needs to understand and follow some of the basic principles of marketing.The first is to understand your consumerl — the parents and the second step is to position the school so clearly that the parent knows exactly what this school stands for and why it is different from any other school in the area More [+]

New teachers' education framework released
Press Trust of India, 19 March 2010

A new national curriculum framework for teacher education was released, putting more focus on field experience and re-orienting teachers to enable children to learn through activities. Putting behind the rote teaching method, the new framework, developed by National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), gives importance on inclusive education, perspective for equitable and sustainable development, gender perspectives and ICT in schooling and e-learning. More [+]

India's public universities deserve a chance
Malini Nair, DNA, 21 March 2010

Foreign Education Institutions (FEI) Bill which will allow global varsities to set up shop in India will bring in systems far more alert to the needs of a changing world. However, foreign universities may create an uneven playing field as they will reportedly be governed by another regulatory agency, will not have to deal with prickly issues like reservation, and can charge fees that will help make up for the hefty corpus they need to set aside as guarantee money. All this while desi universities have to stick with the fees, salaries, calendars and admission policies dictated centrally by the UGC. More [+]

School Choice is First Casualty of Obama Education Overhaul
The Foundry -The Heritage Foundation, 18 March 2010

Certainly one of the most unfortunate provisions in the new Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization “blueprint” is the elimination of school choice and supplemental education services for students trapped in failing schools.This decision of the Obama administration is symbolic of its educational philosophy which refuses to acknowledge the virtue of educational choice and continues to see the federal government as the key to raising academic achievement. More [+]

Charter Schools and Student Performance
Paul E. Peterson, Wall Street Journal, 16 March 2010

To uncover what is wrong with American public schools one has to dig deeper than the recent developments in education. One needs to consider the impact of restrictive collective bargaining agreements that prevent rewarding good teachers and removing ineffective ones, intrusive court interventions, and useless teacher certification laws. Charters were invented to address these problems. Charter schools must persuade parents to select them instead of a neighborhood district school. More [+]

Vouchering School Education in India
Vijay Vir Sing, CUTS C-CIER

Summary: The problem with the existing school education system in India is that most of the public money allocated to government schools is spent inefficiently. Introducing competition between schools, through education vouchers, can resolve this problem. Education vouchers typically transfer purchasing power to needy students, rather than government schools. More [+]

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.

Log on to www.azadi.me to win attractive prizes!

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 77th edition. Please give your feedback to make it more useful to you at [email protected]

Disclaimer: Copyright of the contents of this newsletter remains with the original author/publisher.