Government Likely to Set Aside More Funds for RTE
May 31, 2010

The Union government wants to increase the money it plans to spend on implementing the Right to Education (RTE) Act, while putting up a larger proportion of the funds for programmes under it to counter complaints by states that they are strapped for cash.The government proposes to step up spending by Rs 30,000 crore to Rs 2 trillion, according to human resource development (HRD) ministry officials familiar with the development.

More [+]

States to Abolish Class 10 Boards: Sibal
Hindustan Times, May 29, 2010

Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal Saturday said the implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act will pave the way for state education boards replacing the Class 10 board exams with a grading system. "It's just a matter of time that states will come on board and remove Class 10 exams on their own and move towards the grading system," Sibal said. More [+]

'New Bill May Snatch Teachers Training Pie from States
Nistula Hebbar ,The Financial Express May 28, 2010

Large scale recruitment of educated, unemployed youth as teachers in government schools is a favourite electoral sop of most governments before the Assembly elections, something which the National Council for Teacher Education (Amendment) Bill, 2010 is at loggerheads with. Objections to the Bill--which seeks to standardise teacher training across the country and regulate teacher training institutes---have come in from poll-going states like West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.
. More [+]

Public-Private Partnership in Education
Jandhyala B. G. Tilak, The Hindu, May 24, 2010

PPP has been proposed as an important strategy in the Eleventh Five Year Plan. Among many things, the Eleventh Plan has proposed the setting up of 6,000 new model schools in secondary education, affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education. Of these, 2,500 are to be under the PPP model. The intention is to set up these schools in the backward regions and remote areas where good schooling facilities do not exist, so that quality education is accessible in the backward regions as well. More [+]

Has Right to Education Fallen Victim in Maoist-hit Bastar?
Hindustan Times, 26 May 2010

It is a zone where government officials fear to enter. In the thickly forested interiors of Chhattisgarh's Bastar region, a heavily-mined Maoist hotbed, authorities are finding it extremely tough to implement the Right to Education Act. Authorities say that no school building exists in about 500 villages situated amid thick jungles where officials or security men can't even dream to enter. Even in the areas where security men are pitched against guerrillas, over 100 primary school buildings were bombed by rebels in the past five years after security men took shelter in the buildings for their offensive.More [+]

Sibal Launches CBSE-i Curriculum in Dubai
Atul Aneja, The Hindu, May 25, 2010

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Tuesday launched its self-designed international curriculum that aims to compete with its western counterparts to produce the global citizen of tomorrow. The Minister said that CBSE's initiative was futuristic, and was a reflection of India's ambitious drive to establish a vast pool of skilled manpower that could become a significant driver of the global economy. More [+]

Play Schools Scout for Private Equity Investors
Kalpana Pathak, Business Standard, May 26, 2010

Rishi Navani, co-founder and managing director of Matrix Partners India, says what the organised retail sector went through in the past five years, education will go through in the near future. More and more pre-schools or play schools are looking at private equity funding to expand. Sources say other players in the industry that are in talks with PE funds include Kangaroo Kids Education (KKEL), Hyderabad-based DRS Kids and Zee Learn.More [+]

Coalition's schools plan to create 2,000 more academies
Patrick Wintour and Nicholas Watt, The Guardian, 25 May 2010

David Cameron will start to turn his "big society" rhetoric into reality today when he uses the coalition government's first Queen's speech to promise to let 500 secondary schools and 1,700 primary schools have the freedom of city academy status by the summer. He will promise all schools judged outstanding by Ofsted the opportunity to become academies, lifting the remaining constraints from local authorities. Academies have greater freedom to set their curriculum, pay rates and admissions policies.
More [+]

To Kill the Mockingbird Madarsah System in India: Past, Present, and Future
Amir Ullah Khan, Mohammad Saqib and Zafar H. Anjum

ABSTRACT: This paper analyzes the madarsah system in India and its role in providing education to Muslims. The authors have examined the evolution of madarsahs within the historical landscape of India and the geographical spread of the same. The paper examines the issue of curriculum and the steps taken by the government to modernize madarsahs and suggests a way forward in order to make the education imparted in madarsahs relevant to the current age.More [+]

Education and Social Change: Contours in the History of American Schooling
By John L.Rury

In his book Education and Social Change: Contours in the History of American Schooling, John L. Rury traces the evolution of American education from the Colonial period to the present. Rury does not seek to offer the reader an in-depth history of American education. Rather, he gives the reader a broad overview of how society has changed American schooling by focusing on key events and social forces such as industrialization, urbanization, and immigration.
...Read 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 Azadi Bastiat Competition section to win attractive prizes!

James Tooley’s “The Beautiful Tree” bags 2010 Fisher International Memorial Award.
To read more click here

This is our 87th 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.