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India’s missing educators
Narayan Ramachandran, Mint,
September 12, 2010
Another Teacher’s Day has come
and gone. Like the ones before it, we have had the usual
combination of speeches (New Delhi), awards (Mohali),
“felicitations” (Mangalore), blood donations
(Ulhasnagar), walkouts (Shillong), food poisonings (Mumbai),
teacher thrashings (Malda) and black badges (Ludhiana).
Barely a week later, we are back to the status quo.
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, on whose birthday the day
is celebrated, must be doing a summersault in his grave.
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Demystifying education: Something that could improve
people’s lives
Economic Times, September 12,
2010
When Sanjit “Bunker” Roy
was in college, and then in a job that allowed him a
comfortable lifestyle, he had never thought about becoming
a social entrepreneur. But the job itself, which involved
mining and deep wells, led him to it. “I lived
with very poor people under the stars and heard the
simple stories they had to tell—stories of their
knowledge and wisdom that only life can teach.”Such
was the impact that his motivation shifted from just
having a comfortable life back home, to improving that
of the poor. Since 1972, his Barefoot College in Rajasthan
has trained more than 3 million rural women from poor
agricultural communities as midwives, handpump mechanics,
solar engineers, artisans, weavers, crèche teachers,
parabolic solar cooker engineers, FM radio operators,
dentists, masons, and day and night school teachers.
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| Higher education
standards in decline since 1970s: Expert
B K Mishra, The Times of India,
September 13, 2010
Expressing serious concern over the
progressive decline in higher education standards in
Bihar and Jharkhand, some eminent educationists of the
state on Sunday demanded urgent steps for improving
the system. Participating at a panel discussion on “Problems
and prospects of higher education in Bihar and Jharkhand”
organized by the Economics Association of Bihar at AN
Sinha Institute of Social Studies here, they pleaded
for better governance of the educational institutions
and stressed on transparency in their functioning. Central
University of Bihar (CUB) vice-chancellor Janak Pandey
presided.LN Mithila Univerity VC SP Singh said that
the deterioration of higher education started in the
1970s and culminated in the 1990s. Lack of general infrastructure,
ever increasing onslaught on the university autonomy
and undue political interference have been telling upon
the quality of higher education, he said.
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| Declining
by degree
The Economist, September 2,
2010
Fifty years ago, in the glorious age
of three-martini lunches and all-smoking offices, America’s
car companies were universally admired. Everybody wanted
to know the secrets of their success. How did they churn
out dazzling new models every year? How did they manage
so many people so successfully (General Motors was then
the biggest private-sector employer in the world)? And
how did they keep their customers so happy? Today the
world is equally in awe of American universities. They
dominate global rankings: on the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy’s
list of the world’s best universities, 17 of the
top 20 are American, and 35 of the top 50. They employ
70% of living Nobel prizewinners in science and economics
and produce a disproportionate share of the world’s
most-cited articles in academic journals. Everyone wants
to know their secret recipe.
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| Sibal says
he’s in no hurry on education reforms
The Times of India, September
9, 2010
With memories of deferment of the Educational
Tribunals Bill still fresh in his mind, HRD minister
Kapil Sibal on Wednesday invoked the name of Rajiv Gandhi,
in the presence of UPA and National Advisory Council
chairperson Sonia Gandhi, to make the point to his detractors
that he was in no hurry to bring in educational reforms.
Speaking at the inauguration of buildings of 31 Jawahar
Navodaya Vidyalayas, Sibal said, ” Rajiv Gandhi
had said we need to improve the quality of education
and in months. Twenty-five years have elapsed and we
are at the same stage. Now people say we are in a hurry.
We should be in a hurry.”For Sonia Gandhi herself,
25 years of JNV was a proud moment. Started by Rajiv
Gandhi in 1985 with two schools there are now 593 JNVs
all over the country. Gandhi paid tributes to her late
husband for his “vision” that has made JNVs
a success story providing quality education to children
from economically and socially weaker sections.
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| Govt revises
SSA norms
Business Standard, September
9, 2010
Aiming at smooth implementation of
the Right to Education Act, the Government today approved
revision of existing norms of the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan
programme to bring it in conformity with the Act. The
SSA, a major flagship programme of the Government to
universalise elementary education in the country, will
be the main vehicle for implementation of the RTE Act.
The revised SSA norms, vetted by the Cabinet Committee
on Economic Affairs (CCEA), includes provision for teachers
and classroom, support for academic supervision, research
evaluation and monitoring and opening of Kasturba Gandhi
Balika Vidyalayas.New norms under the SSA for uniforms,
transportation costs and residential schools to implement
the combined RTE-SSA programme have also been included.
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| Gov. Christie
signs bill allowing N.J. residents to send children
to public schools in other towns
Jessica Calefati, NJ.com, September
12, 2010
Parents dissatisfied with the quality
of their local public schools can now send their children
to classrooms beyond district boundaries — in
some cases at taxpayer expense. Sponsored by Assembly
Democrats Mila Jasey, Joan Voss and Paul Moriarty, a
new law allows up to 10 percent of a district’s
students to attend any other public school in the state
whose enrollment is not at capacity. If more than 10
percent of a district’s students seek enrollment
in new schools, it’s unclear what criteria that
district would use to select which students are allowed
to leave. The bill also requires home districts to provide
and pay for students’ transportation to new schools
up to 20 miles away, a significant financial responsibility
the bill’s sponsors did not negate.
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| 6,000 school
to be run on PPP mode soon: Purandeswari
The Hindu, September 9, 2010
The Centre will soon announce guidelines
for promoting schools and institutions of learning under
the public-private partnership (PPP) model. The Planning
Commission, entrusted with the task of finalising norms
for PPP mode projects in education, has almost finalised
the plan and “6,000 model schools to be run on
the PPP mode are on the anvil,” Union Minister
of State for Human Resource Development D. Purandeswari
said.Participating in a roundtable of CEOs organised
by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here on
Wednesday, Ms. Purandeswari said the government was
coming out with the “Rashtriya Saaksharta Kosh”
(national literacy fund), the proceeds of which could
be used to give performance-based rewards to literacy
achievers.
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Research Paper
The Role and Impact of Public-Private Partnerships in
Education
Harry Anthony Patrinos, Felipe Barrera-Osorio and Juliana
Guáqueta
World Bank
ABSTRACT: Education is widely believed
to be critical for any nation’s economic, political,
and social development. It is widely believed to help
people escape from poverty and participate more fully
in society and in the market place. These are a few
of the reasons why governments around the world assume
the responsibility for providing and financing education,
especially basic education. But this responsibility
is a large and complex one for any government to meet
adequately, which is why it is important for governments
to explore diverse ways of financing and providing educational
services. This study presents the results of the first
phase of a multi-year program to examine the role of
public-private partnerships in education. It focuses
on contracting models at the primary and secondary education
levels. It reviews the conceptual underpinnings for
why such partnerships might contribute to achieving
a country’s education goals, reviews empirical
evidence, and offers some guidelines for operations.
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SNAPS Photo Contest
The contest seeks to showcase the
inspirational work that is being done around the world
to
advance the APS sector and increase the quality of
education that
these schools provide to students.
We are looking for inspirational images of APS around
the world.
These images may reflect a wide variety of schools,
students,
teachers, parents, stakeholders, technology &
interventions and
educational products & services that make up this
dynamic
ecosystem.
For more click here
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RTE Coalition
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.
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2010
Fisher International Memorial Award
James Tooley’s “The
Beautiful Tree” bags 2010 Fisher International
Memorial Award.
To read more click
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| SCHOOL VOUCHERS FOR
GIRLS
400 girl children from poor families
of North East Delhi receive school vouchers for a period
of 4 years.
For details visit website
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Support Children's Right to Education of Choice!
DONATE
For more details on how to support, log on to www.schoolchoice.in
or email us at [email protected]
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