Indian state of Tamil Nadu gives laptops to children
BBC, 15 September 2011

All students in government-funded secondary schools and colleges will be eligible for a $292 laptop. The five-year, $2bn programme is the first of its kind in India. The laptops are part of a huge giveaway promised by ministers during elections earlier this year.

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Shiv Nadar Foundation forays into elementary education
Business Standard, September 15, 2011

After making its presence in higher education, Shiv Nadar foundation is now making foray into elementary education with the establishment of its schools across the country. The foundation, which has a corpus of nearly one billion, on Wednesday announced the establishment of Shiv Nadar School in India. To start with, the foundation is coming up with two schools in Noida and Gurgaon. Going forward, the foundation aims to establish 25 schools across the country by 2020.

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Navneet to invest Rs 450mn in School management service company
India Infoline News Service, September 15, 2011

The board of Navneet Publications (India) Ltd. has approved a strategic investment of over Rs. 45 crores in Sequoia capital backed K-12 Techno Services Pvt. Ltd. K-12 is a Hyderabad based school management company servicing around 67 state board schools run by several trusts across Andhra Pradesh with over 50,000 students in the affordable education segment and run under the Gowtham Model Schools (GMS) and Orchids brands.

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Education dept yet to tune in to radio classroom programme
Indian Express, September 16, 2011

The Director General School Education (DGSE) is yet to switch on the much-awaited radio classroom programme in government primary schools of the state. The idea behind radio classroom programme is to provide quality teaching under the name of Sarav Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) Radio Classsroom in Punjab. Under it, radio sets will be used in all primary schools of the state.

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Are Technology Initiatives in Schools Paying Off?
Education News, September 10, 2011

As more and more money is spent on technology in schools, some are beginning to wonder if additional technology is having a positive effect on student achievement. A recent article in the New York Times, and reviewed by Joanne Jacobs, describes a high-tech classroom in one of Arizona’s Kyrene School District schools where students are studying Shakespeare’s As You Like It by using laptops and utilizing Internet technologies such as Facebook and the music of Kanye West.

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Language is vital, not just to communicate
The Guardian, September 16, 2011

Jobseekers who don’t learn English may have their benefits cut, David Cameron and work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith announced this week. Cameron is quoted as saying: “We’re saying that if there’s something you need to help you get a job, for instance being able to speak English and learn English properly, it should be a requirement that you do that study in order for you to receive your benefits.”

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Education fraud: Chavan vows stern action
The Times of India, September 15, 2011

MUMBAI: Stunned by the discovery that 1.4 lakh students on the rolls of Nashik schools were bogus, the state government has ordered a survey. The school education department has a budgetary provision of nearly Rs 27,000 crore. The number of students enrolled with schools that benefit from government funds total nearly 1.40 crore.

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Six Mumbai schools rated among best 10 institutions in India
DNA, September 19, 2011

Six of the city’s schools have been rated among the best ten institutions of child education in a country-wide survey. Cathedral and John Connon School, Fort, is the second best school in India, the survey states. While Delhi’s Shri Ram School replaced Mumbai’s Cathedral & John Connon School to be ranked number one in the country, many city schools dominated the list. Smt Sulochanadevi Singhania School, Thane, bagged the eighth position, while Campion School, Fort, and Bombay Scottish School shared the ninth ranking in the survey.

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Education, Preferences, and Household Welfare
Research: Working Paper
Authors: Fafchamps and Shilpi

Abstract:Using census date from Nepal, we examine how the marginal effects of male and female education on various household welfare indicators vary with education levels. Parental education is associated with better household outcomes, but marginal effects vary with education level. Higher child survival, for instance, is associated higher primary education for mothers and higher secondary education for fathers. We calculate conditional makrginal effects that correct for assortative matching of spouses and compare them to unconditional estimates.

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School Choice, School Quality and Postsecondary Attainment
Research: Working Paper
Authors: Deming, Hastings, Kane and Staiger

Abstract: We study the impact of a public school choice lottery in Charlotte-Mecklenburg (CMS) on postsecondary attainment. We match CMS administrative records to the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), a nationwide database of college enrollment. Among applicants with low-quality neighborhood schools, lottery winners are more likely than lottery losers to graduate from high school, attend a four-year college, and earn a bachelor’s degree. They are twice as likely to earn a degree from an elite university.

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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.

Skill Vouchers - Global Experiences and Lessons for India

Leah Verghese and Parth J Shah

A study of the role that skill vouchers can play in catalysing demand for quality skill development services. This study examines global experiences with skill vouchers and draws lessons for India from these experiences.

For more click here

Reservation in Private Schools under the Right to Education Act: Model for Implementation

Shekhar Mittal and Parth J Shah

Through this document the Centre for Civil Society seeks to highlight the lacunae in the current framework for 25% reservation for weaker and disadvantaged groups in unaided private schools and seeks to provide inputs on effective implementation of the same.

For more click here

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 our website

For more details on how to support, log on to www.schoolchoice.in or email us at [email protected]

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