Decadal growth in literacy also slowest in 40 years
Times of India, 4 November 2011

NEW DELHI: There is bad news on the education front. Student enrolment at the primary level (class 1) fell in the 2009-10 academic session, compared to 2008-09, along with a decline in the numbers of pre-primary, primary and middle schools. The period also saw a worrying slowdown in the spread of literacy. In fact, literacy growth was slowest in the last four decades, leaving the city with a literacy level of 86.34% in 2011.

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State needs to review its policy to open schools: Report
Times of India, 5 November 2011

PANAJI: Goa does not have an explicit policy for opening of new schools. The state will have to review its existing policy on opening of schools as it cannot be based on distance and population alone, the Bordia Committee report submitted to the Union government on implementation of the Right to Education, 2009 has recommended. Goa has been named among eight states and union territories, including Assam, Chandigarh, Daman and Diu, Delhi, Kerala, Manipur and West Bengal, which do not have a clear policy with regard to opening of new schools, the report has pointed out.

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Punjab females less educated than males: SSA
Times of India, 7 November 2011

PATIALA: Despite tall claims of women empowerment not a single district of Punjab has higher female literacy rate than males. In all districts of Punjab females are less educated than males. It all has been happening despite huge hike of total education plan of state. As per figures of Sarb Shiksha Abyiyan (SSA), total literacy rate of Punjab is 69.7% with female literacy rate 63.4% and male literacy rate 75.4%.

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Esther Duflo picks apart the Indian education system
Times of India, 7 November 2011

A session at Thinkfest on ‘why Indian schools are failing our children’ turned out to be strong critique on the present education system in India. Abhijit Banerjee, the Ford Foundation International professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology felt the Right to Education (RTE) Act was how someone ‘elite’ in Delhi thinks of helping the poor. “The whole bill reads like a building catalogue,” said Banerjee.

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Red tape tangles US institutes’ entry into India
Hindustan Times, 5 November 2011

United States has cited Indian bureaucracy and uncertainty over Foreign Education Providers Bill as two major bottlenecks for setting up campuses of its foreign universities in India. A guide prepared by the Institute of International Education for the US government’s department of state says that the US institutions should be aware that Indian bureaucracy may present a “significant challenge” for setting up study abroad programmes in India and building partnerships with Indian institutions.

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Mobiles, despite hype, failing world of education?
Economic Times, 6 November 2011

DOHA: Is mobile the god that failed educationists? Only years after seeing a lot of potential in using the tiny hand-held devices to promote learning, specialists are having second thoughts about their efficacy in teaching the millions. Commonwealth Technical Organisation CEO Tim Unwin said on the subject here: “We’d like to believe that technology helps the poorest and marginalised. Yet inexorably, technology is used by those in power to remain in power.” Unwin said he grew from being very optimistic about the use of technology, including mobiles, to being “very pessimistic” now.

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Decadal growth in literacy also slowest in 40 years
Times of India, 4 November 2011

NEW DELHI: There is bad news on the education front. Student enrolment at the primary level (class 1) fell in the 2009-10 academic session, compared to 2008-09, along with a decline in the numbers of pre-primary, primary and middle schools. The period also saw a worrying slowdown in the spread of literacy. In fact, literacy growth was slowest in the last four decades, leaving the city with a literacy level of 86.34% in 2011.

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National Study Finds Widespread Sexual Harassment of Students in Grades 7 to 12
New York Times, 7 November 2011

Nearly half of 7th to 12th graders experienced sexual harassment in the last school year, according to a study scheduled for release on Monday, with 87 percent of those who have been harassed reporting negative effects such as absenteeism, poor sleep and stomach aches. On its survey of a nationally representative group of 1,965 students, the American Association of University Women, a nonprofit research organization, defined harassment as “unwelcome sexual behavior that takes place in person or electronically.

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Skills, Not Just Diplomas
Research
Authors: Sondergaard & Murthi with Abu-Ghaida, Bodewig and Rutkowski

Abstract: It is no secret that good education lies at the heart of economic growth and development. At the same time, improving the quality and relevance of education is enormously difficult not least because there is no one single policy measure that will do so effectively. This book contributes to our understanding of how to improve education by examining the recent experience of the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

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Maternal Autonomy and the Education of the Subsequent Generation: Evidence from Three Contrasting States in India
Research
Authors: Alfano, Arulampalam & Kambhampati

Abstract: This paper makes a significant contribution on both conceptual and methodological fronts, in the analysis of the effect of maternal autonomy on school enrolment age of children in India. The school entry age is modelled using a discrete time duration model where maternal autonomy is entered as a latent characteristic, and allowed to be associated with various parental and household characteristics which also conditionally affect school entry age.

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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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