Reservation within Reservation illegal
The Hindustan Times, November 9th, 2012

The Delhi high court Friday called “illegal” the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan’s 2011-12 admission guidelines giving reservation to the Scheduled Castes and Tribes within the 25% seats reserved for economically-weaker sections. Observing that admission guidelines were violative of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, a division bench of Chief Justice D. Murugesan and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw directed the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) to reframe its guidelines for academic year 2013-14.

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RTE Act may cover preschoolers too
The Hindustan Times, November 9th, 2012

Millions of parents and their children may soon no longer have to bear the risks associated with unregulated playschools with dubious teaching methods and crumbling infrastructure that often charge high fees but fail to deliver on promises.

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State’s plea to extend RTE deadline turned down
The Times of India, November 9th, 2012

The Centre overruled states’ demand for extension in deadline for implementation of the Right to Education Act by March, 2013, asking them instead to redouble their efforts. Some states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and others have been vocal in their demand for an extension.

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Age limit in RTE denies dropouts a chance to get back to school
The Hindu, November 14th, 2012

Thirteen-year-old Afroze of Yeshwanthpur dropped out of school when he was eight and finds it difficult to leave his job and get back to school. Nevertheless, with some counselling and parental support, he can probably get back to school as he is less than 14.However, a survey conducted in July by Child Rights and You (CRY) reveals that children in the age group of 15 to 18 find it difficult to re-enrol into school. On Children’s Day, The Hindu highlights the difficulty of re-enrolling school dropouts above 15 years.

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Two training centres for teachers
The Hindu, November 14th, 2012

Dedicated training centres for teachers of children with special needs will be opened in Kasaragod and at Parappanagadi in Malappuram district, Education Minister P.K. Abdu Rabb has said.

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Enrolment in Chartered school is increasing
The New York Times, November 14th, 2012

Although charter schools engender fierce debate — most recently over ballot measures in Georgia and Washington State — their ranks are growing rapidly, according to a new report. Between 2010-11 and 2011-12, the number of students in charter schools increased close to 13 percent, to just over two million.The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, a nonprofit advocacy group, released the report on Wednesday. It showed that in some cities, charter schools — which are publicly financed but privately operated — enroll a significant proportion of public school students.

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Tough exams and learning by rote are the keys to success, says Michael Gove
The Guardian, November 14th, 2012

Learning facts by rote should be a central part of the school experience, the education secretary, Michael Gove, will argue on Wednesday in a speech which praises traditional exams to the extent of arguing they helped spur the US civil rights struggle. In the address, titled In Praise of Tests, Gove describes the ideological underpinning to his planned shakeup of GCSEs and A-levels, a philosophy which will further delight educational traditionalists but is likely to prompt criticisms that he is seeking a return to the teaching styles of the 1940s and 50s.

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Adopt pro-kids reforms properly: Experts
Daily news and analysis, November 14th, 2012

On Children’s Day today, kids actually have something to celebrate, as in the last two years, the government has introduced several reforms to reduce their stress. To make learning fun and exams stress-free, reforms such as the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE), Continuous and Compulsory Evaluation (CCE) and No Fail Policy were introduced. Educationists, however, believe that such reforms are still not being implemented to their fullest.

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Education scam in Meghalaya
The Statesman, November 11th, 2012

ONE of the reasons for the backwardness of North-east India is the absence of quality education. Here is a region where you have terms like “ghost schools”, where the government continues to pay salaries and maintenance to non-existent institutions. And if there are some schools that do exist, the teachers are all political appointees. In 2010, the Education Department of Meghalaya held an examination for recruiting teachers for the elementary school level. After the selection board had done its job, the list of appointees was tampered with by none other than education minister Ampareen Lyngdoh, the only woman in a house of 60 legislators. She accommodated the names of several candidates recommended by sundry legislators from the Congress and the United Democratic Party, coalition partner in the Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance.

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The role of Non- governmental organizations in primary education: A study of six NGOs in India
World Bank Policy Research paper No. 2530

Nongovernmental organizations working in education in India are professional resource centers and innovators able to reach children who are educationally disadvantaged. The Indian government could improve the effectiveness of primary education by increasing its collaboration with such organizations. NGOs extend education to underprivileged children in India and develop innovations that improve the quality of primary education. In this study of six NGOs working with school-age children in India, Jagannathan shows the potential benefits of a government-NGO alliance to achieve universal primary education. The author emphasizes several areas in which collaboration can be particularly fruitful.

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SCHOOL CHOICE NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Delivering Education: From Policy to Practice

04 December 2012
The Theatre, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India

Register Now!

Last chance to apply for ipolicy in 2012
ìpolicy for Young Professionals, New Delhi - 23-25 November 2012

Path breaking Review report on Delhi School Education Act, 1973
Indian education policy space might not have seen a report as progressive as “The Report of the Review Committee on the Delhi school Education Act and Rules, 1973”, thanks to former Chief Secretary of Delhi, Shailaja Chandra, IAS (retd.), the chairperson of the drafting committee of this three volume report. Click here to read more

Summary Record of discussion of the 60th meeting of Central Advisory Board of education held on 8th November 2012
The Sixtieth Meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) was held on 8th November, 2012 at New Delhi under the Chairmanship of Dr. M. M. Pallam Raju, Minister of Human Resource Development. Click here to 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

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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