At 3 lakh, UP faces largest teacher shortage in India
The Economics Times, 6 May, 2013

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government has made English a compulsory subject from Class I onwards, but it has failed to ensure adequate number of trained English teachers in its schools. According to Ashok Ganguly, former chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education, only 2-2.5% teachers (primary and secondary) across the state can teach or communicate in English.

More [+]

Village schools ‘outperforming those in inner-city areas’
The Telegraph, 07 May 2013

Children attending village schools in Britain are outperforming their inner-city peers despite a clear “urban advantage” elsewhere in the western world, according to international research. The UK is among only five countries worldwide to record better results in the countryside compared with those seen in large towns and cities, it emerged.

More [+]

CBSE may offer health education next year
ET Bureau May 7, 2013

A new independent subject on ‘health’ may be introduced as part of school education under the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), according to a senior health ministry official. ‘Health Education’ is likely to be taught between class 4 and class 10. “We are in advanced talks with officials of ministry of human resource development and National Council of Educational Research and Training to make this happen,” said Jagdish Prasad, director general, health services.

More [+]

CBSE adds weightage of 20 marks to ASL
The Times of India, Apr 29, 2013

As per the curriculum document 2015 for Secondary School (Volume I), a weightage of 20 marks has been added for assessing Speaking and Listening Skills (ASL) in Std IX and X in the following courses of English in the Summative Assessment – I and Summative Assessment – II.

More [+]

RTE may replace old education acts in state
Hindustan Times Mumbai, May 08, 2013

To avoid confusion and duplicity in the implementation of Right to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, the Maharashtra education department has proposed to scrap the existing laws related to primary education like the Primary Education Act in the state and completely replace it with the RTE.

More [+]

Haryana decides to shut down institutes violating norms
India Education Review .com, 07 May 2013

In a move to control the number of technical education institutions, Haryana government has decided to shut down those not fulfilling the norms. The state government has asked the institutes to fulfil all the norms, including proper infrastructure and salaries to the teachers, or face de-affiliation.Last year Haryana Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda has written to Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to avoid sanctioning more technical institutes for the state.The decision has been taken following complaints regarding lack of infrastructure and flouting of building norms against many engineering institutes that have mushroomed in Haryana.

More [+]

NIIT launches ‘Cloud Campus’ to create new-age skills
The Indian Education Review, 08 May 2013

NIIT Limited has launched ‘Cloud Campus’ by making available new-age skills, to students across the country. Through this, NIIT aims to offer over 100 courses across 300 locations by the end of 2013, thus enabling coverage of over 500,000 students by 2014. NIIT will offer training programs in IT, Banking, Global Finance, Management, Digital and Social Media Marketing, through Cloud Campus with innovative learning features.

More [+]

HC notice to Centre, KVS on PIL for free education under RTE
Economics Times, 8 May 2013

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court today asked the Centre to make its stand clear on a PIL seeking a direction to Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan for its “failure” to provide totally free education to students of Class I-VIII under the Right to Education Act. Issuing notice to the Ministry of Human Resource Development and also to the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), a bench of Chief Justice D Murugesan and Justice Jayant Nath sought response by May 15.

More [+]

Empowering School Management Committees- Helping SMC members plan better
By Laina Emmanuel, Accountability Initiative

Parental involvement in children’s education is largely believed to lead to improved learning outcomes. The level of involvement can vary from providing a secure home for children, maintaining a healthy parent-teacher communication, volunteering to involving parents in the governance of the school. The effect of each type of parental involvement on learning outcomes also varies, though research largely points towards beneficial effects.

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)
A comprehensive analysis on reservation in private schools under the Right to Education Act, providing a seven-step model for 25% implementation.

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]

Please write in with your feedback at [email protected]

Disclaimer: Copyright of the contents of this newsletter remains with the original author/publisher.