State sacks primary teachers for playing truant
Jun 5, 2010

Where nearly 300 teachers have faced the axe, the department has also drawn up a list of over 500 others who will face action in the future. Reportedly, a large percentage of teachers playing truant are women. ....The decision to sack the teachers, senior government officials say, is set to pave the road for the smooth implementation of the Right to Education Act. Interestingly, the implementation of the Act has been a subject of controversy, with the Centre and state being at loggerheads over disbursal of funds.

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Performance-Pay Model Shows No Achievement Edge
Stephen Sawchuk, June 9, 2010

Preliminary results from a Chicago program containing performance-based compensation for teachers show no evidence that it has boosted student achievement on math and reading tests, compared with a group of similar, nonparticipating schools, an analysis released today concludes. More [+]

On vouchers, columnist ignores shortcomings, challenges
Pat Farabaugh – June 2, 2010 tribune-democrat.com

School vouchers are taxpayer dollars that subsidize tuition costs for students at private and religious schools....This sounds great. A more equitable educational system with increased opportunities for our nation’s underprivileged and disenfranchised.

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.....Thomas writes that vouchers “would allow poor children the best chance to climb out of poverty and not repeat their parents’ mistakes.”

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US institutions to partner for proposed innovation varsities
3 Jun 2010, economictimes.indiatimes.com

US varsities are likely to extend their expertise in setting up of some of the innovation universities in India and one such collaboration would be announced during the visit of US President Barak Obama to the country later this year.

This was discussed at a meeting between HRD Minister Kapil Sibal and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington today, an official release said.

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Legal Education In India Needs Urgent Reforms
Shayam Prasad, cjnews.co.cc

Educational reforms in India are in the progress and a great share of its credit goes to HDR Minister Mr. Kapil Sibal. Educational sector in India is widespread and controlled by multiple authorities and agencies. For instance health related education is controlled by Health Ministry, legal education is controlled by Bar Council of India (BCI)/Law Ministry and so on. The Law Minister Mr. Veerappa Moily and BCI are against surrendering the reign of legal education in favour of National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) of India.More [+]

A profitable education
Sadhna Saxena teaches at the Department of Education, University of Delhi. www.himalmag.com June 2010

While India’s new Right to Education Act seeks to bring free and compulsory education for all children, it seems to short-change them through an unrealistic vision of the private sector’s involvement.. More [+]

INDIA: Reducing student loan burden
Alya Mishra, University World News 06 June 2010

Education Minister Kapil Sibal has unveiled measures to reduce the burden of education loans on poorer families. They are among policies to increase the proportion of young people in higher education and improve access for lower income families.The education ministry has set aside five billion rupees (US$106.6 million) in the 2010-11 budget for education loan interest subsidies and Rs1.08 billion for college and university scholarships..More [+]

The average wages of a male who is fluent in English is 34% higher than a male with the same background and education, but with no English skills
www.livemint.com, May 30 2010

Even passable knowledge of the language is an opportunity to break out of the traditional job trap, especially in urban areas where there are ample opportunities in call centres, retail outlets and clerical jobs. The globalization of the Indian economy naturally means that there is a wage premium for those who speak the global language.
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Child Labor and the Education of a Society
Clive Bell
University of Heidelberg – South Asia Institute (SAI)

ABSTRACT: We examine economic growth, inequality and education when the wellspring of growth is the formation of human capital through a combination of the quality of child-rearing and formal schooling. The existence of multiple steady states is established, including a poverty trap, wherein children work full-time and no human capital accumulation takes place, with continuous growth at an asymptotically steady rate as an alternative. We show that a society can escape from the poverty trap into a condition of continuous growth through a program of taxes and transfers. Temporary inequality is a necessary condition to escape in finite time, but long-run inequalities are avoidable provided sufficiently heavy, but temporary taxes can be imposed on the better-off. Programs aiming simply at high attendance rates in the present can be strongly non-optimal..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.

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James Tooley’s “The Beautiful Tree” bags 2010 Fisher International Memorial Award.
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