Flaws in our education
xinhuanet, 21 November 2011

China has a long tradition of respecting education. But its present education is not that respectable. According to the Hurun Report, which conducted one-on-one interviews with 980 wealthy Chinese people with net assets of more than 60 million yuan ($9.5 million) in 18 mainland cities from May to September, about 14 percent of them said they had either already moved overseas or had applied to do so, and another 46 percent said they planned to emigrate within three years. All cited the higher-quality education available for their children overseas as the reason.

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Teachers leaving jobs
Japan Times, 20 November 2011

The number of first-year teachers who leave their job for health reasons has increased 20-fold over the past 10 years, according to a survey by the education ministry. By “health” most of the teachers mean “mental health.” More than 100 teachers left after their first year in 2010, complaining of depression and stress. Only five quit in 2000. If so many teachers feel that much stress, one can imagine how the students in their classes feel.

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Raising the bar for higher education
Hindustan Times, 15 November 2011

Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission has stressed the need for the removal of ‘dysfunctional regulation’ in India’s higher education and called for ‘flexible regulation’ to raise the standards of higher education in India. Sam Pitroda, adviser to the Prime Minister on public information infrastructure and innovations, has made a strong pitch for displaying a concern for public good, calling for tabling and passing the 12-odd Bills in Parliament for reform of higher education.

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Educational bodies regard Right to Education Act as “influenced by US”
TwoCircles.net, 21 November 2011

Lucknow: The much hyped Right To Education (RTE)Act 2009 has been branded as a US strategy to wipe off the Indian education system. Managers of private schools are up in arms against the RTE and have raised their reservation over certain clauses of the Act. In a convention under the aegis of Shiksha Sanyukt Sangarsh Morcha(SSSM) held at Lucknow on Sunday, the private school owners termed the certain clauses of RTE as impractical which will lead to the closure of all private schools.

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Pvt schools call for donations to sponsor EWS students
Indian Express, 21 November 2011

While the Right to Education Act, 2009 has brought a glimmer of hope for children belonging to disadvantaged groups of society, many private schools in the city have already started feeling “burdened” by the task of providing free education to these children. Citing financial loads, some schools have even started writing to parents of other students, asking them to make voluntary donations to sponsor education of children from Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).

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Delink education loan from parents’ income: Plan panel
Hindustan Times, 21 November 2011

A plan panel sub-committee on Student Financial Aid has recommended an easy and effective loan scheme for students irrespective of community and economic status i.e. not linking with parents’ income. It has also suggested that the central government should provide full guarantee with a credit guarantee trust.

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What’s your foreign degree worth?
The Economic Times, 20 November 2011

When 23-year-old Saurav Roy (name changed) decided to join a three-year IT engineering course at an Australian university in 2006, he did so at a seemingly opportune time. The Indian economy was booming and jobs seemed plentiful. There were hundreds of other Indian students like him, headed to countries like Australia, whose colleges seemed far easier to get into, than their counterparts in the United States or the United Kingdom, the traditional study destinations for most Indians looking for that coveted foreign degree.

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Children’s condition: Wither demographic dividend?
Business Standard, 21 November 2011

India and the international community have been talking about the demographic dividend that India should reap until mid-century. United Nations Population Division data indeed reveal that the share of the working age group of 15-64 years in total population will grow in South Asia until 2040, in some until 2045, and in Afghanistan until 2075. The challenge is to convert this population into productive citizens through nutrition and education.

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Measuring progress in reading achievement between primary and secondary school across countries
Research: Working paper
Authors: Jakubowski & Pokropek

Abstract: This paper discusses a method to compare progress in reading achievement from primary to secondary school across countries. The method is similar to value-added models that take into account intake levels when comparing student progress in different schools. Value-added models are preferred over raw scores as they better reflect school efforts.

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Mass Education or a Minority Well Educated Elite in the Process of Development: the Case of India
Research: Discussion Paper
Authors: Castelló-Climent & Mukhopadhyay

Abstract: This paper analyses whether in developing countries mass education is more growth enhancing than to have a minority well educated elite. Using the Indian census data as a benchmark and enrollment rates at different levels of education we compute annual attainment levels for a panel of 16 Indian states from 1961 to 2001.

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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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