Tomorrow’s children
Adivasi children orphaned and traumatised by extremist violence in Chhattisgarh find education, sport, theatre and emotional support at residential schools like Uttaran
One room, two teachers, six classes
The state of elementary education in Kashmir is pathetic, says this reporter. Many believe that the funds for midday meals could be better utilised to improve infrastructure and the quality of education in the state
Report card on RTE two years after
Two years after the Right to Education, 36% of sanctioned teacher posts lie vacant, several states do not meet the required pupil:teacher ratio, funds lie unspent, and monitoring bodies are somnolent
No meal, no school for Bodo children
There are 793 primary schools in Bodoland which, in the absence of government recognition, have no concrete buildings, free textbooks, water, sanitation and, most of all, midday meals. As a result, school attendance is low, an unfortunate situation in a region that has 33% literacy compared to 64.28% for Assam as a whole
Schools for all
Elementary school enrolment rose from approximately 156 million in 1999-2000 to about 194 million in 2006-07. The Annual Status of Education Report-Rural by the Pratham Resource Centre finds that school enrolment for rural areas, for children aged 6-14, was 93.4% in 2006. It increased to 95.8% in 2007. This is no mean achievement. Concerted efforts, committed policies and programmes have borne some fruit
Interactive approaches for special children
Sangath Society, a Goa-based CSO working with mental health issues, has come up with the concept of 'resource rooms' for children with learning disabilities, within their normal schools, where they can be given special attention. The concept is currently being pilot-tested in three schools in the state
Open school for Bhopal's slum children
Arambh has taken up the challenge of getting Bhopal's slum children to return to school. Scores of children attend its centres to study and re-enter the education system, at timings that best suit them, especially if they are working
Environmental education finally finds a place in India's school textbooks
Thanks to a two-year study that identified the gaps and anomalies in environmental education in India, 800 schools now have a new and improved syllabus that promotes an understanding of environmental issues
Have cycle, will study
Sometimes solutions to problems as grave as female illiteracy can be so simple. Providing a humble bicycle to girls in Maharashtra's villages has allowed students who would normally drop out after Class VIII to go on to finish high school. The project has been initiated by Ashta No Kai (ANK), Pune
Kerala's neo-literates lapse into the darkness of illiteracy
Eleven years ago Chelakkodan Ayesha announced Kerala's total literacy status by reading a verse from the Quran before a thundering crowd. Today she is fumbling over the letters in 'Kerala' and cannot write her own name. What has gone wrong? Why have Kerala's literacy levels plummeted from 95 to 80 per cent?
