<p>Surrendered Naxals and many tribals who dropped out of schools here in Maharashtra are now realising the importance of education in life and resuming their studies to build a better future. Lack of proper education facilities in this tribal-dominated district in Vidarbha region led many youths to join the Naxal movement. But, some of them realised its futility and surrendered to police to join the national mainstream.</p>

<p>A study centre of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) at Kurkheda taluka here has given these people an opportunity to pursue higher education through its distance learning programme. Around 468 students, including Naxals who surrendered, girls, boys, married women and even mothers, are pursuing various diploma and degree courses from IGNOU’s study centres in Gadchiroli, a senior official of the university said.</p>

<p>IGNOU has been running some study centres in the district since 2013 and the one at Kurkheda was set up about a year ago, he said. A 35-year-old man, who dropped out of Class 12 in the nearby Korshi taluka and joined the Naxal movement at the age of 19, is now pursuing the Bachelor Preparatory Programme after enrolling at the study centre in Kurkheda. The man, who did not wish to be identified, said he surrendered before police in 2014 and now wants to take up social work.</p>

<p>“I had joined the Naxal movement because of the poor financial condition of my family. This is a cause of distress among many tribals. There should be equal opportunities of education and employment for all,” he said. Jayshree Madavi, 43, a resident of Kurkheda, had also discontinued her studies after Class 11. But, her daughter motivated her to study.</p>

<p>Madavi resumed her studies a couple of years back and cleared the Class 12 exam along with her daughter. Both Madavi and her daughter are now pursuing the Bachelor Of Arts (BA) degree course after enrolling at the IGNOU’s study centre. Another local resident Priyanka Zade is also pursuing the BA course along with her sister, while their mother has taken up the Bachelor Preparatory Programme. IGNOU’s local coordinator Gauri Uikey said she has travelled to over 150 villages in Kurkheda, Korshi and Dhanora talukas to motivate young boys and girls as well as adults to pursue higher education. She is also a member of a self-help group which tries to reach out to women in villages and make them aware about educational opportunities for them. Once women enrol for the courses, IGNOU provides them quality study material, Uikey said.</p>

<p>“There are several school dropouts in these villages who could not pursue higher education due to lack of adequate education facilities and other domestic reasons. IGNOU has given them an opportunity to pursue their dream of higher education,” she said. She claimed that around 85 students who pursued courses from the IGNOU’s study centres in Gadchiroli were working in different fields across Maharashtra. Besides, 68 students took up the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree course to work in their villages and serve the society, Uikey said.</p>

<p>P Sivaswaroop, director of the IGNOU’s Nagpur regional centre, which monitors the functioning of its study centres in Gadchiroli, said he was happy that tribal women were showing a keen interest in pursuing higher education. Kurkheda was adopted by the IGNOU’s regional centre in Nagpur under the government’s ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyaan’, he said, adding that they also hold special admission camps for tribals and organise talks on nutrition-related issues. ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’ is a flagship programme of the Ministry of Human Resource Development to involve higher education institutions in the indigenous development of self-sufficient and sustainable village clusters.</p>


Surrendered Naxals and many tribals who dropped out of schools here in Maharashtra are now realising the importance of education in life and resuming their studies to build a better future.

Surrendered Naxals and many tribals who dropped out of schools here in Maharashtra are now realising the importance of education in life and resuming their studies to build a better future. Lack of proper education facilities in this tribal-dominated district in Vidarbha region led many youths to join the Naxal movement. But, some of them realised its futility and surrendered to police to join the national mainstream. A study centre of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) at Kurkheda taluka here has given these people an opportunity to pursue higher education through its distance learning programme. Around 468 students, including Naxals who surrendered, girls, boys, married women and even mothers, are pursuing various diploma and degree courses from IGNOU’s study centres in Gadchiroli, a senior official of the university said. IGNOU has been running some study centres in the district since 2013 and the one at Kurkheda was set up about a year ago, he said. A 35-year-old man, who dropped out of Class 12 in the nearby Korshi taluka and joined the Naxal movement at the age of 19, is now pursuing the Bachelor Preparatory Programme after enrolling at the study centre in Kurkheda. The man, who did not wish to be identified, said he surrendered before police in 2014 and now wants to take up social work. “I had joined the Naxal movement because of the poor financial condition of my family. This is a cause of distress among many tribals. There should be equal opportunities of education and employment for all,” he said. Jayshree Madavi, 43, a resident of Kurkheda, had also discontinued her studies after Class 11. But, her daughter motivated her to study. Madavi resumed her studies a couple of years back and cleared the Class 12 exam along with her daughter. Both Madavi and her daughter are now pursuing the Bachelor Of Arts (BA) degree course after enrolling at the IGNOU’s study centre. Another local resident Priyanka Zade is also pursuing the BA course along with her sister, while their mother has taken up the Bachelor Preparatory Programme. IGNOU’s local coordinator Gauri Uikey said she has travelled to over 150 villages in Kurkheda, Korshi and Dhanora talukas to motivate young boys and girls as well as adults to pursue higher education. She is also a member of a self-help group which tries to reach out to women in villages and make them aware about educational opportunities for them. Once women enrol for the courses, IGNOU provides them quality study material, Uikey said. “There are several school dropouts in these villages who could not pursue higher education due to lack of adequate education facilities and other domestic reasons. IGNOU has given them an opportunity to pursue their dream of higher education,” she said. She claimed that around 85 students who pursued courses from the IGNOU’s study centres in Gadchiroli were working in different fields across Maharashtra. Besides, 68 students took up the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree course to work in their villages and serve the society, Uikey said. P Sivaswaroop, director of the IGNOU’s Nagpur regional centre, which monitors the functioning of its study centres in Gadchiroli, said he was happy that tribal women were showing a keen interest in pursuing higher education. Kurkheda was adopted by the IGNOU’s regional centre in Nagpur under the government’s ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyaan’, he said, adding that they also hold special admission camps for tribals and organise talks on nutrition-related issues. ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’ is a flagship programme of the Ministry of Human Resource Development to involve higher education institutions in the indigenous development of self-sufficient and sustainable village clusters.

Naxals in Maharashtra turn to education for better future

<p>Pakistan said on Friday it expected economic growth of 6.2 per cent as it announced a 2018/19 budget ahead of national elections expected in July.</p>

<p>Newly appointed Finance Minister Miftah Ismail announced the annual budget, while the opposition called for a budget covering only the remaining two months of the federal government`s tenure.&nbsp</p>

<p>Here are the highlights of the budget from the official federal budget document for the fiscal year starting on July 1.</p>

<p><strong>Growth/fiscal deficit</strong></p>

<p>GDP growth in 2018/19 growth seen at 6.2 per cent.</p>

<p>Finance minister Ismail said, "We have taken GDP to 5.8 percent. This progress we have made. We will not interrupt it, but the incoming government will have the right to modify the budget."</p>

<p>2018/19 fiscal deficit seen at 4.9 per cent of GDP.</p>

<p><strong>Expenditure</strong></p>

<p>Total expenditure for 2018/19 seen at 5.9 trillion rupees ($51 billion)</p>

<p><strong>Opposition reaction</strong></p>

<p>Two main opposition parties said it is improper to make a full-year budget with just months to go before the elections.</p>

<p><strong>Taxation</strong></p>

<p>Budget estimates tax revenue of 4.9 trillion rupees.</p>

<p>Minister Ismail said the government is using data mining and other technologies to track tax evaders.</p>

<p><strong>Infrastructure</strong></p>

<p>Government to spend on a large-scale desalination plant in Karachi city to end the city`s water woes.</p>

<p><strong>Agriculture</strong></p>

<p>Loans to the agriculture sector to increase.&nbsp</p>

<p><strong>Health</strong></p>

<p>Package for children`s health announced.&nbsp</p>

<p><strong>Education</strong></p>

<p>Government to pay for the transportation of female students to school.</p>


Newly appointed Finance Minister Miftah Ismail announced the annual budget, while the opposition called for a budget covering only the remaining two months of the federal government's tenure

Pakistan said on Friday it expected economic growth of 6.2 per cent as it announced a 2018/19 budget ahead of national elections expected in July. Newly appointed Finance Minister Miftah Ismail announced the annual budget, while the opposition called for a budget covering only the remaining two months of the federal government`s tenure. Here are the highlights of the budget from the official federal budget document for the fiscal year starting on July 1. Growth/fiscal deficit GDP growth in 2018/19 growth seen at 6.2 per cent. Finance minister Ismail said, "We have taken GDP to 5.8 percent. This progress we have made. We will not interrupt it, but the incoming government will have the right to modify the budget." 2018/19 fiscal deficit seen at 4.9 per cent of GDP. Expenditure Total expenditure for 2018/19 seen at 5.9 trillion rupees ($51 billion) Opposition reaction Two main opposition parties said it is improper to make a full-year budget with just months to go before the elections. Taxation Budget estimates tax revenue of 4.9 trillion rupees. Minister Ismail said the government is using data mining and other technologies to track tax evaders. Infrastructure Government to spend on a large-scale desalination plant in Karachi city to end the city`s water woes. Agriculture Loans to the agriculture sector to increase. Health Package for children`s health announced. Education Government to pay for the transportation of female students to school.

Pakistan government presents annual budget two months before term ends

<p>The National Robotics Week is celebrated in the month of April and this year it is scheduled between&nbsp;from April 7 to April 15.</p>

<p>The concept of National Robotics Week or "RoboWeek" was started in the US. It is a series of events and activities that aimed to educate the public about how robotics technology impacts society, both now and in the future.</p>

<p>On this occasion, we bring to you a story of&nbsp;a Delhi based&nbsp;educator who is working to revolutionise the way kids learn and deal with problems in their daily lives.</p>

<p>Dharamraj Panwar, founder of "Programming Club" shares his ideas exclusively to WION. He was born in an underprivileged family and now teaches underprivileged kids through outreach programs.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"The financial condition of my family was not well, I completed my schooling with free education. I struggled a lot during my initial days and then I started working on my self-developed approach 'learning by doing'," he said during his interaction with WION's Preshy Arora.</p>

<p>Panwar needed a mentor to convert the information into knowledge which led to the tagline of his Programming Club -"code potential into reality". He also believes that students tend to forget what they’ve learned as soon as their exams are over.</p>

<p>To solve this issue, Panwar started a "Programming Club" which&nbsp;is a small initiative where the school going students learn by practical exposure.</p>

<p>Students themselves build robots and learn by practically experimenting around with them. The whole idea of the venture is to help students relate study with their real-life experiences.</p>

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<h5>Learning is easy nowadays as information is freely disseminated everywhere, with the use of smartphones, Google.</h5>
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<p>Sometimes volunteers and students also assist Dharamraj with his classes and outreach programs for underprivileged kids.</p>

<p>"When we try to solve a real-life problem mathematically, we often use formulas that have already been developed, so it is important to understand how to apply them. With the help of robotics now, we can achieve this practically where we can easily assume an average speed and calculate the time based on the distance", says Shikha Maurya, a student at the Programming Club.<br />
<br />
According to Dharamraj, private institutes charge outrageous fees to run the kind of programme similar to theirs, where the cost of hardware is way too high, combining these two raising costs. His goal is to impart quality, yet affordable education to millions of students out there. Students who can not afford to pay fees, pay in the form of educating other students.<br />
<br />
Students do not only learn but also come up with solutions to a better society. They also have participated in international competitions.</p>

<p>Tanya Thukral, a volunteer at Programming Club says enthusiastically that their motive is to work as a team for underprivileged children. They are dedicated to the proposition that the community can make a difference in the lives of others by learning and sharing.</p>

<p>"We really like teaching kids and fostering creativity in them. We believe education is fundamental to development and growth of the country", expresses Tanya.<br />
<br />
Dharamraj was underprivileged as a child but doesn’t want others to suffer as he did. He aims to produce a generation of job creators, not job seekers.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Programming Club is a small initiative where the school going students learn by practical exposure. Students themselves build robots and learn by practically experimenting around with them

The National Robotics Week is celebrated in the month of April and this year it is scheduled between from April 7 to April 15. The concept of National Robotics Week or "RoboWeek" was started in the US. It is a series of events and activities that aimed to educate the public about how robotics technology impacts society, both now and in the future. On this occasion, we bring to you a story of a Delhi based educator who is working to revolutionise the way kids learn and deal with problems in their daily lives. Dharamraj Panwar, founder of "Programming Club" shares his ideas exclusively to WION. He was born in an underprivileged family and now teaches underprivileged kids through outreach programs. "The financial condition of my family was not well, I completed my schooling with free education. I struggled a lot during my initial days and then I started working on my self-developed approach 'learning by doing'," he said during his interaction with WION's Preshy Arora. Panwar needed a mentor to convert the information into knowledge which led to the tagline of his Programming Club -"code potential into reality". He also believes that students tend to forget what they’ve learned as soon as their exams are over. To solve this issue, Panwar started a "Programming Club" which is a small initiative where the school going students learn by practical exposure. Students themselves build robots and learn by practically experimenting around with them. The whole idea of the venture is to help students relate study with their real-life experiences. Learning is easy nowadays as information is freely disseminated everywhere, with the use of smartphones, Google. × Sometimes volunteers and students also assist Dharamraj with his classes and outreach programs for underprivileged kids. "When we try to solve a real-life problem mathematically, we often use formulas that have already been developed, so it is important to understand how to apply them. With the help of robotics now, we can achieve this practically where we can easily assume an average speed and calculate the time based on the distance", says Shikha Maurya, a student at the Programming Club. According to Dharamraj, private institutes charge outrageous fees to run the kind of programme similar to theirs, where the cost of hardware is way too high, combining these two raising costs. His goal is to impart quality, yet affordable education to millions of students out there. Students who can not afford to pay fees, pay in the form of educating other students. Students do not only learn but also come up with solutions to a better society. They also have participated in international competitions. Tanya Thukral, a volunteer at Programming Club says enthusiastically that their motive is to work as a team for underprivileged children. They are dedicated to the proposition that the community can make a difference in the lives of others by learning and sharing. "We really like teaching kids and fostering creativity in them. We believe education is fundamental to development and growth of the country", expresses Tanya. Dharamraj was underprivileged as a child but doesn’t want others to suffer as he did. He aims to produce a generation of job creators, not job seekers.

National Robotics Week 2018: Meet this techie who is revolutionising the way kids learn

<p>By Laura D&#39;Olimpio*</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>The erosion of trust in a civil society is one of the greatest moral challenges facing the world today.&nbsp;Democratic societies are anxious. Leaders, and the general public, are worried about extremism, terrorism and radicalisation. Educators and experts are rightly concerned about those who perpetuate approaches that resemble indoctrination. Such threats are making us less trusting of others, particularly of those we see as somehow different from ourselves.</p>

<p>A remedy may be found in educating people to be &ldquo;global citizens&rdquo;, who are not just caring, but are also critically engaged with ideas, beliefs and attitudes exhibited across the world. These global citizens can help to rebuild the lost trust in civil society in an increasingly diverse and globalised world.</p>

<p><strong>The good life</strong></p>

<p>In order to live among others in a harmonious manner, we must recognise that others wish to live a good life, much like ourselves. As Tim Dean points out, the &ldquo;good life&rdquo; looks different for different people at different times. There is no &ldquo;one size fits all&rdquo; when it comes to the good life.</p>

<p>The expression of diversity is an important component of a world that celebrates liberty. Yet such freedom must be coupled with respect and care if we are to have any hope of promoting ethical decision-making on a local, national or international level. We must think of ourselves as alike even amidst our diversity.&nbsp;</p>

<p>As individuals who live in communities, we must co-operate in order to achieve our goals, whether they be small or large. A life is shaped by our interaction (or lack thereof) with others: family, friends, colleagues and strangers.</p>

<p>We crave and seek out connection and a sense of belonging. With the technological tools available to us, we may now connect at any minute of any day with people we have never met in places we have never been.</p>

<p><strong>The importance of trust</strong></p>

<p>Trust is one of the most important pro-social attitudes we have. Philosophers such as Annette Baier and Martha Nussbaum have written about the vulnerability as well as the necessity of trust.</p>

<p>If we don&rsquo;t trust others or treat one another with respect and compassion, our interactions can be unsettling, sources of anxiety or even fear. Yet, if we approach others as friends &ndash; as more or less like me &ndash; a reciprocal and mutual goodwill is shared and is conducive to pleasant interactions and life-affirming experiences.</p>

<p>Granted, blind trust is as dangerous as blind faith. Trust, and compassion, must be accompanied by an appropriately engaged critical mind. But we must not go so far as to think that trust and care are unreasonable just because the world is a scary place.</p>

<p>As I have previously written, empirical studies conducted in the United States demonstrated that people think the world is a less trustworthy place than previous generations. However, proportionally, crime has not increased. What has increased is the number of crimes reported in the broadcast news and the amount of news we consume.</p>

<p>Reading too many sensationalised news stories may lead us to perceive the world as an unhappy, unfriendly place in which people are not to be trusted. Yet if this really were the case, it would be very difficult to go about our daily lives. Our perception matters, and how we see others and how we are seen shapes our experiences in the world.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Global citizens</strong></p>

<p>The global citizen is someone who recognises others as more alike than different from themselves, even while taking seriously individual, social, cultural and political differences.</p>

<p>Global citizens come together and unite in the recognition that we should all care about planet Earth and that all people have a shared interest in living well.</p>

<p>Caring about others we have never met and who may seem very different from ourselves can be a challenge, particularly in a climate of fear. Yet there are some well-known voices calling for such a compassionate and inclusive attitude to be adopted.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Peter Singer defends the concept of &ldquo;one world&rdquo; and Kwame Anthony Appiah supplements this idea with his writings on cosmopolitanism.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Martha Nussbaum highlights the importance of cultivating our &ldquo;inner eyes&rdquo; and being able to &ldquo;see the world from the perspective of minority experience&rdquo; as a way of overcoming fear and intolerance.</p>

<p>In her bestselling No Logo, Naomi Klein notes that, &ldquo;with globalisation, there needs to be some common standards&rdquo;.</p>

<p>All argue in support of the notion of the global citizen.&nbsp;In a pragmatic sense, global citizens will support policies that extend aid beyond national borders and cultivate respectful and reciprocal relationships with others regardless of geographical distance, gender, religion or race.</p>

<p>Global citizens are compassionate even while being critically engaged in a search for truth and wisdom. They make use of technology (social media, blogs and wikis) to further their understanding as well as their causes. They have the skills required to be creative and adapt to the rapidly changing global market.</p>

<p>Granted, all of this may not be easy to achieve. There are certainly educational aims that must be considered if we are to cultivate the habits of a compassionate, yet critical, global citizen. Yet I, for one, believe these educational goals are worth striving for.</p>

<p>The great moral challenge is to find a way to live together ethically as global citizens, and celebrate the connectedness of our technological world.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>*Laura D&#39;Olimpio is a senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Notre Dame Australia</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)</em></p>


The expression of diversity is an important component of a world that celebrates liberty. Yet such freedom must be coupled with respect and care if we are to have any hope of promoting ethical decision-making on a local, national or international level.

By Laura D'Olimpio* The erosion of trust in a civil society is one of the greatest moral challenges facing the world today. Democratic societies are anxious. Leaders, and the general public, are worried about extremism, terrorism and radicalisation. Educators and experts are rightly concerned about those who perpetuate approaches that resemble indoctrination. Such threats are making us less trusting of others, particularly of those we see as somehow different from ourselves. A remedy may be found in educating people to be “global citizens”, who are not just caring, but are also critically engaged with ideas, beliefs and attitudes exhibited across the world. These global citizens can help to rebuild the lost trust in civil society in an increasingly diverse and globalised world. The good life In order to live among others in a harmonious manner, we must recognise that others wish to live a good life, much like ourselves. As Tim Dean points out, the “good life” looks different for different people at different times. There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to the good life. The expression of diversity is an important component of a world that celebrates liberty. Yet such freedom must be coupled with respect and care if we are to have any hope of promoting ethical decision-making on a local, national or international level. We must think of ourselves as alike even amidst our diversity. As individuals who live in communities, we must co-operate in order to achieve our goals, whether they be small or large. A life is shaped by our interaction (or lack thereof) with others: family, friends, colleagues and strangers. We crave and seek out connection and a sense of belonging. With the technological tools available to us, we may now connect at any minute of any day with people we have never met in places we have never been. The importance of trust Trust is one of the most important pro-social attitudes we have. Philosophers such as Annette Baier and Martha Nussbaum have written about the vulnerability as well as the necessity of trust. If we don’t trust others or treat one another with respect and compassion, our interactions can be unsettling, sources of anxiety or even fear. Yet, if we approach others as friends – as more or less like me – a reciprocal and mutual goodwill is shared and is conducive to pleasant interactions and life-affirming experiences. Granted, blind trust is as dangerous as blind faith. Trust, and compassion, must be accompanied by an appropriately engaged critical mind. But we must not go so far as to think that trust and care are unreasonable just because the world is a scary place. As I have previously written, empirical studies conducted in the United States demonstrated that people think the world is a less trustworthy place than previous generations. However, proportionally, crime has not increased. What has increased is the number of crimes reported in the broadcast news and the amount of news we consume. Reading too many sensationalised news stories may lead us to perceive the world as an unhappy, unfriendly place in which people are not to be trusted. Yet if this really were the case, it would be very difficult to go about our daily lives. Our perception matters, and how we see others and how we are seen shapes our experiences in the world. Global citizens The global citizen is someone who recognises others as more alike than different from themselves, even while taking seriously individual, social, cultural and political differences. Global citizens come together and unite in the recognition that we should all care about planet Earth and that all people have a shared interest in living well. Caring about others we have never met and who may seem very different from ourselves can be a challenge, particularly in a climate of fear. Yet there are some well-known voices calling for such a compassionate and inclusive attitude to be adopted. Peter Singer defends the concept of “one world” and Kwame Anthony Appiah supplements this idea with his writings on cosmopolitanism. Martha Nussbaum highlights the importance of cultivating our “inner eyes” and being able to “see the world from the perspective of minority experience” as a way of overcoming fear and intolerance. In her bestselling No Logo, Naomi Klein notes that, “with globalisation, there needs to be some common standards”. All argue in support of the notion of the global citizen. In a pragmatic sense, global citizens will support policies that extend aid beyond national borders and cultivate respectful and reciprocal relationships with others regardless of geographical distance, gender, religion or race. Global citizens are compassionate even while being critically engaged in a search for truth and wisdom. They make use of technology (social media, blogs and wikis) to further their understanding as well as their causes. They have the skills required to be creative and adapt to the rapidly changing global market. Granted, all of this may not be easy to achieve. There are certainly educational aims that must be considered if we are to cultivate the habits of a compassionate, yet critical, global citizen. Yet I, for one, believe these educational goals are worth striving for. The great moral challenge is to find a way to live together ethically as global citizens, and celebrate the connectedness of our technological world. *Laura D'Olimpio is a senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Notre Dame Australia (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: We need to become global citizens to rebuild trust in our globalised world

<p>Multinational tech giant Apple is all set to join hands with the Malala Fund in a bid to empower girl education in India.&nbsp;</p>

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<p>The Malala Fund, led by Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala Yousafzai aims to fight for girls&#39;&nbsp;right to free, quality education.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Apple&#39;s support is expected to extend secondary education opportunities to over 100,000 girls.</p>

<p>&quot;With Apple&rsquo;s support, Malala Fund expects to double the number of grants awarded by its Gulmakai Network and extend funding programs to India and Latin America with the initial goal of extending secondary education opportunities to more than 100,000 girls,&quot; noted the official release.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Malala&#39;s Fund &#39;Gulmakai Network&#39; undertakes programmes in countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon, Turkey and Nigeria.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Impressive news today: Apple supports Malala Fund!<br />
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&quot;Apple and Malala Fund today announced that Apple will... <a href="https://t.co/z1tlkh8zqS">https://t.co/z1tlkh8zqS</a></p>
&mdash; Nobel Peace Summit (@nobelforpeace) <a href="https://twitter.com/nobelforpeace/status/955360982238486528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 22, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p>&ldquo;Through both their innovations and philanthropy, Apple has helped educate and empower people around the world. I am grateful that Apple knows the value of investing in girls and is joining Malala Fund in the fight to ensure all girls can learn and lead without fear,&rdquo; Malala was quoted in Apple&#39;s release.</p>

<p>Tim Cook-led Apple will be the first partner of the fund which aims to provide 12 years of free education to girls.</p>

<p>Apple CEO Tim Cook will also be on the Fund leadership council.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The company will also assist Malala Fund with technological solutions, curriculum and policy research.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Malala Fund started in the year 2013 and has been working in collaboration with organisations, private bodies and governments all across the globe.&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;</p>


Apple CEO Tim Cook will also be on the Fund leadership council.

Multinational tech giant Apple is all set to join hands with the Malala Fund in a bid to empower girl education in India. × The Malala Fund, led by Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala Yousafzai aims to fight for girls' right to free, quality education. Apple's support is expected to extend secondary education opportunities to over 100,000 girls. "With Apple’s support, Malala Fund expects to double the number of grants awarded by its Gulmakai Network and extend funding programs to India and Latin America with the initial goal of extending secondary education opportunities to more than 100,000 girls," noted the official release. Malala's Fund 'Gulmakai Network' undertakes programmes in countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon, Turkey and Nigeria. Impressive news today: Apple supports Malala Fund! "Apple and Malala Fund today announced that Apple will... https://t.co/z1tlkh8zqS — Nobel Peace Summit (@nobelforpeace) January 22, 2018 × “Through both their innovations and philanthropy, Apple has helped educate and empower people around the world. I am grateful that Apple knows the value of investing in girls and is joining Malala Fund in the fight to ensure all girls can learn and lead without fear,” Malala was quoted in Apple's release. Tim Cook-led Apple will be the first partner of the fund which aims to provide 12 years of free education to girls. Apple CEO Tim Cook will also be on the Fund leadership council. The company will also assist Malala Fund with technological solutions, curriculum and policy research. Malala Fund started in the year 2013 and has been working in collaboration with organisations, private bodies and governments all across the globe.

Apple to support Malala Fund to empower Indian girls

<p>Indian diplomacy is often seen as a balance between its hard power and soft power, and this balance drives New Delhi&rsquo;s &lsquo;great power&rsquo; ambitions. The traditional view of a &lsquo;great power&rsquo; is often associated with hard power and includes economic and military clout that countries leverage in order to influence the international order. The concept of &lsquo;soft power&rsquo;, pioneered by Harvard Professor Joseph Nye, is associated with the power to attract and co-opt as a means of influence.</p>

<p>India has plenty to leverage when it comes to soft power - from yoga and Ayurveda to democratic institutions and its rich history and culture &ndash; but there is definitely something it can learn from China.</p>

<p>China&rsquo;s &lsquo;soft power&rsquo; projections are more often than not, driven by centralised government schemes and conscious efforts of promotion of its culture and society to the world &ndash; be it rapidly spreading Confucius Institutes or extravagant displays of its ancient culture, likes of which the world witnessed during 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing. Unlike China, India&rsquo;s &lsquo;attractiveness&rsquo; to the world has grown organically, with little or no strategic government initiatives.</p>

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<h5>To understand China&rsquo;s soft power experiment one should look at its enhanced focus on higher education reforms and projections.</h5>
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<p>However, we have witnessed some of New Delhi&rsquo;s conscious efforts with yoga at heart of it; but it&rsquo;s only on a limited scale. On the contrary, to understand China&rsquo;s soft power experiment one should look at its enhanced focus on higher education reforms and projections. No small parts of China&rsquo;s &lsquo;soft power&rsquo; strategies are its elite scholarship programs, such as Schwarzman Scholars at Tsinghua University and Yenching Academy at Peking University. Modeled after Oxford&rsquo;s prestigious Rhodes scholarships, these scholarships are designed to educate and influence future leaders of the world.</p>

<p>These scholarships are attracting the best and brightest graduates from across the world, many of whom have graduated from Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge and other top-ranked universities. With the full support of Chinese government and policymakers, these fully funded scholarships are backed by huge endowments and donations. For instance, American billionaire and Chairman of private equity firm Blackstone Group, Stephen Schwarzman have donated 100 million USD.</p>

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<h5>The trend is indicative of the fact that &lsquo;higher education&rsquo; and &lsquo;quality education&rsquo; no longer remain the monopoly of the global north and there is scope for universities and institutes from developing world to compete for the best and brightest minds.</h5>
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<p>The attraction towards these scholarships is representative of China&rsquo;s constantly growing global influence and shifting international order. The specially designed curriculum of these programs is an effective &lsquo;soft power&rsquo; tool deployed by Beijing, as they allow &lsquo;future leaders&rsquo; to explore China&rsquo;s ancient culture and traditions, its politics and its role and aspirations in the 21st century.</p>

<p>The trend is indicative of the fact that &lsquo;higher education&rsquo; and &lsquo;quality education&rsquo; no longer remain the monopoly of the global north and there is scope for universities and institutes from developing world to compete for the best and brightest minds. But it&rsquo;s a long road ahead for India until we focus on our quality of research. India&rsquo;s highest-ranked institution Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc) is not even in the top 250, as per world university rankings by Times Higher Education (THE), while China&rsquo;s Peking and Tsinghua were ranked 27th and 30th respectively and had seven representations in Top 200 of 2018 rankings. Quality of research and teaching are the key areas where Indian institutions continue lacking.</p>

<p>Creation of such elite scholarship/fellowship programs could also be utilised by New Delhi as an instrument of diplomacy; the way Britain and America have done in the 20th century and China has started doing. In the past, Indian corporates and individuals have endowed such funds and scholarships allowing Indians to study abroad &ndash; and now is the time when India should attract &lsquo;future leaders&rsquo; and let them explore India&rsquo;s rich culture and heritage and more importantly understand India&rsquo;s role in global affairs. Such an investment could prove to be highly successful in attracting people to the world&rsquo;s largest democracy.</p>

<p><em>(Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).</em></p>


Creation of such elite scholarship/fellowship programs could be utilised by New Delhi as an instrument of diplomacy; the way Britain and America have done in the 20th century and China has started doing

Indian diplomacy is often seen as a balance between its hard power and soft power, and this balance drives New Delhi’s ‘great power’ ambitions. The traditional view of a ‘great power’ is often associated with hard power and includes economic and military clout that countries leverage in order to influence the international order. The concept of ‘soft power’, pioneered by Harvard Professor Joseph Nye, is associated with the power to attract and co-opt as a means of influence. India has plenty to leverage when it comes to soft power - from yoga and Ayurveda to democratic institutions and its rich history and culture – but there is definitely something it can learn from China. China’s ‘soft power’ projections are more often than not, driven by centralised government schemes and conscious efforts of promotion of its culture and society to the world – be it rapidly spreading Confucius Institutes or extravagant displays of its ancient culture, likes of which the world witnessed during 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing. Unlike China, India’s ‘attractiveness’ to the world has grown organically, with little or no strategic government initiatives. To understand China’s soft power experiment one should look at its enhanced focus on higher education reforms and projections. × However, we have witnessed some of New Delhi’s conscious efforts with yoga at heart of it; but it’s only on a limited scale. On the contrary, to understand China’s soft power experiment one should look at its enhanced focus on higher education reforms and projections. No small parts of China’s ‘soft power’ strategies are its elite scholarship programs, such as Schwarzman Scholars at Tsinghua University and Yenching Academy at Peking University. Modeled after Oxford’s prestigious Rhodes scholarships, these scholarships are designed to educate and influence future leaders of the world. These scholarships are attracting the best and brightest graduates from across the world, many of whom have graduated from Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge and other top-ranked universities. With the full support of Chinese government and policymakers, these fully funded scholarships are backed by huge endowments and donations. For instance, American billionaire and Chairman of private equity firm Blackstone Group, Stephen Schwarzman have donated 100 million USD. The trend is indicative of the fact that ‘higher education’ and ‘quality education’ no longer remain the monopoly of the global north and there is scope for universities and institutes from developing world to compete for the best and brightest minds. × The attraction towards these scholarships is representative of China’s constantly growing global influence and shifting international order. The specially designed curriculum of these programs is an effective ‘soft power’ tool deployed by Beijing, as they allow ‘future leaders’ to explore China’s ancient culture and traditions, its politics and its role and aspirations in the 21st century. The trend is indicative of the fact that ‘higher education’ and ‘quality education’ no longer remain the monopoly of the global north and there is scope for universities and institutes from developing world to compete for the best and brightest minds. But it’s a long road ahead for India until we focus on our quality of research. India’s highest-ranked institution Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc) is not even in the top 250, as per world university rankings by Times Higher Education (THE), while China’s Peking and Tsinghua were ranked 27th and 30th respectively and had seven representations in Top 200 of 2018 rankings. Quality of research and teaching are the key areas where Indian institutions continue lacking. Creation of such elite scholarship/fellowship programs could also be utilised by New Delhi as an instrument of diplomacy; the way Britain and America have done in the 20th century and China has started doing. In the past, Indian corporates and individuals have endowed such funds and scholarships allowing Indians to study abroad – and now is the time when India should attract ‘future leaders’ and let them explore India’s rich culture and heritage and more importantly understand India’s role in global affairs. Such an investment could prove to be highly successful in attracting people to the world’s largest democracy. (Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).

Opinion: China excels in soft power diplomacy; India doesn't

<p><em>&ldquo;Education is the manifestation of perfection already in a man.&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;-Swami Vivekananda</p>

<p>In a world of inequity, education often acts as a means for the less privileged to self-actualise. In an ideal world, all should have access to at least a basic level of education. However, this is far from the reality. Poverty, war, discrimination and many barriers prevent millions from having a good quality of education.</p>

<p>In India, the Right to Education Act (RTE), is a Parliamentary Act enacted on August 4, 2009. The Act mandates free and compulsory education for Indian children between ages 6 and 14 under Article 21a of the Indian Constitution. However, many Indians entitled to this free education are currently not enrolled in school. Many of these children are located in rural communities throughout the country.</p>

<p>Deep in the hinterlands of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, there exists a tribe known as the Korku tribe. Traditionally, the Korku are an agrarian people who have sustained themselves through subsistence farming. However, with the growing industrialisation of the country and the encroachment onto traditional Korku lands by other factions of society, it is becoming difficult for Korkus to sustain their traditional way of life. Currently, many Korku&rsquo;s are facing a large problem with famine.</p>

<p>Adherence to traditional agrarian values drives many Korkus to place a lower value on education as compared to agriculture labour. Therefore, many Korku parents push their children to agrarian labour rather than formal schooling. Consequently, many Korku children are deprived of an education, and many Korku community leaders lack formal education.</p>

<p>Only 43.3 per cent of Madhya Pradesh&rsquo;s Korku children aged 5-14 are enrolled in school. Although all of these students by law are entitled to free education by government mandated public schools, many students are unable to attend school due to being so far behind educational benchmarks for their age. Under Indian law, children not in schools are classified as either &ldquo;out of school children&rdquo;, &ldquo;school drop-outs&rdquo;, or &ldquo;children with no schooling at all&rdquo;. An &ldquo;out of school child&rdquo; is a child aged 7 to 14 who has stopped going to school or irregular in school for 3 to 6 months. Beyond 6 months out of school, a child is considered to have &ldquo;dropped out of school&rdquo;. Consequently, many students need remediation in order to re-enter government and private schools.</p>

<p>In 2016, the Turn Your Concern into Action (TYCIA) foundation initiated a program known as the Asha Kiran program. The Asha Kiran project aims to remediate all three categories of children out of school back into school. The goal of the program is to re-introduce thousands of children, comprised mainly of Korku children, back into the school system. The program has a particular interest in helping children who are encompassed in the following socially disadvantaged groups: Children of inmates, children in conflict with the law, runaway children, children of sex workers, children of migrant workers, victims of child labour malpractices, HIV positive children, children of HIV positive parents, orphans, and other children in need of special care and protection.</p>

<p>In implementing the project, TYCIA has aimed to first identify children aged 7 to 14 in need of service. Second, enrol these children into remediation centres. Third, provide innovative and non-traditional educational tools to children to help them reenter school. Fourth, encourage parents to enter children into formal schooling system. Fifth, mobilise the community to become stakeholders in the Right to Education, or what is formally known as the &ldquo;Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009&rdquo;. Sixth, evaluate the learning ability of the students and remediate students to formal school standards. Seventh, reintroduce students back into government schools. Once children are in government schools, TYCIA evaluates the performance of the students for the first 3 to 6 months of schooling.</p>

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<p>School-aged Korku children in the Asha Kiran program. (Others)</p>
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<p>In its first year of implementation, 2016-2017, the Asha Kiran project worked with approximately 1000 students to bring them to government school readiness. Due to funding constraints, the program was only structured for a one year period. However, the intention was to continue the program beyond one year as funding became available. Although the first year of the school met success with some students, there were structural adjustments that needed to be made to improve implementation.</p>

<p>Primarily, there were problems in providing full remediation to students who missed consecutive years of school. For many students, one year was not enough time to bring children to government school readiness. Consequently, there was a need to extend the amount of time that these particular children studied. As there was only one year of funding, there could be no guaranteed method of ensuring that these children received their necessary funding. Consequently, TYCIA is now restructuring the program to a multi-year format.</p>

<p>In the restructuring of the program, TYCIA is working with all new schools and villages in Madhya Pradesh. However, TYCIA wants to give continued aid for the students of the 2016 cohort. Therefore, TYCIA is now trying to both provide resources for the new program as well as resources to the students of last year&rsquo;s program.</p>

<p>In the Asha Kiran program, I am helping TYCIA in both strategising for the structure of this year&rsquo;s program and helping with reaching out to different donors. As TYCIA is restructuring program, I am helping with refining the details of program implementation. Also, TYCIA recently reached out to a donor in Spain requesting funding for the specific program. I took the lead in creating a concept note proposal detailing our need for this specific donor. The note detailed past accomplishments, current needs, current flaws, and future objectives. We are still waiting on a formal response from the note, but the prospects are looking good.</p>

<p>The work done by TYCIA helps hundreds of Korku children in Madhya Pradesh. As the Asha Kiran project moves forward in its development, I look forward to seeing the impact it will have on impoverished children in Madhya Pradesh. As my time as an AIF Clinton Fellow continues, I want to know the benefactors of the Asha Kiran project more intimately, and hopefully, have a positive impact on their lives.</p>

<p>This <a href="http://aif.org/bridging-the-rural-education-gap/" rel="nofollow" target="blank">article</a> was originally published on 27/11/2017 on <a href="http://aif.org/" rel="nofollow" target="blank">American India Foundation</a>.</p>

<p><em>(Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).</em></p>


With the growing industrialisation of the country and the encroachment onto traditional Korku lands by other factions of society, it is becoming difficult for Korkus to sustain their traditional way of life

“Education is the manifestation of perfection already in a man.” -Swami Vivekananda In a world of inequity, education often acts as a means for the less privileged to self-actualise. In an ideal world, all should have access to at least a basic level of education. However, this is far from the reality. Poverty, war, discrimination and many barriers prevent millions from having a good quality of education. In India, the Right to Education Act (RTE), is a Parliamentary Act enacted on August 4, 2009. The Act mandates free and compulsory education for Indian children between ages 6 and 14 under Article 21a of the Indian Constitution. However, many Indians entitled to this free education are currently not enrolled in school. Many of these children are located in rural communities throughout the country. Deep in the hinterlands of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, there exists a tribe known as the Korku tribe. Traditionally, the Korku are an agrarian people who have sustained themselves through subsistence farming. However, with the growing industrialisation of the country and the encroachment onto traditional Korku lands by other factions of society, it is becoming difficult for Korkus to sustain their traditional way of life. Currently, many Korku’s are facing a large problem with famine. Adherence to traditional agrarian values drives many Korkus to place a lower value on education as compared to agriculture labour. Therefore, many Korku parents push their children to agrarian labour rather than formal schooling. Consequently, many Korku children are deprived of an education, and many Korku community leaders lack formal education. Only 43.3 per cent of Madhya Pradesh’s Korku children aged 5-14 are enrolled in school. Although all of these students by law are entitled to free education by government mandated public schools, many students are unable to attend school due to being so far behind educational benchmarks for their age. Under Indian law, children not in schools are classified as either “out of school children”, “school drop-outs”, or “children with no schooling at all”. An “out of school child” is a child aged 7 to 14 who has stopped going to school or irregular in school for 3 to 6 months. Beyond 6 months out of school, a child is considered to have “dropped out of school”. Consequently, many students need remediation in order to re-enter government and private schools. In 2016, the Turn Your Concern into Action (TYCIA) foundation initiated a program known as the Asha Kiran program. The Asha Kiran project aims to remediate all three categories of children out of school back into school. The goal of the program is to re-introduce thousands of children, comprised mainly of Korku children, back into the school system. The program has a particular interest in helping children who are encompassed in the following socially disadvantaged groups: Children of inmates, children in conflict with the law, runaway children, children of sex workers, children of migrant workers, victims of child labour malpractices, HIV positive children, children of HIV positive parents, orphans, and other children in need of special care and protection. In implementing the project, TYCIA has aimed to first identify children aged 7 to 14 in need of service. Second, enrol these children into remediation centres. Third, provide innovative and non-traditional educational tools to children to help them reenter school. Fourth, encourage parents to enter children into formal schooling system. Fifth, mobilise the community to become stakeholders in the Right to Education, or what is formally known as the “Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009”. Sixth, evaluate the learning ability of the students and remediate students to formal school standards. Seventh, reintroduce students back into government schools. Once children are in government schools, TYCIA evaluates the performance of the students for the first 3 to 6 months of schooling. School-aged Korku children in the Asha Kiran program. (Others) × In its first year of implementation, 2016-2017, the Asha Kiran project worked with approximately 1000 students to bring them to government school readiness. Due to funding constraints, the program was only structured for a one year period. However, the intention was to continue the program beyond one year as funding became available. Although the first year of the school met success with some students, there were structural adjustments that needed to be made to improve implementation. Primarily, there were problems in providing full remediation to students who missed consecutive years of school. For many students, one year was not enough time to bring children to government school readiness. Consequently, there was a need to extend the amount of time that these particular children studied. As there was only one year of funding, there could be no guaranteed method of ensuring that these children received their necessary funding. Consequently, TYCIA is now restructuring the program to a multi-year format. In the restructuring of the program, TYCIA is working with all new schools and villages in Madhya Pradesh. However, TYCIA wants to give continued aid for the students of the 2016 cohort. Therefore, TYCIA is now trying to both provide resources for the new program as well as resources to the students of last year’s program. In the Asha Kiran program, I am helping TYCIA in both strategising for the structure of this year’s program and helping with reaching out to different donors. As TYCIA is restructuring program, I am helping with refining the details of program implementation. Also, TYCIA recently reached out to a donor in Spain requesting funding for the specific program. I took the lead in creating a concept note proposal detailing our need for this specific donor. The note detailed past accomplishments, current needs, current flaws, and future objectives. We are still waiting on a formal response from the note, but the prospects are looking good. The work done by TYCIA helps hundreds of Korku children in Madhya Pradesh. As the Asha Kiran project moves forward in its development, I look forward to seeing the impact it will have on impoverished children in Madhya Pradesh. As my time as an AIF Clinton Fellow continues, I want to know the benefactors of the Asha Kiran project more intimately, and hopefully, have a positive impact on their lives. This article was originally published on 27/11/2017 on American India Foundation. (Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).

Opinion: Poverty, famine and a tribe's quest for better life

<p>Within hours of arriving in Lucknow, I took off on a scooter with a colleague to a nearby slum area. We were going into the field. Upon arriving at the session site, the kids were called and the facilitator introduced the session. Then the children, in unison, asked &ldquo;Bhaiyya, may we please know your name?&rdquo; &ldquo;My name is Jackson,&rdquo; I replied Urdu. This is going well so far, I thought to myself. I understood today&rsquo;s activity would be football (soccer) and that there would be two groups for the drills.</p>

<p>From there, however, the session seemed to become controlled chaos. Kids ran everywhere, doing drills and kicking the balls in all directions. This continued for almost the entire hour, until we regrouped and discussed how the drills went. The session I observed, a part of Project KHEL&rsquo;s Made in Maidaan life skills-education program for kids aged 7-16, was a jarring and enlightening experience all at once. It was the first of almost 30 sessions I would observe or help facilitate over the next two weeks.</p>

<p>While Project KHEL has other programs, ranging from Ultimate Frisbee to activity-based literacy programs, our main program utilises a Sports For Development method to deliver a self-designed Life Skills Education program for the benefit of underprivileged youth in Lucknow through sessions, hour-long &ldquo;classes&rdquo; delivered twice per week [1]. Life skills are defined as psychosocial abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life [2].</p>

<p>Sports for Development programs and Life Skills Education programs are both widely popular both in India and globally as development methods. Their use also has significant institutional backing, as the United Nations see sport as a crucial method by which to achieve the newest Sustainable Development Goals [3], while the concept of Life Skills Education is itself a product of the World Health Organisation [4]. However, Project KHEL&rsquo;s combination of these philosophies is unique because of the way that sports and games are vehicles to teach life skills.</p>

<p>Rather than discussing life skills and drawing out messages through, Project KHEL has kids playing, working together, and experiencing these life skills as they learn and understand them. Each session has a specific plan of activities aimed at achieving a life skills-oriented outcome through a mix of sports and games.</p>

<p>Despite summers of experience as a summer camp counsellor during high school and college, it was the concept of fieldwork which worried me most about coming to Lucknow to begin work with Project KHEL. At Project KHEL, fieldwork involves working directly with these children, facilitating sessions of sports, games and activities to teach life skills. What if I don&rsquo;t understand their Hindi, or if they don&rsquo;t understand me? What if I don&rsquo;t have the presence to be a facilitator?</p>

<p>I collided with all these concerns in my very first session, meeting fifty children and learning the ropes as the session happened. I spent the entire hour trying to figure out what was happening around me and to understand what the other facilitators and all the children, everyone except me, seemed to understand. By the end of the session, I had realised how the games had been played, what lessons facilitators aimed to draw from them, and what facilitators needed to pay most attention to during the session. Like many things at Project KHEL, learning through participation is the best way to understand both the work itself but also the motivations and intentions of every choice made regarding sessions.</p>

<p>The nature of Project KHEL&rsquo;s programming requires staff to be actively in the field almost every day in some capacity, Being in the field has been an eye-opening experience, as well as a complicated one. Witnessing Project KHEL&rsquo;s programs firsthand, seeing the activities, getting to know the children, understanding the planning process for each session, figuring out how to manage large groups of children, dealing within-session complications like sudden rain or injuries, making sure to deliver effective and meaningful briefings and debriefings for children and staff, all of this is necessary to fully understand both the programs and mission of Project KHEL.</p>

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<p>The Project KHEL team celebrates Diwali (Others)</p>
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<p>Relying on extensive communication and feedback to critique their own work and methods, I have been deeply impressed by their commitment to self-reflection and taking meaningful action based on this. It is this systematic commitment to organisational improvement that made it so easy to share the passion that all of the staff brings to each and every session and every project.</p>

<p>Everyone in the office has helped me feel at home, and our guiding principle, putting our kids first always, is a unifying idea that I connected to immediately. Sharing this is something I have drawn strength from while working in the field.</p>

<p>Six weeks in, I love facilitating sessions. I still make mistakes, all the time in fact, but my colleagues will always help me to do better, knowing that improvement is the aim. Having now facilitated or observed almost 50 sessions across Project KHEL&rsquo;s seven programs, fieldwork has become the highlight of each and every day, and knowing that I have my colleagues and a child-centred methodology for monitoring and evaluation behind me means that no mistake will be in vain.</p>

<p>This is what the kids do as well &ndash; they learn from each others&rsquo; successes and shortcomings as they play collectively. In that sense, a commitment to collective learning could be the unifying principle of Project KHEL&rsquo;s mission.</p>

<p>[1] &ldquo;Made in Maidaan.&rdquo; Project KHEL. 2017.<br />
[2] &ldquo;Definition of Terms.&rdquo; UNICEF. June 13, 2003.<br />
[3] &ldquo;Sport and Sustainable Development Goals.&rdquo; United Nations Office of Sport and Development. 2014.<br />
[4] Partners in Life Skills Education. Report. Geneva: World Health Organisation, 1999.</p>

<p>This <a href="http://aif.org/the-process-of-collective-learning/">article </a>was originally published on 07/11/ 2017 on <a href="http://aif.org/">American India Foundation</a></p>


'A commitment to collective learning could be the unifying principle of Project KHEL?s mission'

Within hours of arriving in Lucknow, I took off on a scooter with a colleague to a nearby slum area. We were going into the field. Upon arriving at the session site, the kids were called and the facilitator introduced the session. Then the children, in unison, asked “Bhaiyya, may we please know your name?” “My name is Jackson,” I replied Urdu. This is going well so far, I thought to myself. I understood today’s activity would be football (soccer) and that there would be two groups for the drills. From there, however, the session seemed to become controlled chaos. Kids ran everywhere, doing drills and kicking the balls in all directions. This continued for almost the entire hour, until we regrouped and discussed how the drills went. The session I observed, a part of Project KHEL’s Made in Maidaan life skills-education program for kids aged 7-16, was a jarring and enlightening experience all at once. It was the first of almost 30 sessions I would observe or help facilitate over the next two weeks. While Project KHEL has other programs, ranging from Ultimate Frisbee to activity-based literacy programs, our main program utilises a Sports For Development method to deliver a self-designed Life Skills Education program for the benefit of underprivileged youth in Lucknow through sessions, hour-long “classes” delivered twice per week [1]. Life skills are defined as psychosocial abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life [2]. Sports for Development programs and Life Skills Education programs are both widely popular both in India and globally as development methods. Their use also has significant institutional backing, as the United Nations see sport as a crucial method by which to achieve the newest Sustainable Development Goals [3], while the concept of Life Skills Education is itself a product of the World Health Organisation [4]. However, Project KHEL’s combination of these philosophies is unique because of the way that sports and games are vehicles to teach life skills. Rather than discussing life skills and drawing out messages through, Project KHEL has kids playing, working together, and experiencing these life skills as they learn and understand them. Each session has a specific plan of activities aimed at achieving a life skills-oriented outcome through a mix of sports and games. Despite summers of experience as a summer camp counsellor during high school and college, it was the concept of fieldwork which worried me most about coming to Lucknow to begin work with Project KHEL. At Project KHEL, fieldwork involves working directly with these children, facilitating sessions of sports, games and activities to teach life skills. What if I don’t understand their Hindi, or if they don’t understand me? What if I don’t have the presence to be a facilitator? I collided with all these concerns in my very first session, meeting fifty children and learning the ropes as the session happened. I spent the entire hour trying to figure out what was happening around me and to understand what the other facilitators and all the children, everyone except me, seemed to understand. By the end of the session, I had realised how the games had been played, what lessons facilitators aimed to draw from them, and what facilitators needed to pay most attention to during the session. Like many things at Project KHEL, learning through participation is the best way to understand both the work itself but also the motivations and intentions of every choice made regarding sessions. The nature of Project KHEL’s programming requires staff to be actively in the field almost every day in some capacity, Being in the field has been an eye-opening experience, as well as a complicated one. Witnessing Project KHEL’s programs firsthand, seeing the activities, getting to know the children, understanding the planning process for each session, figuring out how to manage large groups of children, dealing within-session complications like sudden rain or injuries, making sure to deliver effective and meaningful briefings and debriefings for children and staff, all of this is necessary to fully understand both the programs and mission of Project KHEL. The Project KHEL team celebrates Diwali (Others) × Relying on extensive communication and feedback to critique their own work and methods, I have been deeply impressed by their commitment to self-reflection and taking meaningful action based on this. It is this systematic commitment to organisational improvement that made it so easy to share the passion that all of the staff brings to each and every session and every project. Everyone in the office has helped me feel at home, and our guiding principle, putting our kids first always, is a unifying idea that I connected to immediately. Sharing this is something I have drawn strength from while working in the field. Six weeks in, I love facilitating sessions. I still make mistakes, all the time in fact, but my colleagues will always help me to do better, knowing that improvement is the aim. Having now facilitated or observed almost 50 sessions across Project KHEL’s seven programs, fieldwork has become the highlight of each and every day, and knowing that I have my colleagues and a child-centred methodology for monitoring and evaluation behind me means that no mistake will be in vain. This is what the kids do as well – they learn from each others’ successes and shortcomings as they play collectively. In that sense, a commitment to collective learning could be the unifying principle of Project KHEL’s mission. [1] “Made in Maidaan.” Project KHEL. 2017. [2] “Definition of Terms.” UNICEF. June 13, 2003. [3] “Sport and Sustainable Development Goals.” United Nations Office of Sport and Development. 2014. [4] Partners in Life Skills Education. Report. Geneva: World Health Organisation, 1999. This article was originally published on 07/11/ 2017 on American India Foundation

The process of collective learning

<p>Prince of Wales, Charles Philip Arthur George along with Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker Bowles arrived in India on Wednesday and have decided to back a new development bond for India which will provide education to marginalised children in the country.</p>

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<p>Prince of Wales, Charles Philip Arthur George along with Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker Bowles arrived in India on Wednesday. (AFP)</p>
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<p>The British Asian Trust was created by Prince Charles, with the aim to curb poverty in South Asia.&nbsp;</p>

<p>With this in mind, Prince of Wales had instituted a 10 million Education Development Impact Bond (DIB) as an innovative and sustainable social impact investment tool which will be tied in with performance and outcomes of educational initiatives.</p>

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<p>Prince Charles and Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker Bowles (AFP)</p>
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<p>Beginning with India, this bond will finally circle across the trust&#39;s other regions of operations.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;I hope that through the trust we can impact the lives of not just children in India but also change the mindsets of philanthropists around the world,&quot; said Prince Charles.</p>

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<p>Prince Charles (AFP)</p>
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<p>As part of the initiative, the DIB will be funding four not-for-profit delivery partners in India for a period of four years and create a result-oriented way to generate more capital into development, with a strong emphasis on data and evidence.</p>

<p>The initiative plans to create technical support and deliver insights as well as provide a wide range of operational models including principal and teacher training, direct school management, and supplementary programmes.</p>

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<p>Prince Charles and Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker Bowles greet everyone on their arrival (ANI)</p>
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<p>They will be on a two-day visit to India as part of their 10-day four nation tour to Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and India.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from PTI)</em></p>


He has decided to back a new development bond for India which will provide education to marginalised children in the country.

Prince of Wales, Charles Philip Arthur George along with Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker Bowles arrived in India on Wednesday and have decided to back a new development bond for India which will provide education to marginalised children in the country. Prince of Wales, Charles Philip Arthur George along with Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker Bowles arrived in India on Wednesday. (AFP) × The British Asian Trust was created by Prince Charles, with the aim to curb poverty in South Asia. With this in mind, Prince of Wales had instituted a 10 million Education Development Impact Bond (DIB) as an innovative and sustainable social impact investment tool which will be tied in with performance and outcomes of educational initiatives. Prince Charles and Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker Bowles (AFP) × Beginning with India, this bond will finally circle across the trust's other regions of operations. "I hope that through the trust we can impact the lives of not just children in India but also change the mindsets of philanthropists around the world," said Prince Charles. Prince Charles (AFP) × As part of the initiative, the DIB will be funding four not-for-profit delivery partners in India for a period of four years and create a result-oriented way to generate more capital into development, with a strong emphasis on data and evidence. The initiative plans to create technical support and deliver insights as well as provide a wide range of operational models including principal and teacher training, direct school management, and supplementary programmes. Prince Charles and Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker Bowles greet everyone on their arrival (ANI) × They will be on a two-day visit to India as part of their 10-day four nation tour to Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and India. (With inputs from PTI)

Prince Charles and Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla arrive in India

<p>Amidst the excitement and controversy over demonetisation and GST, and the earlier noise over flagship policies such as Make in India, an urgent issue has slipped through the cracks. That issue is, the extent of poverty in India, and what to do about it. India&rsquo;s poor performance on the recently published Global Hunger Index has been in the news last week.</p>

<p>This, taken together with the occasion of International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (October 17), is a good time to take stock of what is going on with poverty. The poverty issue has been overshadowed in recent years by the jobs issue. The two are related. Lack of decent jobs means lack of good incomes, which in turn means poverty. So in some ways, it is good that we are now talking about the root of the problem, the failure to create an adequate number of decent livelihoods. But this should not make us lose sight of the consumption side of poverty.</p>

<p>The first point worth noting is that reliable nationwide statistics on what economists call the poverty headcount ratio (the percentage of Indians spending less per day than the poverty line) are not available after 2011. This is because 2011-2012 is the last year that we have large sample consumption-expenditure data from surveys carried out by the National Sample Survey Organization.</p>

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<h5>In India poverty should be measured in terms of rupees spent only, or if there should be an attempt to analyse whether basic needs are being met.</h5>
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<p>As per this data 22 <span style="display: none;">&nbsp;</span> per cent of Indians lived in poverty in 2011, spending less than INR 27 per day in rural areas and less than INR 33 per day in urban areas. However, in 2009-2010 the NSSO also started experimenting with a different method of surveying people&rsquo;s spending habits. This method gives a poverty rate of 12.4 per cent in 2011-2012. A 2015 <a href="http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/109701443800596288/PRN03Oct2015TwinGoals.pdf">World Bank report</a> explains the differences in method.</p>

<p>So much for the headline statistics. Let us get into some more pertinent details. The poverty issue goes much beyond the poverty rate and the poverty line. India is not doing badly as far as a strict interpretation of poverty line goes. But as the <a href="http://nceuis.nic.in/condition_of_workers_sep_2007.pdf">Arjun Sengupta commission</a> showed nearly ten years ago, if we look at those who spend just a little more than the official poverty line (still a very low level of consumption), that percentage can be very high.</p>

<p>The figure that caught the nation&rsquo;s imagination was that 77 per cent of the population had a per capita daily consumption of INR 20 or less in 2005. The basic problem remains even today. Focusing only on the poverty line is dangerous because many people may hover right above it and they will not be any less poor in substantive terms than those just under it.</p>

<p>Second, there is a long-standing debate in India over whether poverty should be measured in terms of rupees spent only, or if there should be an attempt to analyse whether basic needs are being met. To those who have been paying to this debate, India&rsquo;s dismal performance on the Global Hunger Index does not come as a surprise.</p>

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<h5>Many people are cutting down on food and spending on other things instead.</h5>
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<p>For some years now, we have known that merely measuring daily spending adjusted for inflation is not a good way to estimate poverty, especially when nutrition is taken into consideration. What has been happening is that people are spending more money in real terms but that money is going to non-food necessities such as healthcare, education, transportation, and other services.</p>

<p>To put it another way, incomes have risen slowly for the poor while the need to consume non-food items mentioned above has become more and more compelling. The result: many are cutting down on food and spending on other things instead.</p>

<p>This much is known, indeed too well known. The question, as always, is what can be done about it. Here two recent ideas are worth exploring. One from the employment side and one from the consumption side: wage subsidies and universal basic services.</p>

<p>Last week the BJP government in Gujarat announced an interesting policy measure as an electoral promise. In addition to promising investments of around INR 20,000 crore in the garment sector to create one lakh jobs it also promised to pay a sizeable portion of the wages of the newly hired workers for a period of five years.</p>

<p>I have discussed in an <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/minimum-wage-wage-subsidy-is-the-solution-to-income-disparity-5949">earlier column</a>, the idea that the government can subsidise wages in the private sector in order to raise incomes or stimulate employment. It has also been discussed in the context of an extension of the current MGNREGA program. The bigger picture is if the government offers various forms of capital subsidies (like tax exemptions, land, lower interest rates etc.) why not wage subsidies?</p>

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<h5>Instead of giving people income grants and letting them purchase services in the market, the State should provide basic needs such as education, health, and housing free of cost.</h5>
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<p>The concept of universal basic services (UBS) has a long history but has recently been floated as an alternative to universal basic income (UBI) in developed countries. UBI has been discussed extensively in India as well (for e.g. see this year&rsquo;s Economic Survey). The UBS proposal is that instead of giving people income grants and letting them purchase services in the market, the State should provide basic needs such as education, health, and housing free of cost. This is a generalisation of existing public provisioning via the Public Distribution System (PDS) and various other schemes.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Of course many will object to such a program seeing in it a return to the &ldquo;bad only days&rdquo; of socialism and fiscal irresponsibility. The problem is that the &ldquo;good new days&rdquo; have been good only for a minority and this does not seem to be changing. If we take a look at the budgets of not only the poor but as much as half of the population, we are likely to find that the above-mentioned items account for most of the spending.</p>

<p>Universal public health, education, and housing will go a long way in alleviating pressure on people&rsquo;s budgets freeing up resources for better nutrition. Not only that it will give them much-needed room to take risks with employment, skill development as well as entrepreneurship. Further, provisioning of such services will create much-needed employment since these happen to be difficult to mechanise.</p>

<p>Overall the decline in poverty numbers till 2011 (and most likely these have declined further by now, though we don&rsquo;t have data), suggests that it is the time we stopped worrying purely about expenditure-based poverty lines and focused instead on providing basic services and raising incomes at the bottom.</p>


Job creation and providing basic services like healthcare, education will tackle poverty in India

Amidst the excitement and controversy over demonetisation and GST, and the earlier noise over flagship policies such as Make in India, an urgent issue has slipped through the cracks. That issue is, the extent of poverty in India, and what to do about it. India’s poor performance on the recently published Global Hunger Index has been in the news last week. This, taken together with the occasion of International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (October 17), is a good time to take stock of what is going on with poverty. The poverty issue has been overshadowed in recent years by the jobs issue. The two are related. Lack of decent jobs means lack of good incomes, which in turn means poverty. So in some ways, it is good that we are now talking about the root of the problem, the failure to create an adequate number of decent livelihoods. But this should not make us lose sight of the consumption side of poverty. The first point worth noting is that reliable nationwide statistics on what economists call the poverty headcount ratio (the percentage of Indians spending less per day than the poverty line) are not available after 2011. This is because 2011-2012 is the last year that we have large sample consumption-expenditure data from surveys carried out by the National Sample Survey Organization. In India poverty should be measured in terms of rupees spent only, or if there should be an attempt to analyse whether basic needs are being met. × As per this data 22 per cent of Indians lived in poverty in 2011, spending less than INR 27 per day in rural areas and less than INR 33 per day in urban areas. However, in 2009-2010 the NSSO also started experimenting with a different method of surveying people’s spending habits. This method gives a poverty rate of 12.4 per cent in 2011-2012. A 2015 World Bank report explains the differences in method. So much for the headline statistics. Let us get into some more pertinent details. The poverty issue goes much beyond the poverty rate and the poverty line. India is not doing badly as far as a strict interpretation of poverty line goes. But as the Arjun Sengupta commission showed nearly ten years ago, if we look at those who spend just a little more than the official poverty line (still a very low level of consumption), that percentage can be very high. The figure that caught the nation’s imagination was that 77 per cent of the population had a per capita daily consumption of INR 20 or less in 2005. The basic problem remains even today. Focusing only on the poverty line is dangerous because many people may hover right above it and they will not be any less poor in substantive terms than those just under it. Second, there is a long-standing debate in India over whether poverty should be measured in terms of rupees spent only, or if there should be an attempt to analyse whether basic needs are being met. To those who have been paying to this debate, India’s dismal performance on the Global Hunger Index does not come as a surprise. Many people are cutting down on food and spending on other things instead. × For some years now, we have known that merely measuring daily spending adjusted for inflation is not a good way to estimate poverty, especially when nutrition is taken into consideration. What has been happening is that people are spending more money in real terms but that money is going to non-food necessities such as healthcare, education, transportation, and other services. To put it another way, incomes have risen slowly for the poor while the need to consume non-food items mentioned above has become more and more compelling. The result: many are cutting down on food and spending on other things instead. This much is known, indeed too well known. The question, as always, is what can be done about it. Here two recent ideas are worth exploring. One from the employment side and one from the consumption side: wage subsidies and universal basic services. Last week the BJP government in Gujarat announced an interesting policy measure as an electoral promise. In addition to promising investments of around INR 20,000 crore in the garment sector to create one lakh jobs it also promised to pay a sizeable portion of the wages of the newly hired workers for a period of five years. I have discussed in an earlier column, the idea that the government can subsidise wages in the private sector in order to raise incomes or stimulate employment. It has also been discussed in the context of an extension of the current MGNREGA program. The bigger picture is if the government offers various forms of capital subsidies (like tax exemptions, land, lower interest rates etc.) why not wage subsidies? Instead of giving people income grants and letting them purchase services in the market, the State should provide basic needs such as education, health, and housing free of cost. × The concept of universal basic services (UBS) has a long history but has recently been floated as an alternative to universal basic income (UBI) in developed countries. UBI has been discussed extensively in India as well (for e.g. see this year’s Economic Survey). The UBS proposal is that instead of giving people income grants and letting them purchase services in the market, the State should provide basic needs such as education, health, and housing free of cost. This is a generalisation of existing public provisioning via the Public Distribution System (PDS) and various other schemes. Of course many will object to such a program seeing in it a return to the “bad only days” of socialism and fiscal irresponsibility. The problem is that the “good new days” have been good only for a minority and this does not seem to be changing. If we take a look at the budgets of not only the poor but as much as half of the population, we are likely to find that the above-mentioned items account for most of the spending. Universal public health, education, and housing will go a long way in alleviating pressure on people’s budgets freeing up resources for better nutrition. Not only that it will give them much-needed room to take risks with employment, skill development as well as entrepreneurship. Further, provisioning of such services will create much-needed employment since these happen to be difficult to mechanise. Overall the decline in poverty numbers till 2011 (and most likely these have declined further by now, though we don’t have data), suggests that it is the time we stopped worrying purely about expenditure-based poverty lines and focused instead on providing basic services and raising incomes at the bottom.

Poverty in India: Measurement and eradication

<p><meta charset="utf-8" />Virtual Reality has matured a lot since it&rsquo;s inception and it seems like it has no intentions of stopping in further development. And people have realized the impact it is having, so much so that people have started taking advantage of it in the education sector.</p>

<p>With the implementation of mobiles, tablets and various learning applications that have been made available to students these days, the latest is VR in immersive learning, and it changing the education sector for the better:<meta charset="utf-8" /></p>

<h2 dir="ltr">Inspires Learning</h2>

<p dir="ltr">Virtual Reality can help merge&nbsp;the line of difference between education and technology. It can help students explore and learn. VR brings interactiveness in education to a whole new level, which the old methods could not.</p>

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<p>Role of Virtual Reality in Education (Others)</p>
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<p>VR with the help of educational but fun games will help students retain their imagination. It also offers students to work together thereby promoting team-building.</p>

<h2 dir="ltr">An Interactive Teaching-Learning Environment</h2>

<p dir="ltr">With the help of VR, teachers can take lectures from home or other environments. It gives them an opportunity to show the students various artifacts from around the world which they otherwise may not be able to visit and see.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Some of the schools in rural areas have started to utilize VR technology, to provide their students with top class education even when they are not able to bring in teachers with high qualifications to teach.</p>

<p dir="ltr">For instance, a school can get pre-recorded lessons from highly qualified teachers. The interactive session allowed the teacher to come live from her computer to answer the questions that the students were curious about.</p>

<h2 dir="ltr">Education is more Engaging</h2>

<p dir="ltr">VR helps the educators to add a more interactive way of teaching in their establishments. This will help them make subjects which the students feel are difficult easy for them with the help of subject based games.</p>

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<p>Role of Virtual Reality in Education (Others)</p>
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<p>In the recent times, companies like Google have made huge efforts to push VR in education by getting engaging educational games and lessons provided in their databases.</p>

<h2 dir="ltr">Helps Students Perform better</h2>

<p>There are many benefits of VR to Educational Sector, one of which is that the students will be more attentive and engaged while playing educational games, getting virtual lectures, etc. This will aid them in&nbsp;retaining what they have learned at a greater level, which will inturn help them perform better.</p>

<h2 dir="ltr">Conclusion</h2>

<p>With the implementation of VR in education, there are chances of students getting better grades and get equal level of knowledge from highly qualified educators. This will also help improve kids attention spans and also help them develop their imagination.</p>

<p>Written By - Karanveer Singh Arora</p>


With VR taking a major role in the education sector, we found the ways in which VR is immensely helpful for better learning.

Virtual Reality has matured a lot since it’s inception and it seems like it has no intentions of stopping in further development. And people have realized the impact it is having, so much so that people have started taking advantage of it in the education sector. With the implementation of mobiles, tablets and various learning applications that have been made available to students these days, the latest is VR in immersive learning, and it changing the education sector for the better: Inspires Learning Virtual Reality can help merge the line of difference between education and technology. It can help students explore and learn. VR brings interactiveness in education to a whole new level, which the old methods could not. Role of Virtual Reality in Education (Others) × VR with the help of educational but fun games will help students retain their imagination. It also offers students to work together thereby promoting team-building. An Interactive Teaching-Learning Environment With the help of VR, teachers can take lectures from home or other environments. It gives them an opportunity to show the students various artifacts from around the world which they otherwise may not be able to visit and see. Some of the schools in rural areas have started to utilize VR technology, to provide their students with top class education even when they are not able to bring in teachers with high qualifications to teach. For instance, a school can get pre-recorded lessons from highly qualified teachers. The interactive session allowed the teacher to come live from her computer to answer the questions that the students were curious about. Education is more Engaging VR helps the educators to add a more interactive way of teaching in their establishments. This will help them make subjects which the students feel are difficult easy for them with the help of subject based games. Role of Virtual Reality in Education (Others) × In the recent times, companies like Google have made huge efforts to push VR in education by getting engaging educational games and lessons provided in their databases. Helps Students Perform better There are many benefits of VR to Educational Sector, one of which is that the students will be more attentive and engaged while playing educational games, getting virtual lectures, etc. This will aid them in retaining what they have learned at a greater level, which will inturn help them perform better. Conclusion With the implementation of VR in education, there are chances of students getting better grades and get equal level of knowledge from highly qualified educators. This will also help improve kids attention spans and also help them develop their imagination. Written By - Karanveer Singh Arora

Role of Virtual Reality in Education

<p>As one enters a slum in eastern Delhi, the scene is what you might expect. Packed dwellings, narrow lanes, loud voices, people everywhere.</p>

<p>Geeta, a 39-year-old housemaid, lives in this slum. She is a single mother and works in the nearby Patparganj area. As we enter Geeta&rsquo;s home, she is busy doing her daily chores.</p>

<p>What&rsquo;s unusual about Geeta is the fact that she has chosen to send her son to a private school, despite the fact that she is the sole breadwinner of the house and her monthly income is just 7,000-8,000 rupees ($100-120 US).</p>

<p>When asked why she made that decision, Geeta tells WION, &ldquo;Kids in my locality going to government schools cannot even speak English. My son, Rahul, can read and write English.&rdquo;</p>

<p>A 2014 report by Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (ACER) shows that only 41 per cent of children in the age group of 6-14 can read a standard two&nbsp;text.</p>

<p>Despite the increase in government expenditure on education over the years, the learning levels have declined during the same period.</p>

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<p>Government school data (WION)</p>
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<p>Speaking to WION, Prashant Narang, advocate at Centre For Civil Society, says, &ldquo;Often government funding to schools is not well rationalised&rdquo;.</p>

<p>&ldquo;One of the schools in Himachal&nbsp;Pradesh has only one student in the entire school and the government&rsquo;s spending on that school is Rs 13 lakhs,&rdquo; he adds.</p>

<p>The question, therefore, is not just about the amount invested in education, but also the allocation and utilisation of funds.</p>

<p>According to the District Information System for Education (DISE), between 2007 and 2013, enrollment in government primary schools declined by about 11.7 million. In contrast, the enrollment in private schools went up by 27 million during the same period.</p>

<p>In his former school (a government school), Rahul says nobody ever paid attention to the students or bothered to even check their homework.&nbsp;&ldquo;Half the students in my class would just mark their attendance and leave,&rdquo; he says.</p>

<p>WION visited another family in the same slum. Jyoti is a 12th grade student who goes to a government school. She could barely read simple sentences in English.</p>

<p>When asked what was the reason behind that, she says, &ldquo;In our school, English was never emphasised on&rdquo;. She says she would love to go to a private school if given a chance or choice.</p>

<p>A 2011 study by ACER found that school expenses, including tuition fees, have gone up from Rs 60,000 a year in 2005 to Rs 150,000 per annum per child in 2011.</p>

<p>Until government schools can get their act together, parents like Geeta are deprived of choices; private schooling being the only alternative.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<p>A 2014 report by Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (ACER) shows that only 41 per cent of children in the age group of 6-14 can read a standard two text (WION)</p>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>(WION)</p>

<p><br />
&nbsp;</p>


The question is not just about the amount invested in education, but also the allocation and utilisation of funds

As one enters a slum in eastern Delhi, the scene is what you might expect. Packed dwellings, narrow lanes, loud voices, people everywhere. Geeta, a 39-year-old housemaid, lives in this slum. She is a single mother and works in the nearby Patparganj area. As we enter Geeta’s home, she is busy doing her daily chores. What’s unusual about Geeta is the fact that she has chosen to send her son to a private school, despite the fact that she is the sole breadwinner of the house and her monthly income is just 7,000-8,000 rupees ($100-120 US). When asked why she made that decision, Geeta tells WION, “Kids in my locality going to government schools cannot even speak English. My son, Rahul, can read and write English.” A 2014 report by Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (ACER) shows that only 41 per cent of children in the age group of 6-14 can read a standard two text. Despite the increase in government expenditure on education over the years, the learning levels have declined during the same period. Government school data (WION) × Speaking to WION, Prashant Narang, advocate at Centre For Civil Society, says, “Often government funding to schools is not well rationalised”. “One of the schools in Himachal Pradesh has only one student in the entire school and the government’s spending on that school is Rs 13 lakhs,” he adds. The question, therefore, is not just about the amount invested in education, but also the allocation and utilisation of funds. According to the District Information System for Education (DISE), between 2007 and 2013, enrollment in government primary schools declined by about 11.7 million. In contrast, the enrollment in private schools went up by 27 million during the same period. In his former school (a government school), Rahul says nobody ever paid attention to the students or bothered to even check their homework. “Half the students in my class would just mark their attendance and leave,” he says. WION visited another family in the same slum. Jyoti is a 12th grade student who goes to a government school. She could barely read simple sentences in English. When asked what was the reason behind that, she says, “In our school, English was never emphasised on”. She says she would love to go to a private school if given a chance or choice. A 2011 study by ACER found that school expenses, including tuition fees, have gone up from Rs 60,000 a year in 2005 to Rs 150,000 per annum per child in 2011. Until government schools can get their act together, parents like Geeta are deprived of choices; private schooling being the only alternative. A 2014 report by Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (ACER) shows that only 41 per cent of children in the age group of 6-14 can read a standard two text (WION) × (WION)

Quality education still a far cry in India?s government schools

<p>Paying tributes to Cuba&#39;s late leader Fidel Castro, India said Cubans have achieved notable success in education and healthcare under his leadership despite outside pressures and Havana&#39;s struggle for the global south brought it and the Caribbean island nation together.</p>

<p>&quot;Fidel Castro indeed towered on the global stage. Under his leadership the people of Cuba achieved notable development successes in areas such as education and healthcare, despite outside pressures,&quot; India&#39;s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin said at a special commemorative meeting in the General Assembly yesterday to pay tribute to the late commander of the Cuban revolution.</p>

<p>Akbaruddin said Cuba gave a &quot;significant voice&quot; for the cause of the global south, and this is what drew India and Cuba together. Over the years, the two nations have worked together closely at the UN to promote the aspects of economic equity and social justice in international relations, he added.</p>

<p>Nearly 30 envoys representing regional groups and nations paid tributes to Castro, who died at age 90, and his indelible legacy during the ceremony, presided over by General Assembly President Peter Thomson. While speakers included Russia, South Africa, Iran and China, there were no representatives from Western nations.</p>

<p>Akbaruddin said Indians learnt about Castro&#39;s demise last month &quot;with a sense of loss.&quot; Prime Minister Narendra Modi had described Castro as one of the most iconic personalities of the 20th century and had captured the emotions of India&#39;s one billion people when he stated that the country mourns the loss of a &quot;great friend&quot;, Akbaruddin added.</p>

<p>As a mark of respect to the legendary leader, members of both houses of the Indian Parliament had paid tributes to the late leader.<br />
The Indian envoy told the General Assembly that India was one of the first countries to recognise Castro&#39;s government after the Cuban revolution in 1959. &quot;Fidel Castro was a stalwart of the Non Aligned Movement during the Cold War years, when India and Cuba commenced their close partnership to advance the interests of developing countries,&quot; Akbaruddin said.</p>

<p>UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in his message on the occasion said, Castro was &quot;one of the most important Latin American leaders of the 20th century&quot; and &quot;the most influential shaper of Cuban history since his own hero, Jose Marti, struggled for Cuban independence in the late 19th century.&quot;</p>

<p>The outgoing UN Chief said as president, Castro turned Cuba into a &quot;regional model of access to education and public health&quot; and &quot;until his last days he was deeply concerned about the future of humanity and challenges of the current times.&quot;<br />
Castro left &quot;a major imprint on his country and global politics,&quot; Ban said in remarks read by Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Miroslav Jenca.</p>

<p>Lauding Castro&#39;s &quot;charismatic and wise leadership,&quot; Akbaruddin said India will always &quot;remember and cherish our friendship&quot; with the &quot;strong leader of a resilient nation.&quot;</p>

<p>(PTI)&nbsp;</p>


Cuba's healthcare and education were lauded in a room that had representatives from 30 countries, but none from Western countries

Paying tributes to Cuba's late leader Fidel Castro, India said Cubans have achieved notable success in education and healthcare under his leadership despite outside pressures and Havana's struggle for the global south brought it and the Caribbean island nation together. "Fidel Castro indeed towered on the global stage. Under his leadership the people of Cuba achieved notable development successes in areas such as education and healthcare, despite outside pressures," India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin said at a special commemorative meeting in the General Assembly yesterday to pay tribute to the late commander of the Cuban revolution. Akbaruddin said Cuba gave a "significant voice" for the cause of the global south, and this is what drew India and Cuba together. Over the years, the two nations have worked together closely at the UN to promote the aspects of economic equity and social justice in international relations, he added. Nearly 30 envoys representing regional groups and nations paid tributes to Castro, who died at age 90, and his indelible legacy during the ceremony, presided over by General Assembly President Peter Thomson. While speakers included Russia, South Africa, Iran and China, there were no representatives from Western nations. Akbaruddin said Indians learnt about Castro's demise last month "with a sense of loss." Prime Minister Narendra Modi had described Castro as one of the most iconic personalities of the 20th century and had captured the emotions of India's one billion people when he stated that the country mourns the loss of a "great friend", Akbaruddin added. As a mark of respect to the legendary leader, members of both houses of the Indian Parliament had paid tributes to the late leader. The Indian envoy told the General Assembly that India was one of the first countries to recognise Castro's government after the Cuban revolution in 1959. "Fidel Castro was a stalwart of the Non Aligned Movement during the Cold War years, when India and Cuba commenced their close partnership to advance the interests of developing countries," Akbaruddin said. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in his message on the occasion said, Castro was "one of the most important Latin American leaders of the 20th century" and "the most influential shaper of Cuban history since his own hero, Jose Marti, struggled for Cuban independence in the late 19th century." The outgoing UN Chief said as president, Castro turned Cuba into a "regional model of access to education and public health" and "until his last days he was deeply concerned about the future of humanity and challenges of the current times." Castro left "a major imprint on his country and global politics," Ban said in remarks read by Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Miroslav Jenca. Lauding Castro's "charismatic and wise leadership," Akbaruddin said India will always "remember and cherish our friendship" with the "strong leader of a resilient nation." (PTI)

India praises Fidel Castro at UN

<p>Tax department has unearthed Rs 32,000 crore through searches in last three fiscals and found that use of black money is rampant in sectors like real estate and educational institutions, government said today.</p>

<p>&quot;The data indicates that the main sectors in which black money is rampant include real estate, finance, trading, manufacturing, educational institutes and services,&quot; Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.</p>

<p>During 2015-16, the I-T Department conducted 445 searches which discovered undisclosed income of Rs 11,066 crore. Total assets seized were Rs 712.68 crore.</p>

<p>Also 545 searches conducted in 2014-15 have led to admission of undisclosed income worth Rs 10,288 crore. Total assets seized amounted to Rs 761.70 crore.</p>

<p>Besides, 569 searches in 2013-14 saw admission of undisclosed income of Rs 10,791.63 crore and asset seizure of Rs 807.84 crore.</p>

<p>This takes the total undisclosed income which was admitted during searches to Rs 32,146 crore.</p>

<p>Analysis of the searches by the Income Tax department during the last three financial years indicates that the persons searched were involved in multiple activities in varied sectors, Gangwar said.</p>

<p>He said the government has taken several measures to effectively tackle the issue of black money. These include prohibition of acceptance of payment/advance of Rs 20,000 or more in cash, enactment of benami transaction law and mandatory quoting of PAN for transaction above Rs 2 lakh.</p>

<p>In reply to another question in the Lok Sabha, Gangwar said that between April and October, the Enforcement Directorate registered 109 cases under FEMA involving Hawala transactions.</p>

<p>During 2015-16, 138 such cases were registered under FEMA, while in 2014-15 it was 104 and in 2013-14 it was 75. &quot;The above cases may include a few cases relating to illegal activities and terrorism also,&quot; Gangwar said.</p>

<p>(PTI)</p>


During 2015-16, the I-T Department conducted 445 searches which discovered undisclosed income of Rs 11,066 crore (USD 1616 million)

Tax department has unearthed Rs 32,000 crore through searches in last three fiscals and found that use of black money is rampant in sectors like real estate and educational institutions, government said today. "The data indicates that the main sectors in which black money is rampant include real estate, finance, trading, manufacturing, educational institutes and services," Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. During 2015-16, the I-T Department conducted 445 searches which discovered undisclosed income of Rs 11,066 crore. Total assets seized were Rs 712.68 crore. Also 545 searches conducted in 2014-15 have led to admission of undisclosed income worth Rs 10,288 crore. Total assets seized amounted to Rs 761.70 crore. Besides, 569 searches in 2013-14 saw admission of undisclosed income of Rs 10,791.63 crore and asset seizure of Rs 807.84 crore. This takes the total undisclosed income which was admitted during searches to Rs 32,146 crore. Analysis of the searches by the Income Tax department during the last three financial years indicates that the persons searched were involved in multiple activities in varied sectors, Gangwar said. He said the government has taken several measures to effectively tackle the issue of black money. These include prohibition of acceptance of payment/advance of Rs 20,000 or more in cash, enactment of benami transaction law and mandatory quoting of PAN for transaction above Rs 2 lakh. In reply to another question in the Lok Sabha, Gangwar said that between April and October, the Enforcement Directorate registered 109 cases under FEMA involving Hawala transactions. During 2015-16, 138 such cases were registered under FEMA, while in 2014-15 it was 104 and in 2013-14 it was 75. "The above cases may include a few cases relating to illegal activities and terrorism also," Gangwar said. (PTI)

Black money rampant in educational institutions, real estate: Indian Government

<p>For many parents, the thought of letting their offspring walk to school alone is source of much angst. But the Spanish city of Pontevedra has decided to advocate giving children their space.</p>

<p>Launched in 2010, the &quot;Road to School&quot; programme has been taken up by seven establishments in the northwestern city which believe that far from being in danger, children as young as six actually thrive going to school without adults, developing strong self-confidence.</p>

<p>Dragging their wheeled schoolbags across a pedestrian crossing, brothers Pablo and Jorge Pazos, 8 and 10, are just one example of an initiative based on research by Italian educational psychologist Francesco Tonucci, who believes in giving kids autonomy.</p>

<p>&quot;We talk about our stuff, our games, nothing important but things that adults don&#39;t really understand,&quot; says Pablo, 8.</p>

<p>&quot;It&#39;s not necessary for adults to be with us all the time,&quot; he adds politely.</p>

<p>&quot;They bother us a little, they talk all the time, ask &#39;how is school?&#39;.&quot;</p>

<p>Pablo prefers wandering around his district, buying bread before going home and &quot;sometimes, being a little silly, like the other day when we hid behind a tree to scare a friend.&quot;</p>

<p><strong>Playing outside, no screens</strong>&nbsp;</p>

<p>According to city statistics, 25 per cent of students aged six to 12 from the seven establishments who encourage the initiative walked to school alone last year.</p>

<p>They are registered as such, and if they don&#39;t arrive at school as usual, staff call their parents.</p>

<p>In some cases, adults stand at the most dangerous road crossings to help children across, but otherwise, they are on their own.</p>

<p>Tonucci, now 76, has long advocated letting children develop without excessive amounts of adult interference as part of Italy&#39;s National Research Council.</p>

<p>&quot;When I was a kid, we played in the streets, where we would discover the world,&quot; he tells AFP in Pontevedra, an 83,000-strong city in Galicia.</p>

<p>&quot;Now, we have to rebuild this normality.&quot;</p>

<p>His ideas have inspired some 20 cities in Spain, as well as schools in Italy, Latin America, Turkey and Lebanon.</p>

<p>Adamantly against &quot;computer games made to keep children at home for a long time,&quot; Tonucci tells parents to let them out and &quot;invent their own games&quot;.</p>

<p>&quot;It feels like a form of abandon but it&#39;s a way of loving them: I leave you alone because I trust you.&quot;</p>

<p>He believes that &quot;the presence of an adult deprives children of surprise, of discovering things on their own, of risk-taking, which is an essential part of playing.&quot;</p>

<p>Pilar Lores, principal at one of the schools that has adopted his ideas, says the act of letting children walk alone builds their self-confidence.</p>

<p>&quot;They have to look after one another, they also arrive more awake, fresher, and hyperactive or fidgety children are calmer because they have released their adrenalin,&quot; she says.</p>

<p><strong>Less accidents</strong>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Tonucci, meanwhile, has a response for every parent&#39;s anxious queries.</p>

<p>&quot;The desire for transgression increases in children who cannot be a little naughty when they need to, and explodes in teenage years in a much more dangerous manner,&quot; he says.</p>

<p>In Italy, he estimates that only around seven percent of six- to 11-year-olds go to school alone, and blames the media for creating panic, particularly &quot;with television programmes that analyse the most horrible crimes committed on children.&quot;</p>

<p>But after years of research, Tonucci says sexual abuse, for instance, is often committed by people close to the children, and not by strangers in the street.</p>

<p>Paradoxically, accidents also often happen when an adult is present.</p>

<p>Miguel Anxo Fernandez, who has been mayor of Pontevedra for 17 years, is a fan of Tonucci&#39;s ideas -- so much so that he had one of his books translated into Galician, the regional dialect.</p>

<p>Generally speaking, he has been a strong advocate of centering the city around its people -- adults and children -- reducing car traffic and creating more pedestrian and cycling areas.</p>

<p>This earned Pontevedra a UN Habitat prize in 2015, which aims to reward individuals or institutions for improving living conditions in urban centres.</p>

<p>The reduction of car traffic, for one, has had concrete results.</p>

<p>Since February 2011, there have been no deaths related to traffic accidents in the city, says Daniel Macenlle, Pontevedra police chief.</p>

<p>And the &quot;Road to School&quot; programme has contributed to this, he says, by reducing the risk of accidents near schools, which are often due to the influx of parents droppings off their kids.</p>

<p>(AFP)</p>


Schools believe that far from danger, kids as young as six thrive going to school without adults

For many parents, the thought of letting their offspring walk to school alone is source of much angst. But the Spanish city of Pontevedra has decided to advocate giving children their space. Launched in 2010, the "Road to School" programme has been taken up by seven establishments in the northwestern city which believe that far from being in danger, children as young as six actually thrive going to school without adults, developing strong self-confidence. Dragging their wheeled schoolbags across a pedestrian crossing, brothers Pablo and Jorge Pazos, 8 and 10, are just one example of an initiative based on research by Italian educational psychologist Francesco Tonucci, who believes in giving kids autonomy. "We talk about our stuff, our games, nothing important but things that adults don't really understand," says Pablo, 8. "It's not necessary for adults to be with us all the time," he adds politely. "They bother us a little, they talk all the time, ask 'how is school?'." Pablo prefers wandering around his district, buying bread before going home and "sometimes, being a little silly, like the other day when we hid behind a tree to scare a friend." Playing outside, no screens According to city statistics, 25 per cent of students aged six to 12 from the seven establishments who encourage the initiative walked to school alone last year. They are registered as such, and if they don't arrive at school as usual, staff call their parents. In some cases, adults stand at the most dangerous road crossings to help children across, but otherwise, they are on their own. Tonucci, now 76, has long advocated letting children develop without excessive amounts of adult interference as part of Italy's National Research Council. "When I was a kid, we played in the streets, where we would discover the world," he tells AFP in Pontevedra, an 83,000-strong city in Galicia. "Now, we have to rebuild this normality." His ideas have inspired some 20 cities in Spain, as well as schools in Italy, Latin America, Turkey and Lebanon. Adamantly against "computer games made to keep children at home for a long time," Tonucci tells parents to let them out and "invent their own games". "It feels like a form of abandon but it's a way of loving them: I leave you alone because I trust you." He believes that "the presence of an adult deprives children of surprise, of discovering things on their own, of risk-taking, which is an essential part of playing." Pilar Lores, principal at one of the schools that has adopted his ideas, says the act of letting children walk alone builds their self-confidence. "They have to look after one another, they also arrive more awake, fresher, and hyperactive or fidgety children are calmer because they have released their adrenalin," she says. Less accidents Tonucci, meanwhile, has a response for every parent's anxious queries. "The desire for transgression increases in children who cannot be a little naughty when they need to, and explodes in teenage years in a much more dangerous manner," he says. In Italy, he estimates that only around seven percent of six- to 11-year-olds go to school alone, and blames the media for creating panic, particularly "with television programmes that analyse the most horrible crimes committed on children." But after years of research, Tonucci says sexual abuse, for instance, is often committed by people close to the children, and not by strangers in the street. Paradoxically, accidents also often happen when an adult is present. Miguel Anxo Fernandez, who has been mayor of Pontevedra for 17 years, is a fan of Tonucci's ideas -- so much so that he had one of his books translated into Galician, the regional dialect. Generally speaking, he has been a strong advocate of centering the city around its people -- adults and children -- reducing car traffic and creating more pedestrian and cycling areas. This earned Pontevedra a UN Habitat prize in 2015, which aims to reward individuals or institutions for improving living conditions in urban centres. The reduction of car traffic, for one, has had concrete results. Since February 2011, there have been no deaths related to traffic accidents in the city, says Daniel Macenlle, Pontevedra police chief. And the "Road to School" programme has contributed to this, he says, by reducing the risk of accidents near schools, which are often due to the influx of parents droppings off their kids. (AFP)

In Spanish city,  parents give their children space to be independent

<p>Imagine a child without any toys to play with, regular schooling or a daily dose of cartoons. Sounds like a disturbed childhood, right? This is the reality for about 14.4 million refugees (2014 UNHCR figures) in the world&nbsp;who lead a different life than an average kid living in their own homeland.</p>

<p>World Refugee Day is celebrated every year on June 20.&nbsp;</p>

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<p>World Refugee Day (WION)</p>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Living under difficult circumstances, refugees deal with several issues at hand. Displaced from their place of belonging here is a list of things that refugee kids miss out on a daily basis:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Their home:&nbsp;</strong></li>
</ul>

<p>Usually relocated, refugee children miss out on growing up in their own homeland, among friends and family. Unlike children who are raised under normal state of affairs, these kids are not exposed to their culture and surroundings that are vital for a holistic development.&nbsp;</p>

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<p>A refugee camp (AFP)</p>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Regular education:</strong>&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<p>Most refugee children have no or negligible access to regular schools. Some are pulled out of schools because of war-like situations or have to discontinue so as to fend for the family.&nbsp;</p>

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<p>A makeshift refugee school (AFP)</p>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Food:&nbsp;</strong></li>
</ul>

<p>Leading a disturbed lifestyle, refugee children have no access to everyday food that we munch on. Most of them survive on minimum basics or go without food for several days. In several countries they are given food vouchers, so you can imagine they don&#39;t eat anything that we fancy on as kids -&nbsp;ice creams, burgers, pizzas or other junk food items.&nbsp;</p>

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<p>Displaced kids eating (AFP)</p>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Lose their childhood too early:&nbsp;</strong></li>
</ul>

<p>Reeling under physical and psychological pressure, refugee kids mature much early than their counterparts. It is reported by the&nbsp;UN&#39;s refugee agency that countries like Syria have reported grave dangers for refugee kids. Girls are married to much older men vying for safety while the boys are forced into labour so as to sustain a family.&nbsp;</p>

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<p>A kid at work in a refugee camp (AFP)</p>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Source of entertainment:&nbsp;</strong></li>
</ul>

<p>As a child refugee, the&nbsp;kids are always striving for safety and have no&nbsp;source of entertainment like movies, cartoons, leisure activities or even access to toys sometimes.&nbsp;</p>

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<p>A child plays with makeshift tricycle (AFP)</p>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Every year, war adds on to the number of refugees worldwide. Facing danger to life and other basic human rights, they need to be provided with a closer-to home environment for growth. Many organisations around the world like UNHCR, World Food Programs are working towards improving their living standards.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>(Contributed by: Zeba Khan)&nbsp;</em><br />
&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Owing to pressure, these kids mature faster than those living in their homes

Imagine a child without any toys to play with, regular schooling or a daily dose of cartoons. Sounds like a disturbed childhood, right? This is the reality for about 14.4 million refugees (2014 UNHCR figures) in the world who lead a different life than an average kid living in their own homeland. World Refugee Day is celebrated every year on June 20. World Refugee Day (WION) × Living under difficult circumstances, refugees deal with several issues at hand. Displaced from their place of belonging here is a list of things that refugee kids miss out on a daily basis: Their home: Usually relocated, refugee children miss out on growing up in their own homeland, among friends and family. Unlike children who are raised under normal state of affairs, these kids are not exposed to their culture and surroundings that are vital for a holistic development. A refugee camp (AFP) × Regular education: Most refugee children have no or negligible access to regular schools. Some are pulled out of schools because of war-like situations or have to discontinue so as to fend for the family. A makeshift refugee school (AFP) × Food: Leading a disturbed lifestyle, refugee children have no access to everyday food that we munch on. Most of them survive on minimum basics or go without food for several days. In several countries they are given food vouchers, so you can imagine they don't eat anything that we fancy on as kids - ice creams, burgers, pizzas or other junk food items. Displaced kids eating (AFP) × Lose their childhood too early: Reeling under physical and psychological pressure, refugee kids mature much early than their counterparts. It is reported by the UN's refugee agency that countries like Syria have reported grave dangers for refugee kids. Girls are married to much older men vying for safety while the boys are forced into labour so as to sustain a family. A kid at work in a refugee camp (AFP) × Source of entertainment: As a child refugee, the kids are always striving for safety and have no source of entertainment like movies, cartoons, leisure activities or even access to toys sometimes. A child plays with makeshift tricycle (AFP) × Every year, war adds on to the number of refugees worldwide. Facing danger to life and other basic human rights, they need to be provided with a closer-to home environment for growth. Many organisations around the world like UNHCR, World Food Programs are working towards improving their living standards. (Contributed by: Zeba Khan)

A refugee child misses out on things your average kid takes for granted

India has a shortfall of around 10 lakh school teachers, according to a cabinet minister.<br />
<br />
The minister of state for human resource development (HRD) Mahendra Nath Pandey put the&nbsp;blame on past governments for the current classroom crisis.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
&quot;It has been created due to a long backlog of posts lying vacant over the years,&quot; the 58-year-old minister told Times of India, referring to the problem plaguing the Indian education system.<br />
<br />
&quot;We have identified that there is a requirement of as many as 10 lakh teachers across the country,&quot; he said, adding the current government had set the wheels in motion to sort this issue.<br />
<br />
The minister, who was in Bareilly, a town in India&#39;s northern state of Uttar Pradesh and roughly 251km from state capital Lucknow, also stressed on the need to revise the education policy in the country.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
The minister said the last time the policy was revamped was in 1976.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
&quot;We are now inviting suggestions from the public to introduce changes in the education system,&quot; he said.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
Pandey also sounded caution about the falling standards in classrooms. But he spelled out a raft of measures to arrest that slide.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
&quot;We are trying to connect our students&nbsp;with facilities offered at international levels through satellite. We have also been working to increase the intake capacity of educational institutes in the country,&quot; he said.<br />
<br />
(WION)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
&nbsp;

Mahendra Nath Pandey has stressed on the need to revise the education policy, which has remained unchanged since 1976

India has a shortfall of around 10 lakh school teachers, according to a cabinet minister. The minister of state for human resource development (HRD) Mahendra Nath Pandey put the blame on past governments for the current classroom crisis. "It has been created due to a long backlog of posts lying vacant over the years," the 58-year-old minister told Times of India, referring to the problem plaguing the Indian education system. "We have identified that there is a requirement of as many as 10 lakh teachers across the country," he said, adding the current government had set the wheels in motion to sort this issue. The minister, who was in Bareilly, a town in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh and roughly 251km from state capital Lucknow, also stressed on the need to revise the education policy in the country. The minister said the last time the policy was revamped was in 1976. "We are now inviting suggestions from the public to introduce changes in the education system," he said. Pandey also sounded caution about the falling standards in classrooms. But he spelled out a raft of measures to arrest that slide. "We are trying to connect our students with facilities offered at international levels through satellite. We have also been working to increase the intake capacity of educational institutes in the country," he said. (WION)

India faces shortage of 10 lakh teachers, says cabinet minister

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has fired five ministers, according to an official decree, in a move that removed figures known for close ties to ex-rebel leader Riek Machar.<br />
<br />
Under a peace agreement signed in August 2015, Kiir headed the government while Machar was given the position of first vice president. Thirty ministerial posts were distributed between their two parties and others.<br />
<br />
But a presidential decree issued on Tuesday showed that cabinet posts including the interior and petroleum portfolios in the oil-rich state had been filled with allies of the new vice president, Taban Deng Gai.<br />
<br />
Deng, who leads a faction of Machar&#39;s SPLM/A (IO) party, was named vice president by Kiir after being fired as a minister by his own party leader.&nbsp;Among those removed were water resources minister Mabior Garang, the son of the figurehead of South Sudan&#39;s independence movement, and the minister for higher education, Peter Adwok, an influential ex-rebel.<br />
<br />
Their sacking strains the delicate balance of ethnicities in the government, analysts said.&nbsp;Garang is an opposition figure but a Dinka like the president, while Adwok is a Shilluk, a group which has now lost an important voice in government.<br />
<br />
Kiir did however retain powerful rebel figure Alfred Lado Gore in his government, moving him from the interior ministry to housing.&nbsp;Machar ally Gore hails from the Equatoria region, where the capital, Juba, is located and which is seen as a hotbed for opposition recruitment.<br />
<br />
The move also comes just days after Lam Akol, a minister representing another opposition grouping, resigned with the intention of organising the government`s opponents into a more consolidated force, he said, while declaring the peace deal dead.<br />
<br />
South Sudan&#39;s political tensions date back to December 2013, just over two years after the state achieved independence from Sudan.<br />
<br />
Kiir accused Machar of planning a coup, setting off a cycle of retaliatory killings that degenerated into a ruinous civil war. &nbsp;The two agreed a peace deal and power-sharing arrangement in August 2015, but problems have lurked beneath the surface.<br />
<br />
Renewed fighting in July led the UN Security Council to consider a visit this month to Sudan and South Sudan to push for a return to peace efforts. Machar has not returned to Juba since the clashes.<br />
<br />
(AFP)

Among those removed were water resources minister Mabior Garang and the minister for higher education, Peter Adwok

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has fired five ministers, according to an official decree, in a move that removed figures known for close ties to ex-rebel leader Riek Machar. Under a peace agreement signed in August 2015, Kiir headed the government while Machar was given the position of first vice president. Thirty ministerial posts were distributed between their two parties and others. But a presidential decree issued on Tuesday showed that cabinet posts including the interior and petroleum portfolios in the oil-rich state had been filled with allies of the new vice president, Taban Deng Gai. Deng, who leads a faction of Machar's SPLM/A (IO) party, was named vice president by Kiir after being fired as a minister by his own party leader. Among those removed were water resources minister Mabior Garang, the son of the figurehead of South Sudan's independence movement, and the minister for higher education, Peter Adwok, an influential ex-rebel. Their sacking strains the delicate balance of ethnicities in the government, analysts said. Garang is an opposition figure but a Dinka like the president, while Adwok is a Shilluk, a group which has now lost an important voice in government. Kiir did however retain powerful rebel figure Alfred Lado Gore in his government, moving him from the interior ministry to housing. Machar ally Gore hails from the Equatoria region, where the capital, Juba, is located and which is seen as a hotbed for opposition recruitment. The move also comes just days after Lam Akol, a minister representing another opposition grouping, resigned with the intention of organising the government`s opponents into a more consolidated force, he said, while declaring the peace deal dead. South Sudan's political tensions date back to December 2013, just over two years after the state achieved independence from Sudan. Kiir accused Machar of planning a coup, setting off a cycle of retaliatory killings that degenerated into a ruinous civil war. The two agreed a peace deal and power-sharing arrangement in August 2015, but problems have lurked beneath the surface. Renewed fighting in July led the UN Security Council to consider a visit this month to Sudan and South Sudan to push for a return to peace efforts. Machar has not returned to Juba since the clashes. (AFP)

South Sudan leader fires 5 ministers close to ex-rebel leader

<p>The number of&nbsp;children&nbsp;who do not attend school is rising, child marriage has not dropped in decades and millions of young&nbsp;children&nbsp;will die mostly preventable deaths by 2030 if global poverty is not addressed, the&nbsp;United Nations Children&#39;s Emergency Fund&nbsp;(UNICEF)<b>&nbsp;</b>said in a bleak report issued on Tuesday.</p>

<p>Poor&nbsp;children&nbsp;are twice as likely as rich&nbsp;children&nbsp;to die before age five, and poor girls are more than twice as likely to become child brides in signs of troubling&nbsp;inequality, said the annual report by the United Nations&#39;&nbsp;children&#39;s agency.</p>

<p>Noting some progress in halving global mortality rates for&nbsp;children&nbsp;under five&nbsp;since 1990 and boys and girls attending primary school in equal numbers in 129 countries, the report said such developments have been neither even nor fair, with repercussions for global turmoil.</p>

<p>&quot;Some of the big challenges that we now face, like refugees and migrants, are connected within equality&nbsp;and poverty,&quot; Justin Forsyth, Undine&#39;s deputy executive director, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.</p>

<p>Narrowing that inequity &quot;is good for those&nbsp;children, but it&#39;s also good to stop future crises&quot;,&nbsp;he said.</p>

<p>The report called for stronger efforts to educate the&nbsp;world&#39;s&nbsp;children, noting that on average each additional year of education a child receives increases her or his adult earnings by about 10 per cent.</p>

<p>Also it said for each additional year of schooling completed on average by young adults, a nation&#39;s poverty rate drops nine&nbsp;per cent.</p>

<p>About 124 million&nbsp;children&nbsp;do not go to primary and lower-secondary school, a number that has increased about two&nbsp;million since 2011, it said.</p>

<p>Children&nbsp;born to educated mothers are almost three&nbsp;times less likely to die and more likely to go to school, delay marriage and postpone child bearing, said the report, entitled &quot;State of the&nbsp;World&#39;s Children&quot;.</p>

<p>The rate of child marriages among the&nbsp;world&#39;s&nbsp;poorest&nbsp;girls has remained unchanged since about 1990, and 15 million girls are married as&nbsp;children&nbsp;every year, it said.</p>

<p>If nothing is done, it said 69 million&nbsp;children&nbsp;will die before age five&nbsp;from mostly preventable causes by 2030, and nearly of half of them will be from sub-Saharan Africa.</p>

<p>Nine out of ten&nbsp;children&nbsp;in the same region will be living in extreme poverty, which means living on less than $1.90 US&nbsp;per day, it said.</p>

<p>Battling such poverty and equality and promoting education for&nbsp;children, particularly girls, were among the UN&#39; s Sustainable Development Goals, a set of 17 goals adopted last fall to tackle an array of global woes by 2030.</p>

<p>Educating&nbsp;children&nbsp;is particularly critical given the global conflicts fueled by decimalization, Forsyth added.</p>

<p>&quot;There is a direct link between&nbsp;children&nbsp;for many, many years missing out on education and then the ability of more extremist elements to organize,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>(Reuters)</p>


The report paints a grim picture of two different worlds for kids that keep growing further apart

The number of children who do not attend school is rising, child marriage has not dropped in decades and millions of young children will die mostly preventable deaths by 2030 if global poverty is not addressed, the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said in a bleak report issued on Tuesday. Poor children are twice as likely as rich children to die before age five, and poor girls are more than twice as likely to become child brides in signs of troubling inequality, said the annual report by the United Nations' children's agency. Noting some progress in halving global mortality rates for children under five since 1990 and boys and girls attending primary school in equal numbers in 129 countries, the report said such developments have been neither even nor fair, with repercussions for global turmoil. "Some of the big challenges that we now face, like refugees and migrants, are connected within equality and poverty," Justin Forsyth, Undine's deputy executive director, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Narrowing that inequity "is good for those children, but it's also good to stop future crises", he said. The report called for stronger efforts to educate the world's children, noting that on average each additional year of education a child receives increases her or his adult earnings by about 10 per cent. Also it said for each additional year of schooling completed on average by young adults, a nation's poverty rate drops nine per cent. About 124 million children do not go to primary and lower-secondary school, a number that has increased about two million since 2011, it said. Children born to educated mothers are almost three times less likely to die and more likely to go to school, delay marriage and postpone child bearing, said the report, entitled "State of the World's Children". The rate of child marriages among the world's poorest girls has remained unchanged since about 1990, and 15 million girls are married as children every year, it said. If nothing is done, it said 69 million children will die before age five from mostly preventable causes by 2030, and nearly of half of them will be from sub-Saharan Africa. Nine out of ten children in the same region will be living in extreme poverty, which means living on less than $1.90 US per day, it said. Battling such poverty and equality and promoting education for children, particularly girls, were among the UN' s Sustainable Development Goals, a set of 17 goals adopted last fall to tackle an array of global woes by 2030. Educating children is particularly critical given the global conflicts fueled by decimalization, Forsyth added. "There is a direct link between children for many, many years missing out on education and then the ability of more extremist elements to organize," he said. (Reuters)

UNICEF finds growing inequality between world's poorest and richest children

<br />
Spain, which goes to the polls&nbsp;on Sunday&nbsp;in a repeat general election, is the eurozone&#39;s fourth largest economy and one of the fastest-growing nations in Western Europe, although it suffers from high unemployment and debt.<br />
<br />
<strong>GROWTH</strong><br />
<br />
Spain&#39;s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 3.2 per cent in 2015 and growth has remained steady this year despite a political stalemate that has left the country without a government since inconclusive December elections.<br />
<br />
GDP expanded by 0.8 per cent between January and March from the previous three months, higher than the average in the eurozone.<br />
<br />
Acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy&#39;s conservative government predicts the economy will expand by 2.7 per cent this year, then slow to 2.4 percent in 2017.<br />
<br />
Spain in 2014 posted its first full-year of growth since a 2008 property crash sent the economy into a tailspin.<br />
<br />
Consumer spending is up as is investment by firms while export growth, which help lift Spain out of recession, has lost some of its steam.<br />
<br />
<strong>FAVOURABLE TAILWINDS</strong><br />
<br />
Spain has benefited from favourable tailwinds that have propelled growth such as low interest rates set by the European Central Bank, a favourable euro exchange rate that helps exports, and falling oil prices that have reduced production costs.<br />
<br />
Spain is highly dependent on energy imports and the price of a barrel of oil has dropped to around 50 euros from the record highs of over 140 euros a barrel reached in 2008.<br />
<br />
But the Bank of Spain warned earlier this month that these beneficial conditions will progressively fade, leading to a slower pace of economic expansion.<br />
<br />
<strong>LABOUR MARKET REFORM</strong><br />
<br />
The outgoing conservative government reduced the amount of compensation which companies must pay workers that they fire and created a new open-ended contract with a one-year trial period.<br />
<br />
The government and its backers argue these reforms helped lower Spain&#39;s unemployment rate from a record 26.94 per cent in the first quarter of 2013 to 21 per cent in the first quarter of 2016.<br />
<br />
They say the flexibility it introduced especially helped the auto sector. Spain is the second-largest automobile producer in Europe after Germany.<br />
<br />
Critics charge that part of the fall in unemployment is due to the drop in the size of Spain&#39;s total workforce as emigration has risen due to the lack of jobs.<br />
<br />
The bulk of the jobs that have been created are short-term and low-wage, they add.<br />
<br />
The average duration of a new contract in 2015 was just 53.4 days. Spain&#39;s monthly minimum wage, which is paid 14 times a year as in other southern European nations, is 655 euros ($740).<br />
<br />
The average annual income in Spain is 10,400 euros per person, according to national statistics institute INE.<br />
<br />
<strong>DEBT</strong><br />
<br />
Spain&#39;s public deficit came in at 5.1 per cent of GDP in 2015, compared with 2.2 per cent in 2007, the year before the country&#39;s property bubble burst.<br />
<br />
Spain is facing possible sanctions from the European Commission for repeatedly violating its deficit targets.<br />
<br />
The European Union has set a public deficit limit of 3.0 per cent of GDP. The outgoing government predicts it will take Spain until 2018 to bring the deficit below this limit.<br />
<br />
<strong>EDUCATION</strong><br />
<br />
The other Achilles heel of the Spanish economy is education and professional development.<br />
<br />
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), over 27 per cent of Spaniards aged 15-29 are not employed or in school, compared with an average of 15 per cent in the 34 nations that make up the body.<br />
<br />
Spain also struggles to retrain unemployed workers, especially low-skilled ones from the construction sector which was hit hard by the collapse of a property bubble in 2008.<br />
<br />
(AFP)

Critics say that the bulk of jobs created in Spain in the recent past are short-termed and offer low wages

Spain, which goes to the polls on Sunday in a repeat general election, is the eurozone's fourth largest economy and one of the fastest-growing nations in Western Europe, although it suffers from high unemployment and debt. GROWTH Spain's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 3.2 per cent in 2015 and growth has remained steady this year despite a political stalemate that has left the country without a government since inconclusive December elections. GDP expanded by 0.8 per cent between January and March from the previous three months, higher than the average in the eurozone. Acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative government predicts the economy will expand by 2.7 per cent this year, then slow to 2.4 percent in 2017. Spain in 2014 posted its first full-year of growth since a 2008 property crash sent the economy into a tailspin. Consumer spending is up as is investment by firms while export growth, which help lift Spain out of recession, has lost some of its steam. FAVOURABLE TAILWINDS Spain has benefited from favourable tailwinds that have propelled growth such as low interest rates set by the European Central Bank, a favourable euro exchange rate that helps exports, and falling oil prices that have reduced production costs. Spain is highly dependent on energy imports and the price of a barrel of oil has dropped to around 50 euros from the record highs of over 140 euros a barrel reached in 2008. But the Bank of Spain warned earlier this month that these beneficial conditions will progressively fade, leading to a slower pace of economic expansion. LABOUR MARKET REFORM The outgoing conservative government reduced the amount of compensation which companies must pay workers that they fire and created a new open-ended contract with a one-year trial period. The government and its backers argue these reforms helped lower Spain's unemployment rate from a record 26.94 per cent in the first quarter of 2013 to 21 per cent in the first quarter of 2016. They say the flexibility it introduced especially helped the auto sector. Spain is the second-largest automobile producer in Europe after Germany. Critics charge that part of the fall in unemployment is due to the drop in the size of Spain's total workforce as emigration has risen due to the lack of jobs. The bulk of the jobs that have been created are short-term and low-wage, they add. The average duration of a new contract in 2015 was just 53.4 days. Spain's monthly minimum wage, which is paid 14 times a year as in other southern European nations, is 655 euros ($740). The average annual income in Spain is 10,400 euros per person, according to national statistics institute INE. DEBT Spain's public deficit came in at 5.1 per cent of GDP in 2015, compared with 2.2 per cent in 2007, the year before the country's property bubble burst. Spain is facing possible sanctions from the European Commission for repeatedly violating its deficit targets. The European Union has set a public deficit limit of 3.0 per cent of GDP. The outgoing government predicts it will take Spain until 2018 to bring the deficit below this limit. EDUCATION The other Achilles heel of the Spanish economy is education and professional development. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), over 27 per cent of Spaniards aged 15-29 are not employed or in school, compared with an average of 15 per cent in the 34 nations that make up the body. Spain also struggles to retrain unemployed workers, especially low-skilled ones from the construction sector which was hit hard by the collapse of a property bubble in 2008. (AFP)

Spain struggles to reduce unemployment, debt despite growth

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