Call to make education a major issue during 2019 election campaign

By A Representative
Ambarish Rai of the Right to Education (RTE) Forum has called upon civil society activists to "strengthen the nationwide campaign to make education a major issue in 2019 elections". Speaking at the stocktaking conference in Patna, organized by the RTE Forum, he said, Bihar has been slow in implementing the RTE Act, even as it is refusing to allocate enough funds for education and involve communities on educational issues.
Those who participated in the conference included intellectuals, social workers, teachers, students union members, and members of school management committees from different areas of Bihar. Speakers expressed serious concern over the absence of safety and grievances redressal mechanism for girls, and lack of empowerment of the public education system.
Speakers were unanimous in their view that it is not possible to realize the dream of a developed society based on equality without strengthening public education. They said, the commercialization of education would lead to widening disparity in society, creating sharp inequalities in society and serious bottlenecks for development.
Apart from Rai those who participated in the rally included President of Bihar Secondary Teachers Association and Bihar Legislative Council member Kedarnath Pandey, Dr Sanjeev Rai of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, University of Patna academic Prod Daisy Narayan, former Chairman of the Bihar Scheduled Commission Vidyanand Vikal, Regional Manager of Oxfam India Ranjana Das, and others.

Comments

Swaminarayan, untouchability and the 'we are not Hindu' argument

By Rajiv Shah Following my blog on why the Eiffel Tower authorities should take all the blame for giving in to the Swaminarayan sadhus ’ bizarre demand to “invisibilise” women, including its female staff, during their visit to the internationally renowned Paris tourist centre on September 5, an interesting comment by one of the top academics drew my attention to something I vaguely knew about one of India’s most powerful and richest religious sects.

Xi Jinping’s visit to USA: Recognition that China can't be contained?

By Vijay Prashad President Xi Jinping’s forthcoming visit to the United States must be understood as more than an encounter between two heads of state, but it must be seen as an encounter between two possible futures. In one future, the United States imposes a spiral of confrontation against China. Trade disputes harden into economic warfare, then economic warfare intensifies into technological blockades, technological blockades produce military encirclement, and finally military encirclement creates incidents, and incidents the danger of becoming an unimaginable war.

When caste becomes 'normal': Reading the IIT Mandi poster beyond intent

By Dirgha Datar An Indian Institute of Technology is commonly imagined as a symbol of modernity, merit and knowledge. Yet a recent controversy at IIT Mandi has brought an older question into this supposedly modern space: who gets to decide what is considered normal, legitimate and respectable knowledge about caste?

Counterview

Search This Blog