Gujarat's Right to Educational rules not disability friendly: UNESCO

By A Representative
A UNESCO-sponsored report has sharply criticized Gujarat for failing to be disability-friendly towards children aged 5-19. The report says that all state rules for implementing the Right to Education Act, 2006, for instance, "provide for safe transportation to and from school for children with disabilities" with the exception of Gujarat and Uttarakhand.
Prepared by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, "N for Nose: State of the Education Report for India 2019: Children with Disabilities", while commenting on other state RTE rules, the report continues, "Karnataka and Kerala are the only two states whose RTE rules provide for assistive devices and reasonable accommodation."
It says, "While most state rules entrust School Management Committees (SMCs) with the identification and enrolment of children with disabilities, and their participation in and completion of elementary education, they do not necessarily specify representation of their parents or guardians or that of the children themselves wherever student participation is provided for."
It adds, "Except Kerala, none of the state rules refer to special schools for children with disabilities in their RTE rules." Worse, it says, a study of gender gaps of children with disabilities across states reveals that Gujarat is one of the top states having "gender gaps at both secondary and higher secondary levels." Other States are Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra.
The report says, figures for enrolment at secondary and higher secondary levels by gender shows that in Gujarat's Grades IX-X 6,357 are boys and 3,913 girls, and in Grades XI-XII 2,233 are boys and 1,609 girls. Quoting an audit report, it adds, in Gujarat, braille books "were not provided to 9,189 children between 2010 and 2016." Reason? "Approved cost of Braille books was very low in comparison to actual cost, and there was no participation in online tender for Braille books."

The making of a self-made woman: How eighty sheep changed everything for Kalawati Ninama

By Vikas Meshram* About forty-two kilometres from Rajasthan's Banswara district, in the tribal heartland of Ghatol block, lies the small village of Ubapana. This is where Kalawati Ninama, her husband Dhulji, and their four children make their home. Their days unfold much like those of their neighbours—bustling mornings, long hours of farm labour through the afternoon, and evenings spent tending livestock. For this family, farming and livestock were once simply a means of putting food on the table. Today, they have become the sturdy foundation of something far greater: genuine self-sufficiency.

Ahmedabad world’s least climate resilient major city: AlphaGeo study

By Rajiv Shah A new study has ranked Ahmedabad as the least climate-resilient major city in the world , highlighting a dangerous gap between the city’s extreme physical vulnerability to climate hazards and its capacity to adapt. Cited by The New York Times , the analysis, conducted by geospatial artificial intelligence firm AlphaGeo , places the Indian city at the top of a list of global urban centres most exposed to climate risk.

India has spent billions on skilling. Where are the jobs?

By Vikas Gupta India loves the photograph of a certificate ceremony. A minister on a stage. A banner bearing the word “skill.” Young people holding folders that promise a future. It is a reassuring image because it tells us the problem has a manageable answer: train the young, make them job-ready, and work will follow.

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