Even as welcoming the the reiteration of increasing public investment in education to 6% of GDP in the recently approved National Education Policy (NEP), the Right to Education (RTE) Forum has insisted that the need for universalisation of school education for 3-18 years. Ambarish Rai, National Convener of RTE Forum, wondered, how could universalisation be achieved “as the policy is silent on the extension of the Right to Education Act, 2009.”

 The dilution of labour laws by some states in the midst of the Covid-19 lockdown must be reviewed and rescinded immediately, since doing away with crucial safeguards is likely to lead to a spike in the incidence of child labour and child trafficking while deepening exploitation and abuse of workers, a Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation (KSCF) report based on a study conducted in some of India's rural areas has recommended.

 As Indian cities continue to successively unlock themselves amidst Covid-19 pandemic, a major survey sponsored by the high profile Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation, and carried out by a top Indian environmental group, has found that in the post-lockdown period a whopping 34 per cent of those not owning vehicles would be buying new four wheelers, while 23 per cent said they would go in for two wheelers.

Even as providing clean chit to the Gujarat government for its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, a new report prepared by a research team headed by Prof Ranjan Kumar Ghosh of the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) has found that a whopping 41% of health workers of the state reported that they were never tested for the dreaded disease. The  report , which has been prepared in close coordination with top state government officials belonging to the departments of labour and employment, climate change, information of broadcasting, food and civil supplies, and health, as also chairman of the state transport corporation, and the IG police (planning and modernisation), further admits that 22% of sanitation workers, 17% lab technicians, 16% doctors, and 10% nurses were never tested for Covid-19. Titled ‘Management of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Gujarat: Understanding the government initiatives, leadership processes and their impact’, the report takes the help of an NGO – Trinit...

  The Hindus for Human Rights (HHR), a US-based advocacy group, has noticed a major dichotomy between the stance taken by RSS’ US arm, Hindu Swayamsewak Sangh (HSS), expressing “shock” at the “painful killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others”, all of which suggest “the tragic tale of racial injustice” in US, and HSS’ “hatred” for India’s religious minorities and Dalits.

A virtual interview with 24,000 girls aged 15-19 during school closures in Asia and Africa has indicated that of the 9,887 reported loss of household income, 49% or 4,942 of them were from India. Overall, 42% of the girls said their households had lost income during the pandemic, making financial impact of Covid-19 the most significant risk to a girl’s education. Carried out by Room to Read, a non-profit with headquarters in San Francisco, US, having presence in 10 countries of Asia and Africa, including India, its Girls’ Education Risk Indicator survey confined its interviews among low income communities across Asia and Africa. The interviews took place over the phone or via video app calls in April and May 2020. Room to Read mentors asked three simple “yes” or “no” questions: Are you currently self-studying/keeping up with academic learning at home? Has anyone in your household lost a job or a source of income as a result of Covid-19? Are you concerned about being able to return to s...

Demonstration in Seoul against LG Chem The South Korea-based NGO Centre for Environment and Health has demanded that the country’s LG Chem should take full responsibility for the death of 15 innocent people, including children aged 6 to 10, following gas leak at its plant in Vizag, Andhra Pradesh. The gas leak took place took place on May 7 at the LG Polymer, owned by LG Chem, South Korea. Also wanting the company to fully compensate to the 585 persons who were taken ill, as also the “huge damage" to crops, soil and water contamination and losses of numerous domestic animals and cattle, the NGO said in a statement, not just the local director of LG Chem's India plant, but also the chief executive officer of LG Chem Korea headquarters, the safety officer, and the overseas factory officer, apart from other directors, should be charged with “civil and criminal responsibility.” Insisting that LG Chem’s “apology statement” and “promise” to do their best to respond to the damages an...

  An authoritative survey, carried out by a group of academics and social workers, among low-income settlements in Ahmedabad during the Narendra Modi-announced Covid-19 lockdown, has said a whopping 37% of the households did not receive any free ration from the government. Of those who did receive ration (59% households), Dalits or scheduled caste (SC) and minority communities were found to be at the receiving end.