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Showing posts from April, 2010

A Chance To Voice Child Rights

As you might have read in papers, a private school association in Rajasthan has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Right To Education Act. Interestingly they have called it unconstitutional as the Act requires those schools to reserve 25% of their seats for children from poor economic background. Read more about this in the following news links: http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article267634.ece http://news.indiainfo.com/article/100323132807_c-84-61223/974326.html http://www.zeenews.com/news613378.html Manorath sent a letter to the HRD Ministry asking Mr. Sibal to not to succumb to this pressure from the private school lobby. We have decided to file an Intervention Application in the Supreme Court. We also initiated an online petition. The link to the petition is here. http://www.petitiononline.com/mn111112/petition.html If you support this cause, make yourself heard. Your signature will also support the Intervention Application we are going to file.

A Chance To Voice Child Rights

As you might have read in papers, a private school association in Rajasthan has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Right To Education Act. Interestingly they have called it unconstitutional as the Act requires those schools to reserve 25% of their seats for children from poor economic background. Read more about this in the following news links: http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article267634.ece http://news.indiainfo.com/article/100323132807_c-84-61223/974326.html http://www.zeenews.com/news613378.html Manorath sent a letter to the HRD Ministry asking Mr. Sibal to not to succumb to this pressure from the private school lobby. We have decided to file an Intervention Application in the Supreme Court. We also initiated an online petition. The link to the petition is here. http://www.petitiononline.com/mn111112/petition.html If you support this cause, make yourself heard. Your signature will also support the Intervention Application we are going to file.

Budget for Children: Some Food For Thought

By Tulika Sheel Any budget analysis becomes pertinent only when it is set in the context of the situation of the group of persons it is meant for. What then is the situation of the children in India that needs to be addressed with “available resources”? More importantly, are the resources being allocated and spent “adequate”? Clearly not, if despite all its strides in the global market and its advances in GDP rankings, the current situation of the children in this country continues to be reflecting the following (data based on union government report): India is home to the highest number of child laborers in the world Out of every 100 children, 19 continue to be out of school: Of 81 who enroll, almost 53 % drop out before reaching Class VIII (Elementary level). Of every 100 children who are enrolled 70 drop out by the time they reach secondary level. Despite the promise of education for all, and non-discrimination being recognized as the basis of human rights, of every 100 children who

Budget for Children: Some Food For Thought

By Tulika Sheel Any budget analysis becomes pertinent only when it is set in the context of the situation of the group of persons it is meant for. What then is the situation of the children in India that needs to be addressed with “available resources”? More importantly, are the resources being allocated and spent “adequate”? Clearly not, if despite all its strides in the global market and its advances in GDP rankings, the current situation of the children in this country continues to be reflecting the following (data based on union government report): India is home to the highest number of child laborers in the world Out of every 100 children, 19 continue to be out of school: Of 81 who enroll, almost 53 % drop out before reaching Class VIII (Elementary level). Of every 100 children who are enrolled 70 drop out by the time they reach secondary level. Despite the promise of education for all, and non-discrimination being recognized as the basis of human rights, of every 100 children w

Workshop Diaries

We have concluded the first phase of our school workshops. We have covered a good range of MCD schools. The two stories shared here are also two first experiences. The first post by Shubham is on the first ever workshop of Manorath. The second post by Gehena is her first workshop. FIRST IMPRESSIONS By Garima Shukla and Shubham Kalyan Aggarwal Our first school workshop was conducted on 25th July No. 1 MCD school, Dakshinpuri . It was nice to see months of meetings and hard work finally bearing fruit :). There were indeed a few glitches, but if there is so much learning and fun such hurdles can be easily overcome. Let me take you through the day's events : The workshop began at 11:00 am when an anxious Manorath team was greeted by an equally anxious student body of the school. Once the children were seated [with a lot of help from the teachers :)], the skit began. Sakshi, the Madari, enthralled the bunch of young girls with her acts while Habiba amused everyone as the lost Jamura. B

Workshop Diaries

We have concluded the first phase of our school workshops. We have covered a good range of MCD schools. The two stories shared here are also two first experiences. The first post by Shubham is on the first ever workshop of Manorath. The second post by Gehena is her first workshop. FIRST IMPRESSIONS By Garima Shukla and Shubham Kalyan Aggarwal Our first school workshop was conducted on 25th July No. 1 MCD school, Dakshinpuri . It was nice to see months of meetings and hard work finally bearing fruit :). There were indeed a few glitches, but if there is so much learning and fun such hurdles can be easily overcome. Let me take you through the day's events : The workshop began at 11:00 am when an anxious Manorath team was greeted by an equally anxious student body of the school. Once the children were seated [with a lot of help from the teachers :)], the skit began. Sakshi, the Madari, enthralled the bunch of young girls with her acts while Habiba amused everyone as the lost