Weekly Newsletter -1(May)
Madhya Pradesh topped in malnourishment among children
Publication: Visionmp.com news service
Date: 2011-04-29
Date: 2011-04-29
BHOPAL: One of the study conducted by Child Rights and You (CRY) across four states -Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan – found child malnourishment to be highly prevalent in Madhya Pradesh as the share of children in the age group of 0-6 was 14.53%, a decline of 3.34% from the 2001 Census figures.
Yogita Verma, director of CRY said, “In a random sample survey of 255 children across 11 settlements of Bhopal we found that 69% children were severely malnourished. Not only this, there is shortfall of 47% Anganwadi centres in MP”.
“Of the total budget of Rs90 crore allocated for the National Nutrition Mission, the share for child health has seen a decline from 21.7% to 17.56%,” Saighal said, adding child malnourishment in India was preventable if there is timely investment in terms of resources, staff and planning.
“These child deaths and diseases are entirely preventable. The most damaging effects of under-nutrition occur during pregnancy and the first two years of a child’s life. These damages are a leading factor behind India’s high infant mortality and morbidity rates,” she said.
Child population in MP is 10,548,295. And the infant mortality rate in Madhya Pradesh is 72 out of 1,000 children born, said 2011 census report.
Cannot support 25% - Minority Institutions
Publication: Financial Express
Date: 2011-04-28
Date: 2011-04-28
New Delhi: Minority educational institutions in the city have expressed inability to implement government guidelines on reserving 25 per cent seats for students from economically weaker sections as per provisions of the Right to Education Act, citing financial constraints. These schools have already approached National Minority Commission to take up the issue with the HRD Ministry as well as Delhi govt. NCM member H S Hanspal, who looks after minority related issues in Delhi, today took up the matter during a meeting with Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit but she apparently told him that only HRD Ministry can examine the issue. "We will soon take up the issue with HRD Ministry. These schools have told us that they cannot provide free education to 25 per cent students due to financial constraints," he told reporters after a meeting with Dikshit. Delhi Government, earlier this year, had issued a notification making it mandatory for all schools in the city to reserve 25 per cent of seats for economically weaker sections (EWS) as per provisions of the RTE Act.
Steps to address complaints against schools not conforming to RTE
Publication: ET Bureau
Date: 2011-05-02
Date: 2011-05-02
NEW DELHI: The Human Resource Development Ministry is contemplating steps to address complaints against a number of schools that they were not conforming to the Right to Education Act.
The next meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education, which is likely to be held in early June, is expected to discuss the proposal.
Most of the complaints over the past year, since the Right to Education Act was notified on April 1, 2010, relate to corporal punishment, collection of fees and funds, denial of admissions and scholarships, quality of education and classroom transaction, poor infrastructure, especially toilets, and poor quality mid-day meal. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, which is the central monitoring agency, is of the view that the numbers of complaints would be much higher if people were aware of their legal entitlements.
However, mere publicity or dissemination of information about legal entitlements may not help address the issue. There is a thinking within the education establishment that a malpractices law making denial of entitlements an offence would help address the situation. A discussion on the efficacy of a malpractice law for schools would have to be taken up on a wider scale.
Meanwhile, the ministry has suggested strengthening the existing grievance redressal mechanism. Under the Right to Education Act, the local authorities serve as the grievance redressal agencies, while the state commissions for the protection of child rights serve as the appellate bodies at the state level.
At a meeting held last week to review the implementation of the Act chaired by Human Resource Development minister Kapil Sibal, it was decided to lay out the procedures to help people access the grievance redressal mechanism in case of violations. It has been suggested that information about legal entitlements of children provided for in the Act should be disseminated widely beginning at the Panchayat level. The state government has to designate officers, who will be responsible for ensuring entitlements.
The state government will also require to designate persons to hear complaints under the Act at the panchayat, block and district level.
It has been suggested that designated person, should be a member of the state education department.
Besides this, it was decided that information about the system and process of registering grievances be instituted at the district and sub-district level. Information about this system must be disseminated widely to ensure that grievances are not ignored by the system. Proper system of registration, will have to be accompanied by speedy redressal. To this end, it was decided that a time schedulefor disposal of complaints must also be provided.
Students fail, parents allege RTE violation by school
Pune: Parents of class II students of Hume McHenry Memorial High School in Salisbury Park on Tuesday protested outside the school alleging the school authorities have violated the Right to Education Act (RTE) by failing a few students. While the principal admitted that some students have been failed, he said all the students will be promoted and the intention of failing them was to let parents know where their wards were lagging behind.
The parents, who went to the school to talk to the principal, however, said the school had failed the children because a few of them had complained against one of the teachers. ¿A few months ago, we went to the principal to complain against a teacher who shouts at children and behaves badly in class. The children of those parents have been failed,¿ said a parent on condition of anonymity.
Snehita Shivsagar, another parent, said, ¿We complained against a teacher who never used to teach properly. Following this, that teacher refused to check the notebooks of the children whose parents had complained against her. The school is going against the RTE. As per the Act, they are not allowed to fail a student till class VIII. As many as 10 students, out of 40 have been failed by the school. They have failed the students saying they are an ICSE school and only SSC schools are supposed to follow the RTE norms.
Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Students-fail--parents-allege-RTE-violation-by-school/782087/
3 drunkard teachers, woman principal face suspension
Publication: TNN
Date: 2011-04-27
Date: 2011-04-27
NAGPUR: Chairperson of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Shantha Sinha has issued directives to the state education department to suspend three teachers working in a zilla parishad middle school at Yewati village in Amravati district for entering the premises in an inebriated condition on a regular basis. Directions were also issued by the chairperson to initiate action against the woman principal of Little Star Convent School in Mozari in the same district for brutally thrashing a class second girl student for not paying school fees in time.
A panel of NCPCR comprising Sinha, members Yogesh Dube, Lov Verma, Kiran Bhatty and retired judge H Suresh conducted a public hearing of Vidarbha region on violations of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 at the collectorate on Tuesday. As many as 25 complaints on the issues relating to corporal punishment, alcoholism among teachers and their inadequate strength in schools, denial of admission, lack of transport facilities, non-adherence to timing by teachers and absence of residential facilities for children of migrant families were highlighted. Over 300 people, including petitioners and those representing various sections of the society, attended the hearing.
School disregards disabled boy's form
Delhi: Four-year-old Aarav Porwal suffers from hearing impairment. His parents had filled his admission form at Mother's International School, Sri Aurobindo Marg in the Capital in the hope that he would get admission there under disabled category. However, when the school came out with the list of children selected for admission in nursery, Aarav's parents found that their son's name was not there.
His father PS Porwal then went to the school to request the management to admit his child but was told that the 25 per cent quota reserved for disabled category had already been filled and hence they could not admit his child. However, when Porwal inquired into the issue, he learnt that his child's form was not even considered for the admission in the first place.
On learning this, the parents then filed a complaint against the school with the Commission for Disabilities for not informing them that their child's form was not being considered during the admission process . "When I met the school authorities for my child's admission, they told me that the school was not equipped with facilities to take care of children with such disabilities," said Porwal, who is working with the Ministry of Defence and is a resident of Gupta Colony, Malviya Nagar.
"My son has undergone Cochlear implant surgery, which enables an individual to hear properly. As such he faces no major problem in the studies. So I filed a complaint with the Commission for Disabilities and they issued an order to the school asking them to admit my child," he added.
MiD DAY made repeated attempts to reach the school principal Sangamitra Ghosh but she was not available for a comment on the matter.
The Commission's Take
The Commission for Disabilities had issued a notice to the school and summoned both the parties - the school principal and the parents - for a hearing. (A copy of the notice is with MiD DAY). During the hearing, the principal had promised that she would take up the matter with the school management and create a seat for the child. The representatives from the Education Department of Delhi government also confirmed that they have written to the school to admit Aarav Porwal. "We had issued an order to the school to make place for the child and admit him without any further delay. The school cannot deny him admission under the Right to Education Act though the school principal was reluctant to give admission saying they were not equipped to handle such students," said, Rajesh Kumar, Welfare Officer, Commission for Disabilities. "We have advised the parents that they can take the matter to the High Court, if the school refuses admission to the child even after this," Kumar added. Porwal, who is still waiting for his child's admission said, "The school has not given us any clear reasons why they have refused admission to our son. I might go to the High Court if they don't do anything about it. I will fight for my child's right to education now. They cannot humiliate us this way," said he.
On learning this, the parents then filed a complaint against the school with the Commission for Disabilities for not informing them that their child's form was not being considered during the admission process . "When I met the school authorities for my child's admission, they told me that the school was not equipped with facilities to take care of children with such disabilities," said Porwal, who is working with the Ministry of Defence and is a resident of Gupta Colony, Malviya Nagar.
"My son has undergone Cochlear implant surgery, which enables an individual to hear properly. As such he faces no major problem in the studies. So I filed a complaint with the Commission for Disabilities and they issued an order to the school asking them to admit my child," he added.
MiD DAY made repeated attempts to reach the school principal Sangamitra Ghosh but she was not available for a comment on the matter.
The Commission's Take
The Commission for Disabilities had issued a notice to the school and summoned both the parties - the school principal and the parents - for a hearing. (A copy of the notice is with MiD DAY). During the hearing, the principal had promised that she would take up the matter with the school management and create a seat for the child. The representatives from the Education Department of Delhi government also confirmed that they have written to the school to admit Aarav Porwal. "We had issued an order to the school to make place for the child and admit him without any further delay. The school cannot deny him admission under the Right to Education Act though the school principal was reluctant to give admission saying they were not equipped to handle such students," said, Rajesh Kumar, Welfare Officer, Commission for Disabilities. "We have advised the parents that they can take the matter to the High Court, if the school refuses admission to the child even after this," Kumar added. Porwal, who is still waiting for his child's admission said, "The school has not given us any clear reasons why they have refused admission to our son. I might go to the High Court if they don't do anything about it. I will fight for my child's right to education now. They cannot humiliate us this way," said he.
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