In all the discussion since the Supreme Court upheld the guidelines of the Right to Education Act about a month ago, maximum debate has centred around one clause, the one that earmarks 25% of seats in private schools for economically weaker sections.

Yes, the reservations will have huge repercussions on students and families all round, among the rich and the poor, and yes, there will be stories of discrimination, endurance, and maybe even some success.

But the fact remains that a majority of students in India still attend public schools. While there’s no denying private school enrolment is increasing (the Annual Status of Education Report 2011 says it has gone from 18.7% in 2006 to 25.6% in 2011), there are still about 75% of students in India attending public schools.

The reservation debate has distracted attention from a disturbing fact: that the government sees private schools as an alternate to state schooling. By stipulating that private schools reserve 25% seats for poor students, the government is not only accommodating more people enrolling in private schools, but also shrugging off at least part of the responsibility for free and compulsory education. There wouldn’t be a need to allot 25% of seats in private schools to the poor if there were enough seats in public schools. And parents wouldn’t want to enroll their children in private schools, if they were getting the kind of education they deserve in public schools.

Read the full article by Aditi Seshadri at DNA

To find out more, visit: http://www.chipmumbai.org/careers.html

1) Story Telling Workshop with Jerry Pinto, Journalist and Author on May 12, 2012  Saturday
11 am to 1 pm
Ages 5 to 10 years
Come spin some stories about street dogs

2) Painting Workshop with Art For Akanksha, A division of The Akanksha Foundation  on May 17, 2012, Thursday
11am to 1 pm
Ages 9 to 15 years
Learn how to draw pictures of street dogs in a creative and fun way.

3) Photography Workshop with Arko Datta, award-winning photojournalist and co-founder of Udaan – School Of Photography on May 19, 2012, Saturday
10 am to12 pm
Ages 9 to 15 years
Learn the art of photographing your favorite street animal – Participants to bring their own camera.

4) Origami Workshop with Sonya Shastri, WSD volunteer on May 24, 2012, Thursday,
11am to 1 pm
Ages – 5 to 10 years
Have fun learning to make origami animals

5) Writing Workshop with Lyla Bavadam, Journalist, Frontline magazine on May 26, 2012, Saturday
Ages 9 to 15 years
Be a street dog reporter
 
6) Street Dog Treasure hunt on June 2, 2012 , Saturday
9:00 am
Ages 5 to 10 and Ages 11 – 15.
Find street dogs as the treasure with given clues.
Call WSD for start point details. Kids to be accompanied by at least one adult.

Venue:
Workshops other than Photography and Street Dog Treasure Hunt will be conducted at Dream Catchers Hall, Greenfields Organic Shop, Army Navy Building (back-entrance), Opposite City Civil Court Post Office, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai 23.
Ph: 22853784

Photography workshop will be conducted at the WSD kennels, Saat Rasta, near Dhobi Ghat, Mahalakshmi, Mumbai – 11

Workshop fee:
One workshop – Rs 200
Two workshops – Rs 300
Three and above – Rs 500
Limited seats so please register in advance.

Contact: 64222838 or 9819100808 or e-mail wsdindia@gmail.com or visit www.wsdindia.org

May 11, Friday, 6.30 pm
SUAR CHALA SPACE KO in Hindi/ for 5-12 years age group
at EXPERIMENTAL THEATRE NCPA, Nariman Point

May 12, Saturday 6.30 pm
KYUN-KYUN LADKI in Hindi / for 5-12 years age group
at EXPERIMENTAL THEATRE NCPA, Nariman Point

May 23, Wednesday, 4 pm & 7 pm
KYUN-KYUN LADKI in Hindi / for 5-12 years age group
at PRITHVI THEATRE, Juhu

Suar Chala Space Ko is a hilarious play about a smelly pig and his friends who travel to outer space! Then a sudden encounter with aliens lands them in a big mess. The story touches upon friendship, adventure, owning up to your mistakes, taking responsibility and of course the “swine flu”!

Kyun-Kyun Ladki is based on Mahashweta Devi’s well known picture-storybook, Why-Why Girl and celebrates the thrill of ‘WHY?’ It is the story of Moyna and at the same time the story of so many children, all who always ask the question ‘Why?’ Performed through dance, movement and live music, the play shows glimpses of their lives and of their minds.

Gillo would like to offer children from NGOs in Mumbai the opportunity to visit the theatre and watch their plays. They can offer a maximum of 50 seats per show for children from NGOs. The children will also get a chance to interact with the actors after the show.

The NGO shall be charged a token amount of Rs 25 per ticket for children. (Actual price for public is between Rs 200 and Rs 300 per ticket)

Interested NGOs can send Gillo details of which show you are interested in and how many tickets are needed. They will then revert to you with a confirmation on the same.

Please also note that:

• This is offer is only for Registered NGOs within Mumbai city.
• Tickets for NGOs will be issued by GILLO. Please do not directly contact the Prithvi or NCPA Office.
• Allotment of tickets shall be on first come first served basis.
• The NGO must make its own arrangements to bring the children to the theatre and take them back to their homes.
• Adults accompanying the children shall need to purchase tickets at full rate.
• Payment of Rs 25 per child should be made at latest 2 days before the show, or else the discounted seats may be unavailable.

For further details about the play please visit at www.gillogilehri.blogspot.com

The grant would fund Pratham’s innovative ‘Open School’ initiative that allows young adults, especially women, complete their secondary education and improve their employment readiness through the schools run by the NGO, besides aiding the organisation’s ‘Read India’ campaign in which these students would teach children aged 3 to 14 years.

Pratham is a non-government organisation working to provide quality education to the underprivileged children in India. GE Foundation has been supporting Pratham since 2005.

“We are pleased to be working with Pratham on this two- pronged approach that enables young women to ‘earn’ their education and training as GE Fellows, and in turn enlists their support to advance primary grade students’ learning,” said Bob Corcoran, President GE Foundation.

“This is a new innovation in delivery of education for us and we are grateful to GE Foundation for continuing to support us strongly in our endeavours,” said Madhav Chavan, CEO of Pratham Education Foundation.

Source: Indian Express

Since 1979, seven plays have been staged and numerous songs composed on women’s issues to create mass awareness. The women go through an environmental entrepreneurship programme which helps them to gain skills in organic manure making, gardening, leadership development and formation of cooperatives, etc.

The Edel Give Foundation received 250 applications from across India and shortlisted 20. The Tata Institute of Social Sciences did a field assessment of the short listed NGOS and narrowed them down to three per category.

Source: Mumbai Mirror

The Supreme Court in a recent ruling has upheld the constitutional validity of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. The legislation had been challenged in a slew of petitions from commercial schools as well as alternative schools. The judgment is reported as Society for Un-aided Private Schools of Rajasthan versus Union of India, 2012(4) SCALE 272.

A look at the legal framework is necessary in order to appreciate the context of the adjudication on the validity of the Act. The Constitution of India guarantees certain fundamental rights like life, liberty and equality. These rights are justiciable and courts can be approached in case of violation. There are certain directive principles laid down which, though not enforceable in court, are fundamental in governance of the country and in making laws.

The initial promise was to provide free and compulsory education for all children up to 14 years within 10 years of the commencement of the Constitution, as enunciated in Article 45 of the Directive Principles. As often happens with good intentions, the promise remained a dream for half-a-century. In the early-’90s the Supreme Court declared that the right to education is a part of the fundamental right to life guaranteed in Article 21 of the Constitution. At the time, the declaration was reported with much fanfare; but nothing changed at the ground level.

Read the full article in InfoChange

Greetings from WebTv.in.

April is recognised the world over as CSA Awareness month. A bunch of us have worked together to take up the cause in Inda. In the second year, we’d like to reach out to even more people. And WebTv.in joins the core group to help effective messaging through video.

If you feel you can make a difference, by making your voice heard, join us. We need your reach to get people to join the awareness drive. If you know celebrities who would lend their voice to the cause, introduce us.

Tweet, send in a quote, let us skype an interview with you – 15 minutes is all it will take for your voice to be counted. And your friends, followers and society to become more aware. If you are in Bangalore and can spare 15 minutes, we’d like to you to come on camera and give us a short interview.

In a world fraught with dangerous situations for all children, raise your voice to stop child sexual abuse.

Urge parents to be more vigilant. Urge your kid and their friends to communicate. Urge families to look after each other. Urge schools to be more careful.

Why should you lend your voice to the campaign ?

It’s about children. And protecting them. Keeping them safe. And empowering them with knowledge and means and help. Calling the good and the bad, and pointing out the difference to children

Who are we ?

A bunch of change makers, mothers, fathers, nurturers who think it is important to speak about the issue so as to gain perspective, share experiences, learn, and equip all children to be discerning about touch. We also want to speak to those that have been “victims”. To tell them that they were never at fault. A CSA experience can scar for life. Be a part of the healing process.

The effort is completely funded by the CSAAM 2012 team, and we are NOT looking for donations. Only your participation.

What can you also do ?

Write, blog, tweet, update a status. Participate, engage, involve, change, help, empower, discuss.

We have planned for podcasts, interviews, real life experience sharing, workshops, a Blogathon and many more engagements through the month. Do come forward and help in any way you can.

Call or write to me.

Regards,
Anju Maudgal Kadam | Founder & Director
—————————————————————
WebTv.in | +91 9845 10 20 20 |+91 80 41153681/2/3
Twitter: @maudgalkadam | Skype : anjumaudgal
www.webtv.in

CSAAM TEAM 2012

www.csaawarenessmonth.com

It is a small event for ten residents of special care unit in Khar. It is a small old age home that needs people to come and spend time with them. Run by a doctor, the place has regular check-ups and medical facilities.

The Kshana team will be spending time with them by helping them make individual wall clocks for themselves. Games and snacks will follow.

If you’d like to spend some time with the senior citizens, please call Esha on 7666877077 for details. You can also visit www.kshana.org.

Date: April 21, 2012, Saturday

Time: 5pm to 7pm

Place: Special Care Unit, Khar West, Daanpada bus stop, Leela Ram Bhavan – First floor, near Hanuman mandir.

Also read Mumbai Action’s article on Kshana: Living in the ‘moment’

At the initiative of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the US State Department is in the final stages of launching the ambitious website. It would change the way Indian Americans and others make donations back home at the click of a mouse rather than going through a cumbersome bureaucratic process and getting rid of the strain of identifying the kind of genuine NGO that would help them deliver the money and services to the targetted group.

With the help of Guide Star India, the US State Department is working on the website which would put together all the genuine non-governmental organisations working in various parts of India in different fields. All these NGOs will be certified by a third party and FCRA compliant.

Source: Indian Express