TC-I Tidbits

Your daily dose of headlines:

Technology: Trak.in reports that a DesiWiki will help Indian start ups to increase their knowledge base on the technical aspects of starting a new venture.
Education: In order to encourage students to stay in school, the government approved a merit scholarship that will award deserving students of lower income sections with Rs [...]

The Talent Vacuum

Many of our prior posts have spoken to the urgent need to overhaul, or at the least, significantly revamp the education system in India, as evidenced by the massive rise in demand for both primary and higher education institutions in relation to dwindling supply (not to mention the relatively low quality of instruction/infrastructure at pre-existing [...]

TC-I Tidbits

Your daily dose of headlines:

Health: Over 53% children in India under five years - that is, 67 million - live without basic healthcare facilities. This means that India alone accounts for about one-third of all children in the world aged below five who don’t have basic healthcare. [Source: Times of India]
Education: There is a shortage [...]

Start-ups gain from entrepreneurial education

Indian start-ups will gain from the increasing trend in business schools to offer the services of their students in developing business plans and conducting analyses - in return, students have an incredible opportunity to work with some of the most innovative start-ups in the country and gain practical experience before they even graduate. Mint reports:

Such [...]

TC-I Tidbits

Your daily dose of headlines:

Health: India continues to have the world’s highest number of polio cases this year, with the disease having crippled more children till April than it did during the same period in 2007. [Source: Times of India]
Children: In a unique lobbying effort, more than 100 ex-child laborers knocked on the doors of [...]

TC-I Tidbits

Your daily dose of headlines:

International: The US government has put India on its ‘Priority Watch List’, along with nine other countries, saying that the country’s failure to protect Intellectual Property Rights is putting health, safety and jobs of its citizens at risk. [Source: Times of India]
Literacy: The Global Monitoring Report says that India has 35 [...]

Reliance Rural Mobile Application Contest 2007 - 08 Deadline April 30th

From now own, competitions like these will be included in a once a week post on Thursdays that compile any opportunities relevant to our readers in an easy to find post. However, given that the Reliance Rural Mobile Application Contest’s deadline will have passed before we had the opportunity to post on it, we wanted [...]

[TC-I Changemakers]: Interview with Kal Raman of GlobalScholar.com

Editor’s note: The following interview is part of an ongoing series for ThinkChange India where we interview social entrepreneurs firsthand. The ThinkChange India staff is committed to providing our readers with interviews with people we believe are at the brink of something special but have for the most part been overlooked by the mainstream media. [...]

[TC-I Changemakers]: Interview with the founders of Siksha.org

Editor’s note: The following interview is part of an ongoing series for ThinkChange India where we interview social entrepreneurs firsthand. The ThinkChange India staff is committed to providing our readers with interviews with people we believe are at the brink of something special but have for the most part been overlooked by the mainstream media. [...]

Headlines Digest

Gender Budgeting: In order to promote the concept of gender budgeting at all levels of governance, the Ministry of Women and Child Development is developing manuals on this topic. This is part of a larger movement to address gender specific barriers.
Education: Proctor & Gamble’s global philanthropy program, “Live, Learn, and Thrive” has partnered with Child [...]

Legislation for Universal Primary Education

Education is an issue that is overtaking the Indian news in the past week with the court ruling on the OBC quota in the higher education system. However, primary education is also in dire need of attention. Supreme Court judges recognize the importance of primary education and have put forth a variety of proposals:
Provision of [...]

A Snapshot of the State of Education in India

Pratham released the results of their annual survey earlier this year which may be useful for those wanting data to inform their work. The survey shows that more children are attending schools, but that teacher attendance has slightly declined. According to a Merinews article, the report shows that the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan government program is making [...]

Media and Technology for Supplementary Education

Two stories display how there are possibilities for creativity in supplementing Indian education and providing more options for students. OneWorld South Asia reports on FM stations in Bihar that will set up shop in high schools:
The channels would host phone-in programmes featuring guest lectures, career counselling, and quizzes based on general and subject knowledge.
Another approach [...]

Op-Ed: Parle-G Biscuits or Daal and Rice?

The answer, in terms of nutritional value for children, should be obvious.  However, in terms of government policy, the question is much more complicated.  Even policy-makers responsible for implementing the Mid-day Meal Scheme don’t seem to have any definite answers.  Why?  First, let me rewind.
In response to dwindling school enrollment rates and rising rates of [...]

Constructing educated children, fundraising event

In an unusual initiative, Pratham has begun a targeted effort to educate the children of construction workers in Pune. Pratham enlists the help of specially trained teachers that go to the construction sites themselves or even teach on the nearby crowded streets (From OneWorld South Asia).
Every day, between 3 to 7 pm, groups of children [...]