Resources
Explore this section to look at the rich repository of resources compiled and generated in-house by RRCEE. It includes curriculum materials, research articles, translations, and policy documents, including commission reports, resources for teachers, select articles from journals and e-books. These all are collated under in user friendly categories, with inter-sectional tags. These resources are both in Hindi and English and cover a wide range of topics.
Changing social composition
There is no doubt that the 93rd Amendment to the Constitution is poised to effect an expansion of reservations that may, at long last, begin to change the social composition of elite sectors of Indian higher education. However, most people involved with elite higher education – a sector overwhelmingly dominated by the upper castes – remain either actively or certainly passively opposed to the expansion of reservations.
Killing the Bill
IN advancing excuses for not providing all its children at least eight years of basic education – despite political independence in 1947 or passing the 86th amendment of the Constitution in 2002, making education of 6-14 year olds a fundamental right – nothing of essence seems to have changed. Seventy years earlier, Gandhiji’s plea for universal education was countered with a response that the only possible way to meet this objective was by relying on revenues generated from liquor sales.
Autonomy and dignity of teachers
The concern about autonomy of the university and academic freedom has been an ongoing one, often forming the basis of public discussion in India. However, much of the debate has focused on the external interference in the functioning of the university – the political onslaught on academic freedom; governmental monitoring, financial controls, and similar other interventions from outside the university system. However, there is another angle to autonomy which is less deliberated upon – the internal constraints on academic freedom impacting the autonomy and dignity of teacher.
Rethinking schooling
The campaign for universalisation of primary education has succeeded in getting schooling accepted as a non-negotiable for all children today, including those from underprivileged sections. As universal schooling becomes mandatory, it becomes imperative to spell out why the right to schooling is a non-negotiable, and enquire whether schools deliver what we expect.
Enviornment by design
The design of school enviornments extensively relies on developmental theories that categorize childhood into predictable stages. Educators are familiar with the four stages of childhood development (sensorimotor, Pre-operational,concrete operational and formal operational) established through the work of Swiss Philosoper and psychologist, Jean Piaget.
Reflections on the ICDS programme
The problem of persistent hunger and severe malnutrition among children has been documented and highlighted for several decades. The situation was so alarming that the Government of India introduced the Integrated Child Development Programme in 1975 to achieve three inter-related objectives, namely:
Unraveling the union budget
All public expenditure meant for development of a community can be expected to have some benefits for children as well. However, in a country where children are clearly a disadvantaged section, there exists a strong case for identifying that part of the public expenditure specifically earmarked for addressing their needs. Such an exercise requires segregating those schemes which are specifically meant for addressing the needs of children, and it is this expenditure which is referred to as the magnitude of total Child Budget.
Beyond resources
Achieving universal elementary education is not merely a function of availability of additional resources or even an expansion of the school infrastructure. These are necessary but insufficient conditions for making universal elementary education a reality.