Education

Mathru Educational Trust for the Blind and Other Disabled, established on January 15, 2001 by Muktha Gubbi, emerged at a time when her life was marked by various challenges that almost led her to despair. She met with a freak accident, in which she lost half of one foot and a close relationship ended, thereafter.  Witnessing a young mother struggling to take care of her blind toddler inspired Muktha to start the Mathru Residential School for the Blind in her time of adversity. Since its inception, the school has empowered countless visually impaired students, who have meritoriously passed out of Mathru school. Mathru now…

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Marcus is a trans man pursuing a master’s degree in sports management from IISM, Mumbai. As a member of the transgender community, Marcus welcomes the state government's decision to provide free higher education to transgender students in public universities in Maharashtra and in affiliated colleges. "This will be effective because a lot of trans people also come from the lower economic strata. Unfortunately, they have to leave their households early on because their parents don’t approve of their identity. They have to either manage their studies or drop out,” says Marcus. Policy's inclusivity objective On December 5th, at a meeting…

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“It is such a tragedy that on the occasion of the death anniversary of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, who spent his entire life educating people, making them aware, in getting them their rights, you have taken a step towards privatisation of education,” says Sudhakar Sonavane, former mayor of Navi Mumbai.  He is referring to Maharashtra government's "Adopt A School" scheme, which educationists and parents believe is an invitation in disguise for private players to take over government schools, where the poorest in the state study. It was launched on December 5th in the presence of chief minister Eknath Shinde and school…

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Approximately six months into the ongoing academic year, several autonomous colleges in Mumbai have already initiated the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, introducing a four-year undergraduate degree course. Meanwhile, non-autonomous colleges affiliated with Mumbai University (MU) awaited guidance and directives from the university. Following the academic council's (AC) endorsement of course structures, credit systems, and syllabi for new degree programs, MU recently announced its plan to implement the NEP across all its non-autonomous affiliated colleges starting from the academic year 2024-25. Aligned with NEP's goal of offering a diverse and adaptable education, the university has organised academic programs into six…

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Raja*, a 13-year-old boy, was protesting on the streets along with his mother and neighbours when their houses in Govindasamy Nagar were demolished by the government in May 2022. "The government disconnected the electricity supply to our houses for almost 10 days. We had our annual exams during this time and all the children in the area could not study at home. We tried to study under the street lights where there were many mosquitoes. But, before our exams got over, the government demolished our houses," he says. Raja and other children in the area were forced to take to…

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In a recent development, the State Education Department issued a directive to all regional deputy directors of education and district education officers. They are tasked with identifying and consolidating small schools within their respective jurisdictions by October 15, aiming to integrate them into larger schools as part of the 'cluster school' initiative. If realised, this program will entail approximately 200,000 students commuting considerable distances to access education. While this initiative has been in the planning stages for several months, its core objective is to improve the quality of education. This would be achieved by exposing students to a larger peer…

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A few residents of Kannagi Nagar Block 1 were occupied with the task of sun-drying salted fish on jute sheets; there were children in school uniforms amongst them. At the entrance of the block, under the relentless noon sun, the women talked about the state government's newly launched breakfast scheme in government-run schools - sharing their optimism and concerns. The breakfast scheme being discussed was inaugurated on September 15, 2022, on a small scale before being expanded the following year to cover primary schools across the entire state. The scheme now spans more than 1,500 government schools throughout Tamil Nadu. …

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Mumbai has over 4000 schools and several lakh children enrolled in various private and public schools. Last year more than three lakh children appeared for class 10 exams under the state board alone. With a population of over 20 million, the need for affordable education has never been more urgent. Setting up a school, especially in a bustling metropolis like Mumbai, involves navigating through a complex web of rules and laws to ensure a safe and conducive learning environment. The local administration, mainly the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), oversees the educational landscape in the city. Legalities The Right…

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In February this year, a video of a skit performed by students of Jain University went viral. Seven students performed what they called a “satirical drama skit which revolves around the reservation system prevailing in society.” Anti-caste activists pointed out the casteism in the skit that appeared to mock Dr BR Ambedkar, Dalits, and reservation. The outrage led to FIRs against the students and faculty of Jain University under the SC/ST (Prevention) Atrocities Act. COLLECTIVE Bangalore members during a signature campaign for instituting functional SC/ST cells in Bengaluru colleges. Pic courtesy: COLLECTIVE Bangalore Campaign for SC/ST cells While the criminal…

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As designers at The Other Design Studio, we have collaborated with various NGOs, including Akshara Foundation, Pratham Books, Azad India Foundation, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies Foundation, and numerous others for almost two decades. Through this work, we have gained a profound understanding of the social system. Angeline Pradhan and Upesh Pradhan run The Other Design Studio, which does branding to illustration to animation and videos. They have covered everything and a little more as a design studio. In 2022, our design experience with Samaaj, Sarkaar, Bazaar, a collection of over a decade of articles, interviews, and speeches by Rohini Nilekani, inspired…

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