Government likely to impose 25 percent quota in private schools

September 24th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - The Punjab government has exempted Adarsh (model) schools, coming up under the public-private partnership (PPP) model in the state, from various taxes. "This decision was taken at a meeting headed by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal," a government spokesperson said here Thursday.

August 31st, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Ministry of External Affairs has revised its rules for allocation of quota for Haj pilgrims for private tour operators. This was decided at a meeting chaired by External Affairs Minister S.M.

July 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The union cabinet Thursday gave its approval to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill that, among other things, envisages 25 percent reservation for weaker sections in private schools. An official in the human resource development ministry told IANS: "The bill was approved by the previous government, (and) was put up before the new cabinet today and was okayed." The government plans to present the bill in the month-long budget session of the parliament that began Thursday and is on top of the human resource development ministry's agenda for the next 100 days.

June 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - After threatening to consume poison if the Women's Reservation Bill is passed Janata Dal (U) chief Sharad Yadav on Saturday demanded a separate quota for backward castes to be included in the Women's Bill. "I am not asking for a reservation of 33 per cent (for women), it could be even 50 per cent.

May 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The autonomous Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNV) performed better than other schools across India with a whopping 94 percent JNV students passing the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class 12 exams. The pass percentage of Navodaya Vidyalayas in board exams was 94.09 percent, which is 2.65 percent higher than last year.

May 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Delhi Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely congratulated the students of government schools whose performance in the CBSE class 12th results, declared Friday, had improved compared to last year. The overall pass percentage of Delhi government schools has gone up by 1.44 percent.

April 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Private schools in the capital Thursday got relief from the Delhi High Court as it stayed a Delhi government move to impose conditions on fee hike. A division bench of Justice A.K.

April 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - An NGO here Thursday asked the Education Department of the Delhi government to direct the schools to declare an early summer break as the mercury level in the national capital has crossed over 43 degrees Celsius. The government and government-aided schools start their summer vacation Friday while most of the private schools in Delhi will begin their vacation only by May 15.

April 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Parents and students of state-run as well as private schools Sunday evening protested outside the official residence of Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Tejendra Khanna the poor quality education of state-run schools and arbitrary fee hike by private schools. A gathering of nearly 800 people started their protest outside Khanna's house around 5 p.m.

April 11th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Parents across Uttar Pradesh will launch an agitation against private schools if they do not roll back their fee hikes within seven days, it was announced here Saturdday. 'We are all set to launch a campaign all over the state against the management of private schools on the fee hike issue,' UP Parents' Welfare Association (UPPWA) president P.K.

March 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Delhi High Court has asked the Delhi government to give adequate publicity to a scheme under which students from poor families can get admission into schools for free. The court was hearing a public interest petition filed by Social Jurist, an NGO, seeking direction from the court to 384 unaided recognised private schools in Delhi.

February 8th, 2009 BHOPAL - Single teacher-run primary and middle schools, no headmasters in most schools and, more shocking, senior secondary schools till Class 12 managed by a single teacher - welcome to Madhya Pradesh's education system. According to the latest District Information System for Education (DISE) report, as many as 25 percent schools - one in four - in Madhya Pradesh are managed by only one teacher.

January 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Delhi government has told the Delhi High Court that it is ready to reimburse the cost of books and uniforms to students from the economically weaker sections (EWS) and has begun the process. Submitting an affidavit to the division bench headed by Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice Sanjiv Khanna Wednesday, the city government agreed to reimburse the cost of Rs.500 for uniforms and books ranging from Rs.80 to Rs.350 to every child studying in schools of the delhi government.

January 3rd, 2009 NOIDA - Government primary and junior high schools in the National Capital Region (NCR) of Noida and Ghaziabad will remain closed till Jan 7 because of dense fog and intense cold, according to official orders Sunday. In Noida, some private schools have decided to remain closed till Jan 11.

December 24th, 2008 NEW DELHI - The Right to Education Bill, introduced in the Rajya Sabha last week, proposing that schools cannot fail students until they complete Class 8 has received flak from teachers. 'What is the use of promoting children from one class to another if he (or she) does not have that basic competency level,' said Vandana Puri, Salwan Public School principal.