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Dear Reader,
The Foundation's grantees have consistently reported on the reality of the abysmal and sometimes shocking state of government schools, especially in Bihar and Jharkhand. With dilapidated or non-existent school buildings, no teachers and no access to schools due to poor connectivity, it's a grim future for children in these States. The India Forum goes to the root cause of this dismal state of education – the utter paucity of resources and bland and ineffective policies. And looks for solutions.
Compared to Bihar, Kerala's education model has been touted as innovative and inclusive, with significant public investment for years, ensuring near universal enrolment with very few dropouts. However, the TrueCopy Think points out that the acclaimed model is fraying. For instance, for the last two years, the 'e-Grantz' scholarship – an online scheme for grants to SC, ST and OBC students – has been hampered by delays, thereby increasing dropouts and threatening the efficacy of the very model.
Tribals in India's remote and heavily forested areas are woefully neglected communities. Abujmad, in the deep interiors of the Bastar division of Chhattisgarh, is no different. The state and its services are invisible. मैं भी भारत reports from Bastar that the basic facilities are so scarce that the villages have to trek 70 km to procure 35 kilos of grains allotted to them under the PDS. A granary was built years ago but has yet to be used even once for storing grains; the school does not have a teacher, and the local hospital does not have a doctor.
And calls from unknown numbers, especially telemarketers, are an everyday irritation in India. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended that telecom service providers make Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) available as a supplementary service to curb spam calls. However, is providing the name of the caller to enable weeding out spam the solution? While curbing spam might seem like the way to go, it is as important to look at CNAP in the context of the Puttaswamy Judgement and consider whether it is an appropriate solution, as it can potentially violate users' privacy. MediaNama looks at the impact of the proposed move.
For more such stories from the grantees this week, please read on.
Warmly,
Sunil Rajshekhar
IPSMF
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