The report presents a mixed picture. Over the past 25 years, there have been notable improvements in child well-being in the group of countries examined in this report: steady decline in child mortality, overall reduction in adolescent suicide and increase in school completion rates. But the last five years have …
Life in a cold desert is harsh and exacting. You need enormous amounts of energy for everything, but there are very few sources. Getting electricity to light up houses in Leh is no easy task. About two-thirds of the power supply in the summer comes from diesel generator sets (DG) …
It is widely accepted that panchayati raj is shaping up much better in Leh as compared to other districts of J&K.; The first real panchayat elections in the state were held only in May 2001. Even then, modalities of decentralisation of power to elected village representatives were not issued. After …
The most remarkable aspect of the developmental challenges in Leh district is the small margin for error. Resources are highly limited. Ladakh's ecology is fragile. Unbridled tourism will imperil the pastures of Changthang that support the pashmina goats and the Changpa nomads. The good news from Leh is that the …
What has been the impact of the Public Distribution System (PDS) on Ladakhi agriculture? The subsidy culture has definitely killed local agriculture in Ladakh. What international trade distortions are doing to Indian agriculturethe subsidy system is doing to Ladakhi agriculture. It is exactly the same as industrialised countries dumping their …
Padma Wangyal, 29, is quite an exception. His grandfather pioneered the cooperative societies movement in Ladakhi agriculture. In a region where the average landholding is a mere 1.38 hectares, Wangyal's family owns about 20 hectares. Wangyal attended school and college in Delhi. Like most young Ladakhis, he dreamt of joining …
In Ladakh, the rest of India is referred to as down . Because, at no point in Leh district would you be less than about three kilometres above the mean sea level. This vast barren district is more than 45,000 square kilometre (sq km); it is perhaps India's largest and …
• Argentina's education ministry has kicked off a unique project called "When You Read, You Always Win'. Organised with the support of the Argentine Football Association, local football clubs, publishing houses and the print media, the initiative is designed to encourage people to read, and to curb violence in stadiums. …
• An inspection team of the Karnataka government pays a surprise visit to Thottadhagudathahalli primary school, located on the outskirts of Bangalore, and detects discrepancies in the rice and oil stocks meant for students' meals. • Less than 2 kilometres away, at the Sidedahalli government primary school, 45 students and …
pharmaceutical giants ought to work closely with scientists in developing nations to ensure that these countries also benefit from the exploitation of their natural resources; such an approach is even crucial to ensure local communities' participation in the conservation process. These are the conclusions drawn by researchers from Panama-based International …
a piece of inspiring information was in store for the 1,000 delegates who assembled in Shimla during the second week of October 2003 to be a part of the latest biennial conference of the All India People's Science Network (aipsn). They came to know that a recent conclave of the …
Motion and change are the sum total of a glacier's life. These massive ice-fields were for long considered a delightful compromise between the seasonal variations in snow level. However, the balance of nature has now melted into the past. Despite looking the picture of tranquillity while metamorphosing, glaciers are today …
It was August 15, 2001, Independence Day, in an adivasi village of Bastar in Chhattisgarh. Two primary school teachers had invited me, the only adult literate in the village, to unfurl the national flag. I had arrived, but one of the teachers was absent, owing to a week-long drinking spree. …
a severe water crisis spawning an acute shortage of textbooks? Strange but true. Karnataka's school students recently became unsuspecting victims amid this bizarre turn of events. It so transpired that the Mysore Paper Mills (mpm) stopped functioning as its water supply was disrupted due to the drying up of Bhadra …
till about a year ago, Gauzia Begum Mohammed, 40, and Velimela Kalavathy, 35, residents of the Bandalguda village of Andhra Pradesh, were counted among the 35 crore Indians who could not read or write. Not anymore. Both have learnt to read. Gauzia can now sign her name and Velimela knows …
The information technology (IT) revolution has finally reached Afghanistan. The country's first batch of IT students recently graduated from Kabul University with industry-standard certificates in computer networking skills. Among the 17 graduates, six are women, heralding new hope that educational discrimination would finally end in Afghanistan. The UN-supervised, Cisco Systems-funded …
ncert Textbook The new National Council of Educational Research and Training (ncert) textbook on mathematics for class 1 is a welcome change from the earlier dull version. The layout is more attractive and multicoloured illustrations abound. But there is a major drawback. Most of the pictures seem to have been …
The Afghanistan government and UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) will begin a new training programme for teachers before the new school year begins next month. Four million Afghan children are expected to return to school, many of them for the first time since the ouster of the Taliban regime. More …
The brief history of The Royal Indian Engineering College puts in proper perspective British attempts to colonise nature, resulting in disastrous consequences for populations throughout the empire. The British Raj's grand scheme for engineers envisaged a role extending far beyond mere designing of construction projects. This piece delves into an …
