Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
>
> What, if any, sectors of Indian society are worse off now
> than 10 years ago?
>
> Doug
According to an (not very well written) article in the ToI, education is suffering a bit under World Bank rules:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/xml/comp/articleshow?artid=33402392
The first State of the Nation Report on the impact of globalisation on Indian children brought out by an NGO, Haq: Centre for Child’s Rights, takes an overview of how the country’s 370 million children are faring. Educational expert Anil Sadgopal says pressure from the World Bank forced the government to reduce the span of elementary education from eight to five years.
‘‘Article 45 of the Constitution has unambiguously declared that primary education would be spread over eight years and an eight-year curriculum was drafted at Wardha Conference in 1937. Not only has this been changed, but also the newly-introduced Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan or the Education Guarantee Scheme has reduced the duration of primary education to three years,’’ says Sadgopal. Experts are equally critical of how earlier educational commitments have been swept aside. --- Sent from UnionMail Service [http://mail.union.org.za]