Tag: concerns

In Chhattisgarh, health and education are top concerns

Loknath Das

RAIPUR/BILASPUR/DURG (CHHATTISGARH): As Shahnawaz Khan waited for his wife’s turn in the snaking queue for tests at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences Raipur, his thoughts turned to another queue —one they will join on Tuesday to vote in the general elections. And, like Khan, the thoughts of many voters are focused on two priorities —health and education—in one of India’s poorest states, with a large tribal population. With seven Lok Sabha constituencies—Raipur, Durg, Bilaspur, Korba, Janjgir-Champa, Raigarh and Surguja—going to polls on Tuesday, Khan and thousands like him wait with renewed…

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Finance ministry’s own division shares EC’s concerns on electoral bonds & transparency

Loknath Das

Amendments proposed that contributions received through electoral bonds be excluded from political donations act | Wikipedia The Financial Sector Reforms and Legislation Division has agreed with the EC’s view, which is that the new laws are ‘retrograde’ and need to be withdrawn. New Delhi: The Election Commission’s concerns over the transparency of electoral bonds, introduced via the Finance Act, 2017, have been supported by the Financial Sector Reforms and Legislation Division of the finance ministry. According to an RTI filed by activist Commodore Lokesh Batra (retd), an official email from the…

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Africa buoys French international education as security concerns remain

subhadip

  The latest figures from Campus France show that student mobility from Africa has increased 6.7% in the last five years, driven largely by students from Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. “The perception of security after the attacks impacted students still at home more than the students in France” In total, French higher education institutions hosted 133,893 African students in 2015/16 – 43.2% of all international students in the country – up from 126,986 last year. According to Campus France stakeholders, international student visa applications to France took a hit after…

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Academies face crackdown amid concerns about standards

subhadip

Michael Gove visits Durand Academy School in Stockwell Rex Features Struggling academies and free schools are to face a crackdown amid concerns about the quality of some chains, England’s new schools tsar has revealed. Sir David Carter, who was appointed National Schools Commissioner in December, used his first interview in the job to set out his plans to identify the 100 weakest academies and introduce a new hierarchical system for academy chains which would only allow the best to expand. Sir David announced his plans in the week that the…

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