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Showing posts from October, 2016

RTE Act: #realitycheck

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Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan ( Education for All Movement ) was an intervention programme by the Indian Government to universalize elementary education in a time-bound manner, which became operational since 2000-01. SSA proposed provisions such as free and compulsory education to all children between the ages of 6 and 14, by observing right to education as a fundamental right of the child. The fact being that SSA had no legal backing and on finding that proposals as under SSA will play a major role in shaping India’s future, 'The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act', commonly known as the ‘ RTE Act  2009 ’ came into existence on 4 th August 2009. The act entitled free and compulsory education to every child in India between the ages of six and fourteen, as proposed by SSA. With the enaction of the Act, India became one among the 135 nations of the world to make education a fundamental right to all children. Few of the provisions as under the RTE Act 2009 a

Lucky Red Seeds

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 I remember having a collection of these as a child. But somewhere in the midst of growing up, I lost them. I don't exactly remember when or how. But then it was quite normal. I knew a place where there was a Manjadi tree and I could always collect from there, if I ever wanted them. If I remember well, my association with these lucky red seeds started during my visits to Guruvayoor Temple as a child. One could play with the thousands of these seeds kept inside the big Uruli . That was the favourite part of my temple visit. Later on growing up, my visits to any temple reduced considerably and even stopped.  It was in 2012 when  Manjadikuru the movie got released. I watched the movie only after its DVD release, but. And there started my vain pursuits to get hold of a few of these seeds. I wanted to grow them in the backyard of my house. I wanted a Manjadi tree in my house. My little research over the internet showed that it would take nine years for its seed to sprout. I wa

12 Angry Men

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Leadership Curriculum: Influence Without Authority 12 Angry Men is a 1957 courtroom drama written by Reginald Rose and directed by Sidney Lumet. According to the American Constitution, the verdict is passed on the basis of whether there is a ‘reasonable doubt’ in the guilt of the accused. In the movie, we see an 18 year old boy from a slum who has allegedly stabbed his father to death. The court proceedings are over and the 12 member jury is now to decide by discussions based on reasons, whether he is guilty or not. Also, the jury’s decision is to be unanimous. In case of a hung jury, a new jury would be called for. An initial voting is done to know how many members feel whether the boy is guilty and how many members not. 11 members vote “guilty” and one member “not guilty” saying that he is not sure of it. He proposes to discuss further, saying that it is the life of a person that they are dealing with and that they owes him some time. To this, many members disagree and w