Daily Briefing: Education report for 2022 notes big drop in learning levels; Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik accuse wrestling body chief of sexual harrassment

After two years of a pandemic-induced school shutdown that kept children out of schools, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) for 2022 has good news and bad.

🔴 While children returned to school in huge numbers in 2022, the grim news is that, as expected, the disruption led to a big drop in learning levels in most states, across both government and private schools.

🔴 The report also provides some pointers on how children may have picked up key reading and counting skills despite being away from regular classrooms. This raises larger questions about the role of schools and the parent community in the post-pandemic era.

🔴 Rukmini Banerji, the CEO of NGO Pratham, explains the bright spots and areas of concern in the ASER data. Meanwhile, in our Opinion section, Wilima Wadhwa, Director of ASER Centre, deep dives into the data and what it means.

Only in the Express

An RTI reply to The Indian Express shows that 2.5 years after a scheme was announced to provide Rs 1 crore as compensation to the kin of government employees who died while on Covid duty, a majority of those who applied were yet to get approval from the Delhi government.

As the BJP gears up for the 2024 general elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a clear message at the party’s two-day national executive meeting. According to BJP leaders, the PM’s focus was on “a new style of politics to create soft power and goodwill among all sections of the people.”

From the Front Page

India’s most-decorated women wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik accused BJP MP and Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual harassment. They said they were speaking on behalf of 10-12 girls who have been exploited. Singh has rejected all allegations.

Backtracking on his statement, which kicked up controversy last week, Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi has clarified that he had not suggested changing the name of the state from “Tamil Nadu” to “Tamizhagam”. A top RSS leader told The Indian Express that the Governor was being misled by some fellow travellers of the Sangh Parivar.

In a first since turning national, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s mega rally Wednesday saw Opposition bigwigs like Chief Ministers Pinarayi Vijayan (Kerala) and Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi) come together. The parties accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of trying to destroy the country’s federal structure.

Must Read

Odisha’s Naveen Patnaik government brought back the dismantled parts of the iconic Dakota DC-3 aircraft from Kolkata’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport to the city. The parts will now be reassembled and the aircraft will be stationed for public display at the Biju Patnaik International Airport.

Jacqueline Fernandez has turned witness against alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar along with Nora Fatehi. We take a look at the supplementary chargesheet in the case and Fernadez’s statements that reveal a saga of fake identities, expensive gifts, and how Chandrashekhar pursued the two actors.

And Finally…

India vs New Zealand ODI could have easily been different if not for Shubham Gill, who struck 208 off 149 deliveries. If Hobart was the one for Virat Kohli, then this is the one for Gill – one where he came of age, showing the first definite sign that he is there for the long haul.

Delhi Confidential: Responding to BSP supremo Mayawati’s attack on use of EVMs, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar took to poetry. “If the EVM could speak, it would say: ‘jisne tere sar par tohmat rakhi hai, maine uss ke bhi ghar ki laaj rakhi hai’ (I have even kept the honour of the one who has raised allegations against me)”, he said.

🎧 In today’s episode of the ‘3 Things’ podcast, we talk about India’s cancer burden, the luxury cruise over Ganga river, and how a gangster-turned-actor is set to star in a film inspired by his life.

Until next time,

Navmi Krishna and Sonal Gupta

Business As Usual by EP Unny