“In the syllabus, we will take care of the differences and we will do standardisation of syllabus so that rural students can also (be) taken care of.”
J.P. Nadda, Union health minister, on the NEET (National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test) Bill, mandating a single common exam for medical and dental courses, which was passed by the Lok Sabha (Outlook, July 19)
“Brexit means Brexit, and we’re going to make a success of it.”
Theresa May, leader of Britain’s Conservative Party, who replaced David Cameron as prime minister on July 13 (Time, July 25)
“I trust Hillary to lead this country because I have seen her lifelong devotion to our nation’s children. Not just her own daughter, who she has raised to perfection, but every child who needs a champion: kids who take the long way to school to avoid the gangs... ”
Michelle Obama, US First Lady, endorsing Hillary Clinton’s candidature for US President at the National Democratic Convention (July 26)
“Under the new Child Labour Act, the more invisible forms of child labour and exploitation may go unseen and the most vulnerable and marginalised children may end up with irregular school attendance, lower levels of learning and therefore subsequent dropping out of school.”
Euphrates Gobina, UNICEF India’s education chief, on the provision in the new Child Labour Amendment Bill, 2016, which permits children to help in family-run enterprises (The Times of India, July 27)
“All such disasters occur because of a convergence of factors related to climate change and a crisis created by mismanagement and corruption. In popular culture, while the political failures are rightfully played up and debated, the reasons behind such freak phenomena hardly finds any mention...”
Amitav Ghosh, well-known novelist, releasing his latest book The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable (July 30)