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There was some improvement in public school facilities, but a lot is still required as 44 percent of schools do not have electricity, 34 percent do not have drinkable water, 30 percenyt do not have boundary walls and 28 percent do not have bathroom facilities and so on so forth, the minister said.
However, there are several indicators’ that show some healthy trends too, he said and added, for instance the school retention has increased from 25 percent to 28 percent, and primary level enrolment has increased from 15.5 to 15.8 million.
Similarly, the number of out of school childrens have decreased from 25 million to 24 million, missing facilities at school have been improved and the government at all levels is making efforts to decrease this figure, he added.
Now in all our efforts to improve the state of education, “we see the role of parents, communities, civil society and media as vital” he stressed.
The minister said that these kinds of initiatives indeed were eye openers for the district, provincial and federal machineries to look rightly in to the issues.
“We were here to work for the betterment of the country and specially to improve the state of education of our children” he said.
In this era, where technology is touching zenith, competitions in every field of life were much stronger and the market economies are replacing every other model, “we have to work hard to educate our children for better future” he said.
In this regard, he lauded ther role of rural support programmes that were mobilizing communities on the issues like education, and were enabling them through trainings on lobbying and advocacy.
The event was also attended by Shoaib Sultan Khan, Chairman, Rural Support Programme Network, Shandana Khan, CEO RSPN, Mosharraf Zaidi, Campaign Director, Alif Ailaan.
Team manager Les Galloway confirmed that the anthem played by the host nation was not Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika.
Contrary to an earlier statement released by the South African Hockey Association, it was not a full version of the apartheid-era anthem, Die Stem, either.
“It was not Die Stem, but it was not the correct anthem either, it was like a mix. It was bizarre,” Galloway said.
The national anthem, which was adopted in 1997, consists of a shortened, combined version of the hymn Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika (God Bless Africa) and Die Stem van Suid Afrika (The Call of South Africa) and incorporates the languages Xhosa, Zulu, Sotho, Afrikaans and English.
Galloway said she would listen to the anthem the officials intended playing that night to ensure the error had been corrected.
“We don’t like the old anthem and we don’t want it played. No doubt,” she said.
I have spoken to the officials and by tomorrow [Thursday] night it will be done and dusted.
“We didn’t think it was a serious problem,” she said.
South Africa, ranked 12th in the world, stunned Great Britain, rated fourth, with a 3-1 victory in their opening match of the London Cup tournament.
Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration is weighing a first-in-the-nation minimum wage for drivers who work for apps like Uber, but officials in the administration were publicly at odds Monday about their course of action.
In the coming weeks, the city's chief taxi regulator had planned to ask for Taxi and Limousine Commission authorization of a $17.22 minimum wage, after expenses, for drivers affiliated with the big four taxi apps in New York City — Uber, Lyft, Via and June. Together, they provide nearly 600,000 trips a day.
But after a TLC-commissioned analysis of its proposal was released Monday, the mayor's office hesitated and indicated it wanted the City Council and the mayor's office to spearhead some other sort of regulatory effort instead.
"Very premature," tweeted de Blasio spokesman Eric Phillips on Monday, in response to a statement from de Blasio's top taxi official, TLC Chairwoman Meera Joshi, that hailed the analysis of "our proposal" as "an excellent foundation for public policy."
"The Mayor and City Council will be working together on this issue and reviewing the report before making any decisions on the path to take," Phillips continued. "Help for yellow drivers is a big focus of ours right now."
The tweet seems to undermine one of the mayor’s senior officials, Joshi, who was initially billed to participate in a conference call Monday, but did not participate. No explanation was given as to why.
The minimum wage push move stands to benefit the 80,000 mostly full-time drivers who toil in the ranks of the working poor, even as the companies for which they drive prosper.
"Eight years ago, Uber was a San Francisco novelty. Today, Ubers are fairly ubiquitous. ... Nowhere is this more true than New York City," said New School economist, James Parrott, who co-wrote the report along with University of California Berkeley economist Michael Reich. "The business model has many serious negative...
The report found 85 percent of for-hire vehicle drivers now fall below that proposed minimum wage. App-based drivers are almost entirely immigrants without four-year college degrees. Half of them support children, 40 percent qualify for Medicaid and 18 percent — or about twice the city average — have incomes so low tha...
And yet, the economic importance of the industry is hard to overstate.
"Uber alone would be the largest for-profit private employer in New York City — if Uber drivers were classified as employees rather than independent contractors," the report states.
For the vast majority of drivers who now earn less than $17.22 an hour, the city's proposal would mean a raise of $6,300 or more a year. To encourage the more efficient use of cars, drivers who provide shared rides, and who are among the lowest paid, would get an additional $1 per rider. Drivers of wheelchair-accessibl...
That driver pay remains so low speaks to the fundamental disconnect between the aims of Uber — which is pursuing driverless taxi technology — and the aims of its drivers.
"Companies do not use the drivers' working time very efficiently," Reich said Monday. "The drivers spend much of their time cruising the city streets without passengers, waiting for a passenger, for a ride."
The report says that in order to have quick response times, "the companies require many idle drivers to be available at any given moment and at many locations. ... This model creates a gap between the drivers' desires to maximize their earnings — by maximizing trips per working hour — and the companies' desire to minim...
Reich and Parrott suggest paying for higher driver wages by requiring companies like Uber to give drivers a few additional minutes per hour in passenger trips, and by reducing its own take. The result for riders might be a 12-to 15-second increase in wait times, and an at-most 5 percent increase in fares.
Should the companies fail to provide adequate work to meet the $17.22-per-hour minimum wage, they would have to make up the difference.
Uber, in response to the report, warned against the unintended consequences of its recommendations. The company said some of the findings were based on faulty assumptions about the company's business model and how drivers and riders interact with the app. The minimum wage, the company argued, would ultimately make the ...
The report does not address the plight of yellow taxi drivers, though the city has said it's considering reducing the credit card surcharge on what such drivers pay.
But the report argues that this proposal stands to benefit yellow taxi drivers anyway, from fairer competition and what the report's authors argue will be a reduction in traffic congestion.
"Fewer empty app cars cruising New York City's streets will improve trip times for all drivers," they write.
Sam Raskin contributed to this report.
Poor planning by the General Services Administration’s Washington-area Public Buildings Service caused it to miss performance targets intended to “break even” on its funds from operations, a watchdog found.
The result was a loss of $49 million in fiscal 2016 on a “wide range” of leases and a debt to overbilled agency tenants, GSA’s inspector general concluded in a report released on Thursday. The report reviewed 24 locations.
The agencies affected included various components of the Health and Human Services Department in Rockville, Md., Homeland Security operations near Washington’s Union Station and various Defense Department offices in the Virginia suburbs Arlington and Alexandria.
The Public Buildings Service for the National Capital Region “is not effectively managing its leased portfolio to ensure that it is fully recovering lease costs as required by PBS pricing policy,” wrote the watchdog’s team led by Carol Ochoa.
“Based on our testing, we identified two major issues causing excessive variances in lease” funds from operations, the report said. One was an array of “deficiencies” in planning and execution of certain leases that led to “unnecessary vacant space,” and another was a set of “lease administration and accounting errors”...
In a sample of 11 locations alone, PBS for the capital region lost $20.4 million in rent, real estate taxes and security charges “that could not be passed through to a tenant agency because the space was vacant,” the IG wrote. Vacant space was the chief reason the service missed its performance metric of 0-2 percent le...
The issues boiled down to five problems, among them PBS for the capital region's failure to take full advantage of a termination clause because it did not know that the tenant would be vacating leased space (the Food and Drug Administration). And it extended a lease for five years for an agency that was expecting to ce...
The GSA inspector general made six recommendations, among them that PBS “quantify potential losses to GSA due to vacant space when planning space consolidation projects, and incorporate this risk analysis into business decisions,” and that it reimburse tenant agencies for overpayments from the past five years.
PBS managers agreed with all six, noting that the reimbursements will require internal coordination to reshuffle current-year operations funds.
Birth is a wonderful event in the life of a mother and a baby. Many women wait their entire lives waiting to become a mom. While childbirth is magical and beautiful, the day can also be incredibly dangerous for both mom and baby. As a result, I have covered stories from around the world that explore miracles and mishap...
In a new video, I break down the wildest birth stories featured on Without a Crystal Ball. From a woman that delivered a twin while in a coma to a nurse that decapitated during a breech delivery, I have covered a lot of bizarre stories.
On this episode, I share the craziest stories and offer personal insight into each case. I start with a mother in the United Kingdom that fell into a coma and delivered a baby. The kicker in the story is she had no idea she was pregnant. A rare congenital condition hid the pregnancy from her.
In the second case, I dive into the birth of a 15-pound baby. The mother’s story of struggling with infertility for nearly a decade makes this story especially compelling.
The third case takes us on a trip to India. Two nurses find a woman in labor at a clinic. Instead of getting doctors to help them, the nurses decide to deliver the baby without any training. As a result, the breech baby was torn into pieces, and the mother nearly died.
In the fourth story, I highlight the birth of an infant from a woman that received a transplanted uterus. The mother was born with a rare syndrome that left her with ovaries but no uterus. Doctors in Brazil transplanted a womb from a deceased patient. The resulting birth of the baby was first in the world.
Finally, the episode ends with a trip to Australia. I share the story of a midwife that delivered “surprise twins.” The story delves into the shady practices of a rogue midwife that bragged about not providing primary prenatal care. While the twins survived, her public post of the delivery cost the midwife her career.
"Furthermore Emma, you never respond directly to what I am saying, and write it off ..."
"If you continue to write ridiculous things, I will respond. Calling me a troll doesn't ..."
"HAHAHA! You couldn't resist could you troll."
If you thought you'd just recovered from last year's "Black Friday", then it's time to start digging out your wallet again for Red Saturday and fearing the worst on Red Tuesday.
Several retailers have decided to call tomorrow "Red Saturday" -- the day spouses and partners rush out to the shops to buy their other half a Valentine's Day gift.
In the U.K. alone, it is expected that £1.9 billion ($2.91 billion) will be spent for the day, according to a new study by eHarmony, an online dating platform.
Out of the £1.9 billion spent over the next week, the most expensive item on the menu will be dinner out (£557 million) while U.K. lovers will spend an extra £192 million on jewelry and £57.6 million on cards.
The average spend on Valentine's Day will be around £53 per person, however men will spend more (£70.47 on average) compared to their female partner (£39.58). Londoners however are predicted to spend the most, with a predicted splashing-out of £86.02.
eHarmony compiled the data from an index using Google Trends search trends data relating to love and dating, social media trends, and the site's registration data.
Americans are the biggest of "big spenders" with a predicted $18.9 billion expected to be spent this year, an average of $142.31 (£92.82) per person. Confectionary will be the favorite; as more than 53 percent expect to spend their money on chocolate treats for their other half, according to the National Retail Federat...
Will it all go to waste?
Tomorrow may mark the start of the Valentine's Day spending spree, but if you haven't bought your loved one a gift yet, it might be best to hold off… until "Red Tuesday."
Four days before Valentine's Day (10th February), this year dubbed as "Red Tuesday," is the most likely day an individual will choose to break up with their other half, according to a new report by Illicit Encounters.com, the U.K.'s biggest secret dating site for married people.
The week before Valentine's Day can be seen as a crucial decision point for relationships, its survey found. Either Valentine's Day acts as a red light to reawaken a person's anxiety or antipathy about their other half, or the commercial holiday solidifies a person's love for their partner.
Having surveyed 3,000 people, 22 percent of had broken up with their other half during the week leading up to Valentine's Day, while almost 75 percent admitted to having made a "clean break" around this time.
If that wasn't bad enough, breaking up in person is a rapidly going out of fashion, with 75 percent of people using their phone instead, including using Whatsapp, Twitter and Facebook as preferred methods, says the report.
Submitted by WBRi Web Desk on Fri, 01/04/2013 - 07:44.
Mumbai, Jan 4, 2013 (Washington Bangla Radio) Having walked away with stellar reviews for her consistent performances, power house Vidya Balan was also recently announced “Hottest Vegan” for the year 2012.
Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan and actress Vidya Balan were recently named PETA’s hottest celebrity vegetarians of 2012.
Says Poorva Joshipura, CEO, PETA India , “More and more of India’s hottest stars are choosing to keep meat off their plates and when you look at Amitabh and Vidya, it is easy to see why”.
Vidya Balan is no stranger to the list as she also happened to top it in the year 2010, with the former union minister of State for External Affairs,Shashi Tharoor.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Pope Francis is demanding justice for the victims of Argentina's worst terrorist attack. And he's doing with what is increasingly becoming his signature way of communicating: an amateur smartphone video message, recorded on the fly by a visiting friend in the comfort of Francis'...
To be aired Friday during the official commemoration of the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people, the video is the latest evidence that Francis has no qualms about circumventing the Vatican's media machine to get his message out — for better or worse.
A close friend of the pope's, Claudio Epelman, executive director of the Latin American Jewish Congress, shot the video last month on his Samsung phone when he visited Francis at the Vatican.
Public Service and Administration Minister Ayanda Dlodlo.
Senior state employees received a tongue lashing from parliament for failing to declare their business interests – a failure that could leave the doors open to corruption.
Parliament’s portfolio committee on public service and administration on Tuesday received report from the Public Service Commission‚ stating that 721 Senior Management Services (SMS) members had failed to declare their directorships in private and public companies – in contravention of the Public Service Regulations.
In a statement‚ committee chair Joe Maswanganyi said he was concerned about the figures‚ and while he stressed he was not assigning guilt to any of those SMS members‚ it was important that officials – especially those at the very top of government departments – complied with the law.
“It is unacceptable that so many senior managers can be in contravention of regulations that are intended to ensure the credibility of the state. Senior managers are in the forefront of the fight against corruption and by declaring directorships they prove accountability‚” Maswanganyi said.
It was a particular concern‚ the statement said‚ that 19 of the 721 were directors-general or heads of departments at both national and provincial level.
The committee called on the Public Service Commission and the Minister of Public Service and Administration‚ Ayanda Dlodlo‚ to “urgently take adequate action against contravening officials”.
Maswanganyi said the committee wanted a full presentation from the Public Service Commission on the report.
Market Rasen Racecourse is gearing itself up for a ‘riot’ as the Kaiser Chiefs comes to town next week.
The Brit Award-winning, multi-million selling band is the latest top music act to appear at the racecourse and general manager Nadia Powell says the event is heading for another sell-out.
She said: “Ticket sales are going incredibly well as we would have expected with the Kaiser Chiefs being such a popular, well liked band.
The band first shot to recognition with their breakout hit ‘I Predict A Riot’ followed by smashes such as ‘Oh My God’, ‘Everyday I Love You Less and Less’, the number one single ‘Ruby’, ‘Coming Home’ and last year’s ‘Hole In My Soul’.
The band’s irrepressible frontman, Ricky Wilson, was the first coach on The Voice UK to mentor the winning acts two years in a row in 2015 and 2016.
Featuring a full headline show, Kaiser Chiefs will be taking centre stage on Saturday August 19, after the seven-race card is complete.
Earlier this year, Olly Murs wowed the crowds at the racecourse, and it is certain the Kaisers will do the same. Nadia said: “With every different artist we welcome to Market Rasen we in turn welcome a new audience along with our regular racing and music supporters.
But Nadia is also keen to remind people it is not just about the music. She added: “We have seven great races to entertain and warm up the crowd before we welcome the Kaiser Chiefs to the stage and we urge ticket bookers to come early and enjoy an evening of both racing and music to get the full Jockey Club Live experi...
Custom built brick Rancher offers 2 bedrooms each with full bath. Foyer entrance leads you to a bright living room. Sunny eat in kitchen with formal dining area with sliding glass doors to the fenced in back yard. This home has a wide driveway with car port as well as a full basement.
A couple of years ago, Dr. Kubodera, who has a remarkable talent for filming large, unusual squid underwater, got some footage of Taningia danae. This octopoteuthid squid is notable for a) being large, b) lacking tentacles as an adult, d) having big, bright photophores on the tips of two of its arms and c) swimming wit...
The human-size squid were filmed at depths of 780 to 3,100 feet (240 to 940 meters) off the Ogasawara Islands during a scientific expedition led by Tsunemi Kubodera of the National Science Museum in Tokyo, Japan.
T. danae lacks the two long feeding tentacles of most other big squid. But the species has suckers with sharp claws and light-producing organs on the ends of two of its arms called photophores. The size of lemons, these photophores are the largest found in the animal kingdom.

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