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- Why in News?
- Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are set to follow a two-language formula in schools, prioritising their respective regional languages—Tamil and Kannada—alongside English, diverging from the three-language model in NEP 2020.
- Key Provisions:-
- Tamil Nadu’s State Education Policy reaffirms its long-standing stance, making Tamil compulsory up to Class 10, while Karnataka’s proposed SEP recommends Kannada or the mother tongue as the medium of instruction at least until Class 5, preferably Class 12, with English as the second language. This would replace Hindi as a compulsory subject, a move seen as resisting language imposition. Karnataka also plans a State-specific curriculum, bilingual teaching, and reduced reliance on NCERT texts. Tamil Nadu’s policy further emphasises critical thinking, digital literacy, climate education, STEAM learning, and support for marginalised students. Both States highlight the need for strong public education systems. The Centre should prioritise quality learning outcomes over divisive language policies, working with States to address pressing educational challenges.
- Why in News?
- Israel’s Security Cabinet has approved expanding the war to seize Gaza City, ignoring global alarm over the worsening humanitarian crisis.
- Key Provisions:-
- Leading genocide scholars, rights groups, and even former Israeli leaders have condemned the campaign as genocidal. Starvation, famine, and child deaths from malnutrition have intensified outrage, prompting allies like France, the U.K., and Canada to demand a ceasefire and pledge support for Palestinian statehood. Yet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—facing an ICC arrest warrant—denies famine exists, despite harrowing images of emaciated children. His plan would extend the offensive from Gaza City to Khan Younus, where displaced Palestinians crowd into tents and ruins. Netanyahu claims he seeks control of Gaza without retaining it, but past actions—breaking ceasefires, imposing blockades, and enabling extremist calls for expulsion—suggest otherwise. Backed by U.S. military and political support, Israel’s campaign risks mass displacement. If the West truly opposes such actions, it must adopt concrete measures to hold Israel accountable.
- Why in News?
- The World Health Organisation (WHO) has certified Kenya as having eliminated Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), or sleeping sickness—a parasitic disease transmitted by infected tsetse flies and endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. Early symptoms include fever, headaches, and joint pain, progressing to neurological issues such as confusion, disrupted sleep, and behavioural changes.
- Key Provisions:-
The disease has two forms: Trypanosoma brucei gambiense, found in 24 West and Central African countries, causes a chronic illness and accounts for 92% of cases, often remaining asymptomatic for years until the central nervous system is affected; and T. b. rhodesiense, found in 13 East and Southern African countries, causes acute disease. Rural communities relying on farming, fishing, animal husbandry, or hunting are most at risk. WHO has so far validated the elimination of the gambiense form in Togo, Benin, Ivory Coast, Uganda, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Chad, Guinea, and now Kenya—marking significant progress towards regional eradication.