International Literacy Day: What Prevents Many Children From Receiving A Quality Education

India, till date stands to be the seventh largest economy in the world, while the country also has been witnessing a steady increase in the gross enrolment ratio in both men and women, portraying a steady education system. However, concerns remain across key development areas such as sanitation, health, child labour and educational quality.

No wonder most are being addressed by the Centre and States through campaigns like the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan’, ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ etc.  If explored, the Indian education paradigm shows that a considerable portion of the population is deprived of formal and quality education. One might find it imperative to understand to what extent education is burdened by the established processes of caste, religion and social status. Thirteen-year-old Madhuvan Ram is one amongst many.

International Literacy Day: Have things changed much?

Madhuvan had never imagined that he would be reminded about his caste in the fifth grade at a private school. Yet, every day of that year he faced discrimination at the hands of children belonging upper caste in Asansol’s Domohani village. Madhuvan was hit on the back of his head, made to add the suffix “master” to his classmates’ names and even asked to address his juniors of upper caste as “master.” He never retaliated. He was too scared. “I now study in a government college,” says Madhuvan. “The uniform in the Kulti college keeps caste discrimination away. But I can never forget how these people treated me in the past.”

Such stories illustrate not only how deep-rooted caste is still in our country but also the many ways in which caste discriminations has hindered the lives of the oppressed. “For my middle school years, I used to cycle a route of 11 km to go to the local public school although It was only 3 km away,” he says. “I had to do this because the Bhils (his caste) are not allowed to walk on the main road. This is the law of land as laid down by the upper castes be it Domohani, Bartaria, Benagram or any other caste-sensitive area of Asansol, the discrimination towards them is similar throughout the district, albeit with varying levels of intensity.

An example of this is given by activist Rahul Banerjee who works for the betterment of the Bhils and the Santhals, and other communities who have been facing discrimination - even after the government’s efforts to secure them, that would result in a better quality of life.

However, the upper castes continue to view the Bhils through the lens of mere creatures by the virtue of their caste. George Hans, a resident of Benagram in the same district, whose parents were sweepers, bore the brunt of this perception 10 years ago when he was asked by his school principal to clean the school toilet. Disturbed by the fact that even his principal had failed to draw the distinction between caste and individual, the boy quit his education and now works as an agricultural laborer.

In Domohani’s villages, men and women engage themselves in making “beedis,” collecting wood and children do not study beyond class 5 or 6. The authorities have turned a blind eye as the people are too scared to voice themselves against marginalization.

According to the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO)’s 75th report on education, the level of attendance differed quite well in different states. Punjab leads in the attendance level of children belonging to the pre-primary group i.e 10.5 percent distribution of students followed by Kerala with 7.9 percent. Taking the case of the primary group of students, Jharkhand leads with 47.6 percent, whereas the state succeeding it, Bihar has marginal variation of 44.8 percent. So the upper primary levels, West Bengal has the highest percent of 23.3. Odisha and Chhattisgarh follow it with a marginal variation of 23.2 percent. West Bengal, Maharashtra and Gujarat lead in the secondary level with an average of 15.3 percent. In the higher secondary level, Himachal Pradesh has the largest number of student attendance. The interesting aspect here is that the state with the highest literacy rate, Kerala does not appear in any of the leading positions.

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Schools in Domohani have begun to provide children with drawing sessions, stitching sessions and games to make learning more interesting, more effective. “We just want them to come and get educated. We try to make their parents aware of their better future once they are educated,”  said Shabbir Khan, a teacher in Asansol Hamdard Public School.

Equal access to education is an imperative need for the upliftment of the society. Nobody can be considered unworthy of education by virtue of their birth. It is about time that we uproot the caste based biases.

The views expressed are the author's own.