Caste and Tribe, Poverty and Patriarchy: A Qualitative Assessment of Educational and Social Factors and Policies Contributing to the Current Status of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Children in a State in India
Open AccessOne of the pressing issues in the Indian education system is the educational progress of rural students from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes communities, as they continue to remain at a disadvantage. This study examined the perception of state education officials of the main factors that have contributed to the current educational status of rural students from these communities (with special emphasis on girls/women) and on the educational and social policies that facilitate, or constrain, their progress. A basic qualitative research approach was utilized. Data from interviews with state education officials in a state in India was used to analyze different social and educational factors and policies that facilitated and constrained educational progress of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes student groups.State education officials identified ‘key problems’ and ‘government policies’ attempting to solve the problems as influencing the educational progress of students from these communities. Students from Scheduled Castes and Tribes, as well as girls were seen to face problems over and above those that confront low-income rural students more generally. Factors identified as facilitators were improved living conditions, educational resources and number of rural government schools; increasing numbers of residential schools for Scheduled Castes and Tribes girls; availability of state and national programs such as mid-day meal, school uniforms, and textbooks and special government programs such as scholarships for girls; and designing of bias-free textbooks to represent students’ castes, tribes, languages, gender, and religions. Similarly, factors identified as constraints were extreme poverty, malnutrition, and lack of permanent housing; health and hygiene issues (specifically for girls); continued presence of discrimination and segregation against these communities (particularly for girls); insufficient time and resource to represent the multiple castes, tribes, and languages of the Scheduled Tribes student groups in textbooks, and the grade retention policy.The findings suggested that while state and national government programs and policies facilitate educational progress for students from low-income rural communities generally and Scheduled Castes and Tribes specifically, both educational and social factors are responsible for their continued high dropout rates, high absenteeism, and low participation and transition rates across all levels of education. These factors combined together contribute towards the slow educational progress of these student groups. Thus, their remains miles for the Government to go before India can attain 100% Gross Enrollment Ratio from preschool to secondary level by 2030.
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