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ASSIGNMENT ON B.Ed/1/CC/102
CONTEMPORARY INDIA AND EDUCATION

Topic : Role of School in Dealing with Inequality and Equity of

Marginalized Groups.

Submitted to
Miss Louise Masangi
Lecturer, DIET, Chaltlang
Aizawl, Mizoram

Submitted by
Vanlalchhanliani
Roll no 44
B.Ed, I Semester
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INTRODUCTION

           No country can attain sustainable economic development without sustainable

investment in education. Education enriches person understanding of themselves and the
world around them. It improves the quality of living and leads to broad social benefits to
individuals and society. Education is raising people's productivity and creativity and
promoting technological advances. It plays a crucial role in securing economic and social
progress and improving income distribution.

In the meantime, there is a lot of groups who deprive of educational opportunities.

The inequality of education can never be shut off from our educational system even after
several educational commissions and policies are introducing with many Indian Constitution
Articles dealing with the education of the marginalized group. To remove such inequalities
and promote equity for the education of the marginalized groups, school is a crucial place.

Children are imitative. If we impart the morale of equality and equity among the
students in the school, they will surely live with it all through their lives. School is the best
place for teaching such morale. These will encourage them in promoting equality and equity
among themselves, thus even outside the school and the inequality in education can thus be
removed. Being literate is not enough, so we must educate the students in the way we wished
to grow for ourselves, our environment, our society and, our country as a whole.

CONCEPTS

Marginalized:  to put or keep (someone) in a powerless or unimportant position within a society or

group. (Merriam Webster)

Peter Leonard defines marginalization as, ". . .being outside the mainstream of
productive / activity and for social reproductive activity''.

Marginalization is both a condition and a process that prevent  individuals and groups from
full participation in social, economic, and political life enjoyed by the wider society. The term
marginalization refers to individual or groups who live at the margin of society. It is also
called Social Exclusion. Their situations may be historical or cultural as they suspend
between social classes or cultural groups, without being fully integrated to it.

Inequality: the quality of being unequal or uneven: such as social disparity, disparity of
distribution or opportunity, lack of evenness, the condition of being variable.

Inequality means the lake of evenness, where everyone is not able to have an equal
access to any thing or opportunities.
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Equity: the quality of being fair and impartial.

Equity means more than just equality or fairness. Equity means that beside everyone
is treated equally, the backward ones have more chances or opportunities to be in the level or
normality.

School: an institution for educating children, any institution at which instruction is given in a
particular discipline.

A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning

environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have
systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsory. In these systems, students
progress through a series of schools.

The so-called Marginalized Groups according to the Indian Constitution and

Constitutional Provisions.

1. Women and girls: Women and girls are the most essential  part of our society as there
cannot be any society exist without them but there are many sectors where they are
not considered as humans also and for them their does not exists the concept of
human rights as they are not  aware about their rights. About 28 per cent of girls in
India get married below the legal age and experience pregnancy. These have serious
repercussion on the health of women. Maternal mortality is very high in India. The
average maternal mortality ratio at the national level is 540 deaths per 100,000 live
births. It varies between states and regions, i.e., rural-urban. The rural MMR is 617
deaths of women age between 15-49 years per one lakh live births as compared to 267
maternal deaths per one lakh live births among the urban population and the end result
of that is the death ratio is quite high. A large percentage of women is reported. In
India, social norms and cultural practices are embedded in a highly patriarchal social
order where women are expected to hold on to strict gender roles about what they can
and cannot do and to have received no antenatal care and there are various institutions
which have delivered lowest among women from the lower economic class as against
those from the higher class.

In the Indian Constitution, Women’s Education is given importance. Article

15(1) provides that the State shall not discriminate any citizen on groups only of sex.

Article 15(3) reads: “Nothing in this article shall prevent the stare from many
any special provision for women and children.”

2. Structural Discrimination (Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes andOBCs):

Every society is curtailed with different groups and every group has its own rules,
regulations and norms. There is no such particular definition and essentials elements
that will be considered as norms. The norms can be understood as things which act as
structural barriers giving rise to various forms of inequality.  Structural norms are
attached to the different relationships between the subordinate and the dominant
group in every society. A group’s status may for example, be determined on the basis
of gender, ethnic origin, skin colour, etc.
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Scheduled Castes: Scheduled caste communities were considered avarna, or outside

the existing varna system. They were considered to be a section of people in Hindu
society who are not from the four major varnas, i.e., Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya,
and Shudra.

Scheduled Tribes: The term 'Scheduled Tribes' first appeared in the Constitution of
India. Article 366 (25) defined scheduled tribes as "such tribes or tribal communities
or parts of or groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under
Article 342 to be Scheduled Tribes for the purposes of this constitution". The
Scheduled Tribes people are generally called as Adivasi.

OBCs: Other Backward Class (OBC) is a collective term used by the Government of
India to classify castes which are educationally or socially disadvantaged. It is one of
several official classifications of the population of India, along with General Class,
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SCs and STs).

Article 15 states, “Nothing in this article or in article 29(2)  shall  prevent the
state from  making any  provisions for the advancement of any socially and
economically backward classes of  citizens or for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes.”

Under Article 46 of the Constitution, the federal government is responsible for

the economic and educational development of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes. It states, “The state shall provide with special the educational and economic
interests of the weaker sections of the people and in particular, of the Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms
of exploitation.”

Article 30 relates to certain cultural and educational rights to establish and

administer educational institutions. It lays down:

Article 30 (A): All minorities whether based on religion or language, shall

have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.

Article 30 (B): The state shall not, in granting aid to educational institutions,
discriminate against any educational institution on the ground that it is under the
management of a minority, whether based on religion or language.

3. Children and Aged: Mortality and morbidity among children are caused and
compounded by poverty, their sex and caste position in society. All these will lead to 
have penalty on their nutrition intake, access to healthcare, environment and
education. The factors which directly impacts are as follows: food security, education
of parents and their access to correct health information and access to health care
facilities. The important causes of death among children from poor families is
Malnutrition and chronic hunger which include Diarrhoea, acute respiratory diseases,
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malaria and measles and  most of which are either avoidable or treatable with low-
cost intervention. The vulnerability among the elderly is not only due to an increased
incidence of illness and disability, but also due to their economic dependency upon
their spouses, children and other younger family members. According to the 2001
census, 33.1 per cent of the elderly in India live without their spouses.

Article 45: Right for Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) to all
children until they complete the age of six years. This article is considered as a
directive principle of state policy. It states "The State shall endeavour to provide,
within a period of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and
compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years.
Article 21A: The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act
(RTE, Right to Education): The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education
Act' or 'Right to Education Act also known as RTE', is an Act of the Parliament of
India enacted on 4thAugust 2009, which describes the modalities of the importance of
free and compulsory education for children between 6 and 14 in India under Article
21A (Article 21is the Fundamental Right to Life) of the Indian Constitution. India
became one of 135 countries to make education a fundamental right of every child
when the act came into force on 1 April 2010. "The State shall provide free and
compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such
manner as the State may, by law, determine" Article 51A also states that it is the
fundamental duty of parents and guardians to provide education to their children and
those who are not abide by the rule are eligible to be punished.
While old age pension schemes are in place neither the small amounts made
available nor the aggravated form of accessing them make this a resolution to the
trouble of chronic poverty between the elderly. There often is a free medical check-
up camp for the old aged.

4. Person with disabilities: Disability poses greater challenges in obtaining the needed
range of services. Persons with disabilities face several forms of discrimination and
have compressed access to education, employment and other socioeconomic
opportunities. Rather than using terms such as disabled person, handicapped people, a
crippled person, use terms such as people/persons with disabilities, a person with a
disability, or a person with a visual impairment.

Constitutional provision regarding this group is The  Constitution  of  India

ensures equality, freedom, justice and  dignity of all individuals and implicitly
mandates an inclusive  society  for  all  including  the  persons  with  disabilities..

Under  Article  253  of the Constitution read with item No. 13 of the Union

List, the Government of India enacted “The  Persons  with  Disabilities (Equal 
Opportunities,  Protection  of  Rights  and  Full  Participation) Act, 1995”, in the 
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effort  to  ensure  equal  opportunities  for  persons  with  disabilities  and  their  full 
participation  in  nation-building. 

The Different Types of Marginalized groups:

1. Economically Marginalized Groups: They are unimportant to economy and are

usually below poverty line or much more worst than it. They have less income and are
economically disadvantaged. They can be said to be marginalized according to their
income.
2. Politically Marginalized Groups: They are not allowed to be participated in the
political activities and have no voice in any political platforms. They cannot perform
democratically in the decision making process for the country. They have lose their
rights to every social, economic and political benefits.
3. Socially Marginalized Groups: A process of social destruction in which some
groups are detached from various types of social functions and relations. These
generally prevent people from functioning in the so-called normal social activities.

Causes of Marginalization:

1. Exclusion: Marginalization is a process that denies opportunities and outcomes to 'those

'living on the margins', while enhancing the opportunities and outcomes for those who are 'at
the centre'. Marginalization combines discrimination and social exclusion. It offends human
dignity, and it denies human rights, especially, the right to live effectively, as equal citizens.
Caste and class prejudice, in many societies across the globe, exclude many pups and
communities, and hinder their participation in economic and social development.

2. Globalization: As far as marginalization is concerned, globalization played a certain

role. Increased openness has promoted development at the cost of equity. It is viewed
that it has enhanced the gap between haves and have-nots and thus boosted
marginalization.

3. Displacement: The forced population displacement is caused by development

programmes implemented by the government of various nation states. The increasing
construction of development projects consistently displaced a massive number of
tribal, poor, and weaker sections. This resulted in marginalization of already
marginalized people.
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Types and Causes of Inequalities in School:

1. Poverty of Parents: Poverty of parents or the economic condition of the family is

often the reason for inequality in the school. Children from poor economic condition
family are suffer from bullying and other negative treatment from their peer group.
Sometimes, they when they are not able to pay the school fees, they are expelled or
suspended, or not allowed to be seated for examination.

2. Gender Disparity: Another cause of educational inequality is the wider disparity

between the education of boy and girls at all stages and in all areas of education.
Usually parents value more and take care of education of their sons, while the girls in
the family are often neglected.

3. Regional Inequality: Many government schools in India do not even have proper
space in classroom, no arrangements for proper lighting in the schools or even clean
water all are lacking and hence increasing inequality. Therefore, students from rural
area have no choice but to leave their houses and move to urban areas for better
quality of education. Also, not every student is able to go out of their household in
search for quality education as they have family restriction for instance, some students
are only child in the family and their parents do not want them to leave their house
even in search of better education, also some students had to support their families
thus can’t go out of their region.

4. Inequality on the Basis of Castes and Social Groups: In India caste system is one
of the major issues for many problems in the process of development. India as a
country is divided among various social groups, each group have their own beliefs
and values. Students who belong to disadvantage social groups (SC, ST and OBC) do
not have fair chance or equal amount of opportunities in the field of education in
order to perform to their highest level of capability. These pamper the whole
development of students.

5. Academic Inequality: Classroom comprises of different individuals who have

different abilities. Students having a high intelligence levels are often having great
opportunities while students with low IQ levels need more time and effort in order to
be more competent. But, such students are often treat unequally and influence their
academic condition negatively.

Means for Removing Inequality in Education:

1. To solve gender inequalities, the teachers and parents involved should work
together. The habit of giving priorities for a particular gender should be avoided.
Let all students participate in all the activities irrespective of their gender.
Discard the activities which don’t support mutual participation.
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2. Racial discrimination should be avoided in schools. All students are equal, no

matter what their religion, caste, complexion or locality is. The teacher must not
be biased and also, they should take necessary disciplinary actions towards those
who pass biased comments and remarks.
3. To solve the economic inequalities, the first thing is to implement uniform for
schools and make it compulsory to wear it on all days. The schools should
supply the uniform, books, stationeries etc. for them. If possible, the schools
should provide lunch too.
4. To solve the academic inequalities, the teachers must take the upper hand.
Always divide the class into groups which includes all levels of students for class
activities. Give special attention to those who are weak and bring them up to the
level of others.

Aspects of Educational Equity:

The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) defines two
dimensions of equity in education:

1. Fairness: Which means ensuring that personal and social circumstances do not
prevent students from achieving their academic potential.
2. Inclusion: Which means setting a basic minimum standard for education that is
shared by all students regardless of background, personal characteristics, or location.

10 Steps to Equity in Education:

Design:

1. Limit early tracking and streaming and postpone academic selection.

2. Manage school choice so as to contain the risks to equity.

3. In upper secondary education, provide attractive alternatives, remove dead ends and prevent
dropout.

4. Offer second chances to gain from education.

Practices:

5. Identify and provide systematic help to those who fall behind at school and reduce year
repetition.

6. Strengthen the links between school and home to help disadvantaged parents help their
children to learn.

7. Respond to diversity and provide for the successful inclusion of migrants and minorities
within mainstream education.

Resourcing:
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8. Provide strong education for all, giving priority to early childhood provision and basic
schooling.

9. Direct resources to the students with the greatest needs.

10. Set concrete targets for more equity, particularly related to low school attainment and
dropouts.

Roles of School in Dealing with Inequality and Equity of Marginalized Groups:

The right to education is universal and does not allow for any form of exclusion or
discrimination. However, all countries face challenges guaranteeing equal opportunities for
all in accessing education and within education systems. Marginalised groups are often left
behind by national educational policies, denying many people their right to education.

Non-discrimination and equality are key human rights that apply to the right to
education. States have the obligation to implement these principles at national level. National
laws can prohibit discrimination and create an environment enabling greater equity.
Furthermore, affirmative action and promotional measures are often necessary in order to
eliminate existing inequalities and disparities in education.

1. The school staff should seek, provide and ensure non-discrimination between
children of the marginalized groups and other communities.
2. Use of caste names/derogatory words when taking attendance of students should
be avoided.
3. The school should lead the children equally to participate in the curricular and co-
curricular activities of the school.
4. Frequent meetings between the staffs and the parents of the marginalized students
should be arranged.
5. Schools have a special responsibility to educate first generation learners of
marginalized groups.
6. The school should focus on girl education especially of those belonging to the
marginalized groups and should try to keep them in the educational process as far
as possible.
7. The school must arrange a vocational training to the disabled. It should also send
its teacher to attend the teacher’s training programmes for dealing with the
handicapped children. Regular classroom and environment should be arranged
that will make it easier for them to move around in the school.
8. Admission should be open to all the children irrespective of the caste, class,
gender and economic condition of the family. There should be an equal
opportunity for all the children.
9. In order to overcome wastage and stagnation in primary education, pre-school
education is given priority. Pre-school education centres likes Balwadi,
Anganwadi, Creche etc. have to be opened in a large scale.
10. Primary education centres or schools should seek to satisfy the basic universal
needs of the students without any discrimination of any kind whatsoever. The
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school should follow a regular curricula that include all the different kinds of caste
and class.
11. In the secondary schools, the school must know the individual differences among
boys and girls. Diversified curriculum should be introduced to cater to career
needs, interest and capabilities of the students. There should be no differences in
the treatment given to every student in regarding to their caste and class,
marginalized groups should also be treated fairly and in an equitable manner.
12. The marginalized group students have an unstimulating environment. They need
more attention and time to be in the level to the common people. The school must
pay a sincere attention to them. This will develop them and result to an overall
development of the society.
13. The school if possible, they must have hostel to accommodate the marginalized
group who are not able to attend schools regularly due to the distance between the
home and school.
14. Numerous incentives, help, benefit, facilities should be provided to the
marginalized groups to equalize their growth and development like the general
groups. The promising students from the marginalized group should never be
neglected, rather the school should help him to achieve more higher development.
15. The school should in overall have a deep knowledge of who are the marginalized
groups and how they strive for their education. Such that, there will be more
fruitful result in treating the students belonging to different background more
equally and fairly.

Schemes and Measures Adopted for Equalization of the Education in India

1. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA): It is a programme aimed at the universalization of

elementary education. The 86th Amendment to the Constitution of made free education
for children between 6-14 years a fundamental right. To fulfil the Amendment, SSA
was launched in 2001. It aims to create equality of educational opportunity by making
sure every child is made to go to school.

2. Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV): Gender discrimination still exists in

rural areas and disadvantaged communities. The KGBV scheme was introduced by the
Government of India in 2004to provide educational facilities for girls belonging to
ST/SC and OBC minority groups. The is to ensure that quality education is feasible
and accessible to the girls of disadvantaged society by setting up residential schools
with boarding facilities at elementary level

3. Mid-Day Meal Scheme: The Midday Meal Scheme is a school meal programme of
the India designed to improve the nutritional status of school-age children nationwide.
The supplies free lunches on working days for children in primary and upper primary
government schools govt. sponsored educational institutions. Mid-Day Meal
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encourages poor families to send their as the government is taking care of providing
food for the school hours.

4. The Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVS): TheKendriyaVidyalayas are a system of central

government instituted under the leadership of the Ministry of Human Resource
Development over 1,094 schools in. It is one of world's largest chain of schools. The
main boarding school education for children of military personnel. And other
government solved the problem of educating children whose parents had to be posted
in several parts of the country.

5. Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS): The National Institute of Open Schooling of

education under the Union Government of India. It was established by the Ministry of
Human Resource Development of the Government of India in 1989 to provide
education to remote to increase literacy and aimed forward for flexible learning. Here
children can study without the need to go to school. It also offers vocational courses
after the high school. Despite being education, NIOS provides a formal and regular
secondary and Senior secondary programme equivalent to CBSE.

Conclusion

Education is the birth right of every individual. It is well known that education for
underprivileged children is the key to the progress of the nation itself. However, the
magnitude of efforts required to make every child in the country literate is very huge. This
initiative is a small contribution for the betterment of marginalised children. It is a
collaborative effort which encourages all individuals to come forward to participate in the
process of nation building through education. The school must take every possible steps in
including and mainstreaming the marginalized groups for more equality and equity, removing
the inequalities in the educational opportunities of such.

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https://brainly.in/question/2094915?tbs_match=1 (Date of accessed 17.8.2021)

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