'Untouchable' in the classroom
sukhadeo thorat AND nidhi sadana sabharwal
From Monday's Globe and Mail
Published Monday, Dec. 05, 2011 2:00AM EST
Last updated Monday, Dec. 05, 2011 5:07PM EST
The pain is perceptible in nine-year-old Shankar's voice as he
recounts how he's made to sit at the back of the class with other
children from a similar "low caste" group. He says his teacher doesn't
wish to accidentally touch them, keeping them as far away as possible
from the rest of the children. His peers from the "upper caste" call
him an "untouchable"; when he complains to the teachers, they see no
issue. "You are untouchable – what else should they call you?"
His sister, who is 8, is asked to clean the classroom – that's her
task because she's a girl and an "untouchable." At lunch, Shankar says
the children from the other castes are served food provided by the
government, while his fellow caste children are asked to wait outside
the classroom; should any food remain after the teachers and "upper
caste" children have eaten, it may then be offered to Shankar and
other children from the "lower castes."
The children's parents point out that a child who's gone hungry for
several meals is unlikely to be able to pay proper attention to
classroom instruction. Shankar's eyes well up with tears as he
responds to questions about life as a Dalit child attending the local
school. Other Dalit children tell of similar discrimination,
complaining that the teachers don't pay attention to them, call them
outcasts and run down their abilities and enthusiasm for education.
That's why the Dalit children rarely go to school; their visits
reinforce the feelings of persecution and discrimination.
Shankar's story has been captured by our documentary (supported by
Unicef) that was shot in remote villages in eastern India. The
situation, of course, varies from state to state in rural areas. The
Dalits, or Scheduled Castes, constitute 17 per cent of India's
population, and nearly 80 per cent of them live in rural areas. For a
long time, they have suffered from discriminatory access to
educational services, as the rigidities of the caste system laid out
their professional roles at birth, requiring no acquisition of
knowledge or education. The result is wide gaps in the literacy rates
and education levels between Scheduled Castes and the "others."
India's education policies have addressed the differentials in
enrolment rates by improving the infrastructure of state-managed
schools, providing free uniforms and books for children from poor
Scheduled Caste families, free lunch for all poor children attending
school, and scholarships for Scheduled Caste girls. These policies
need to be further strengthened to address the discrimination faced by
the "untouchable" children within schools and inside classrooms.
So how do we encourage progressive attitudes and equal,
non-discriminatory access for children from the "lower castes"?
Measures such as national education policies, legislation and a
credible threat of prompt action against discriminatory practices in
educational institutions, and training strategies focused on
sensitizing teachers can explicitly promote an equal access approach
to education.
Shankar says he wants to become a police inspector, and his sister
Miss India. Both cite education as the key to their future dreams.
Sukhadeo Thorat is a professor of economics at Jawaharlal Nehru
University and chairman of the Indian Council of Social Science
Research in New Delhi. Nidhi Sadana Sabharwal is a principal research
fellow at the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies in New Delhi.
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