[lg policy] Schools Marginalise Children in Multiple ways: Language Policy, Right to Education Act and Classroom Practices in India

[Harold Schiffman]

Schools Marginalise Children in Multiple ways: Language Policy, Right
to Education Act and Classroom Practices in India

Mr. Sanjeev Kumar Rai (Save the Children)

THE CONTEXT:

 In India, some 30% children of above three years age are not
attending any kind of pre-school. Only 48% of girls enroll in primary
school. Retention rates in primary school are 74.92% and transition
rates from primary to upper primary levels are 82.68%. Education in
India has always been a part of the political agenda of the dominant
class and native languages and cultures of the socio-economically
marginalised communities have been poorly served. Vast numbers of
children are marginalised in multiple ways. Children from
ethnolinguistic minorities attending school in unfamiliar languages
not only perform poorly but are bound to drop out. This is a
significant challenge for the recently passed Right to Education Act,
2009, which provides a fundamental right to free and compulsory
education to every Indian child in the 6-14-years age group.

CHALLENGES:

There is a long way to go to achieve universal primary education.
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes1 have a very high percentage of
children dropping out of school. Dropout rates are 42.3% for Scheduled
Tribe children and 34.2% for Scheduled Caste children.
Language Policy and Practice
India is a multilingual and multicultural society, with hundreds of
languages. A three-language formula (for school) is a guiding
principle but in practical terms tribal children struggle at the entry
level.
Consider the case of Korku children from Maharashtra. Children of this
community speak Korku, and understand Hindi but the medium of
instruction in school is Marathi (the state language) and English is a
compulsory subject in primary grades. The majority of teachers posted
in this region speak Marathi and don’t understand Korku.
In North-Eastern India, only Bodo, Garo and Khasi tribal languages are
being used as a medium of instruction. In other parts, tribal children
are being educated through state languages even with a huge number of
schools containing more than 50 percent of children from the Scheduled
Tribes group.

Right to Education Act, 2009

The act makes education a requirement rather than a privilege, however
in practice the road ahead is still uphill. The use of mainstream
languages in formal schooling such as English, Hindi and state
languages is increasing enormously. There have been minimal efforts to
prepare text books, learning materials in regional languages or to
standardise local languages to facilitate a strong foundation of
learning for disadvantaged children. Rather, states have been taking
initiatives to introduce English as a medium of instruction and a
compulsory subject from standard-1 instead of using a transitional
approach helping children to shift slowly from mother tongue to
language of school in primary classes. Currently fewer than 20
languages are being used as a medium of instruction.
The Right to Education Act does not put emphasis on language issues.
It does not guarantee pre-school education for children below six
years. There are still different school systems for different classes
of people.
1 In the Indian context these terms are acceptable and in standard use
– also in official documents.

Teacher’s social perceptions

Most teachers have pre-conceived notions about the un-educability of
students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds and often make use of
their family business, caste, native place, mother language as a tool
to make insulting remarks about the children and their communties. Due
to such discrimination, children hesitate to join activities, develop
low self esteem and leave school. No provision for migrant children
Schools do not provide for the fact that children of seasonal migrant
workers often do not attend schools at the destination state/ near
work sites because often the medium of instruction differs from one
state to another.

THE WAY FORWARD

Given that the Right to Education Act 2009 does not focus on language,
and that this is vital for the future of children, a new education
policy needs to be designed.

http://www.seameo.org/LanguageMDGConference2010/doc/presentations/day2/SanjeevKumarRai-sn.pdf

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