Schooling and marginalization: An unending vicious cycle for the disadvantaged

Abstract

The hierarchical education system of the country gets synced with stratified Indian society. Different social groups have different kind of schools for their communities based on their socioeconomic locations and identities, with permeability to shift based on economic mobility. In this stratified distribution of schools, socially, especially economically poor sections of the society get lowest rung schools i.e., government and low fee private schools sections of the society and its impact on their future life prospects. Simultaneously, it also locates the nexus between socioeconomic status and education credential of children, especially those coming from marginalized section of the society. The major objective of the paper is, to understand, how educational credentials developed in elementary classes affect the educational and economic mobility of the children coming from the marginalized sections of the society, in the life ahead. The analysis is based on the reflection of the author as a former elementary school teacher in the government school in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Major concepts used for analysis are borrowed from Bourdieusian framework i.e., cultural capital, educational reproduction, and educational credentials. The analysis indicates that educational credentials of children coming from socio economically poor background, going to lower strata elementary schools are questionably lower in quality. The poor academic achievement, inefficiency in use of English language and ill-equipped in use of digital technology, resultant of socioeconomic position of the family of the child and the teaching-learning conditions in school, affect the mobility of child in multiple ways. Two immediate and near future visible impacts include; educational exclusion and elimination from secondary and higher secondary education; and, negative impact on job profile which ultimately affects economic mobility and pushing them back to live in same socioeconomic strata, of which, they basically belong.