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SPECIALISATION: THEMATIC COURSE

SEMESTER – II
STC3 –EDUCATION OF THE DISADVANTAGED GROUPS
At the end of the course, the prospective teacher-educators will be able to
 analyze the provisions included for socially disadvantaged children in India
 trace the problems of education of disadvantaged sections and address social group inequality;
 summarize the status, problems and issues in educating girl children in India;
 prioritize research avenues in Education with respect to the disadvantaged sections of society;
 justify the essentials of educating girl children; and
 classify laws relating to protection of girl children.

Unit I: Socially Disadvantaged Children in India: Status and Provisions

Meaning of socially disadvantaged children: socially disadvantaged sections in India-the Scheduled Castes,
Scheduled Tribes, educationally backward minorities and slum children -Provisions in the Constitution of India
for social group equity and education of socially disadvantaged sections, National Policy on Education (1986) -
National Curriculum Framework (2005) - Relevance of International Perspectives Dakar : Framework of Action
(2000) - Millennium Development Goals
(2000) - Status of enrolment dropout and retention of children belonging to socially disadvantaged groups at the
elementary and secondary stage with reference to social group equity, different access in habituations, class,
caste, tribe, and other disadvantages groups - Achievement of socially disadvantaged children
Unit II: Problems of Education of Disadvantaged Sections anaddressinSocialGroupInequality
Problems / constraints in education of socially disadvantaged children - Multicultural Education -Organization
and management of schools to address socio-cultural diversity - Bias in textbooks, hiddencurriculum (teacher
attitude, expectations) - Teaching-learning process and support materials,curriculum and curricular activities for
meeting the diverse needs of children - Addressing language issues - Schemes, programmes for education of the
socially disadvantaged sections.
Unit III: Status, Problems and Issues of Girls Education in India
Positions of India in the Human Development Index (with focus on gender)-Status of girls / women in Indian
society-Status of access, enrolment, retention of girls at pre-school, elementary and secondary stages-Status of
access, enrolment, retention and achievement of girls coming from disadvantaged sections and first generation
school goers-Social construction of gender: Socialization, family, and gender identity, media, gender roles;
caste, class, community and gender relations-Gender inequality in schooling: organization of schooling, gender
bias in text books, curricular choices and the hidden curriculum (expectation of teacher – student interaction)-
Co-education - its educational implications-Strategies and Programmes on Girls’ Education
Unit IV: Research Priorities in the area of Education of the Disadvantaged Sections
Evaluation of centrally sponsored Schemes of Education of SCs/ STs and minorities-Status study of
education of SCs/ STs, minorities and other marginalized groups study of teaching –learning practices
in school for disadvantaged children-Case studies on innovative practices on education of children
belonging to disadvantaged groups- Identification of priority areas of research on girls’ education-
Evaluation of centrally and state sponsored schemes on girls’ education-Case studies of KGVB, Mahila
Samakshya, and their programmes
Unit V: Essentials of Educating Girls
Gender parity in education- Effect of educating girls: prevention of HIV/AIDS, HIV/AIDS in children,
protective environment- Nutrition and Health – Mortality and Morbidity factors influencing health-
National Health Policies and programmes.
Unit VI: Justice for Girls
Indian Constitution and provisions relating to girls’ personal laws – Labour laws – violence against girls-Child
Abuse – Human Trafficking - Legal Protection – Human Rights as Women’s Rights.

STC- 3EDUCATION OF DISADVANTAGED GROUPS

Who are Socially disadvantaged?
In India, the concept of disadvantaged groups is as old as the human civilisation. During the period of
British rule, they were known as the depressed classes. These people are the main targets of the
advantaged sections of the society ever since the ancient times. The disadvantaged sections of
society constitute that part of population which is denied the opportunity to fully explore and utilise
its abilities and enjoy a quality life.
There are various types and modes of discrimination of disadvantaged sections: physical, mental,
social & cultural, educational and emotional etc. Socially disadvantaged can be defined as those
individuals who have been put to prejudice on racial or ethnic levels or any type of cultural bias and
discrimination because of their identity as a member of a group without giving due recognition of
their individual qualities.
The various groups identified for facing discrimination due to their social disadvantaged status
include – Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Backward Class (BC), Women and Minorities.
1. Scheduled castes (SC)
India is considered as a whole, an acutely caste-dominated country. In constitutional terms, dalits
are generally known as the scheduled castes. Before independence, they were also referred to as
„untouchables‟ mainly due to their low level occupations like cobbler, scavenger and sweeper etc.
Despite their large share in population, dalits are considered as a community whose human rights
have been severely violated and under-valued. They are denied access to land and forced to work in
degrading conditions. They suffer discrimination in education, health care, housing, property,
freedom of religion, free choice of employment Before independence, they were also referred to as
„untouchables‟ mainly due to their low level occupations like cobbler, scavenger and sweeper etc.
Despite their large share in population, and equal treatment before the law. Dalit children also face
continuous hurdles in education. They are made to sit in the back of classrooms and suffer verbal
and physical harassment from teachers and other students. The effect of such abuses is confirmed
by the low literacy and high drop-out rates for dalits. Dalit women have been even more badly
affected. They are discriminated against not only because of their sex but also because of religious,
social and cultural structures which have given them the lowest position in the social hierarchy.
These women face problems of gender discrimination with their high caste counterparts, problems
related to their caste and ethnic backgrounds, extremely low levels of literacy and education, heavy
dependence on wage labour, discrimination in employment and wages, heavy concentration in
unskilled, low paid and sometimes hazardous manual jobs, violence and sexual exploitation
2. Scheduled tribes (ST)
India has many tribal communities and they generally don‟t mix with the main society and are
categorized into scheduled tribes. Scheduled tribe is also used as an official term for „Adivasis‟.
Historically, they have suffered from isolation, exclusion and underdevelopment due to their
different ethnic identity from the mainstream Indian society and due to them having a distinct
culture, language, social organisation and economy. Being the tribal communities, they generally
practice hunting, food gathering, shifting cultivation, and inhabit river valleys & forest regions. As a
result, they are considerably deprived and have remained uneducated for generations They are
mainly landless with little control over resources such as land, forest and water. This community
generally comprises large proportion of labourers working in agriculture, casual work, and industries
etc. This has resulted in extreme poverty, low levels of education, poor health and lower access to
health care services among these people. Most of these community members belong to the poorest
strata of the society. Just like scheduled castes, the scheduled tribes also in general face severe
levels of discrimination and deprivation in the Indian society.
3. Backward class (BC)
Backward class is a collective term used by the government of India to classify castes which are
educationally and socially disadvantaged. The backward classes generally suffer from age-old
disadvantages and disabilities which are as old as the Indian civilisation and derive their origin mainly
from the caste system. The backward classes in India are considered socially, economically and
educationally as among the most backward sections of Indian society. Low status, poverty and
illiteracy are their common social problems which they have inherited as the virtue of them being
born in a low caste or tribe.
4. Women
According to constitution of India, women are legal citizens of country and have equal rights with
men. But traditionally Indian women suffer abundantly due to lack of acceptance of their equal
rights by our male dominant society. In Indian society, women are generally considered responsible
for only bearing children, yet they are generally malnourished and in poor physical health. Many of
the Indian women are uneducated. Even though the Indian constitution has guaranteed free primary
schooling to everyone till 14 years, very few girls actually attend proper schooling. . If the women are
not properly educated, they are not able to hold prestigious jobs and consequently have to take on
the most physically difficult and undesirable jobs. In the Indian society, women face double the
discrimination as besides being members of specific disadvantaged class, caste or ethnic group, they
also face all the additional discriminations associated with the feminine gender. They have little
control on the resources and also on many important decisions related to their lives. In general,
women have lower social status as compared to that of the fellow men.
5. Minorities
A minority can be defined as a sociological group or community that does not comprise a dominant
voting majority on the political level out of the total population in a particular society. The union
government has notified in total six religious communities as the minority communities in India.
These are namely Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains. Among all the
minorities, Muslim community is considered the most backward. One of the most important reasons
of the backwardness of Indian Muslims is the lack of education.
NEED FOR DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED
It is a well-known fact that the SCs, STs, BCs and the minorities in general, have been forced to
remain as the relatively weaker sections of the Indian society. These people have been left behind in
main-stream and are quite insulated from the economical growth and require special attention and
care. On the other hand, for more than five millenniums of our great civilization, the women
generally have been confined and oppressed to be the most exploited and disadvantaged sections of
the Indian society. As listed in the above data, SCs and STs, together constitute about one fourth of
the total population of the country. Such large group of people which are traditionally landless and
daily wage earners still live in acute poverty and inhuman conditions. Such a condition does little to
motivate them to aim high in academic and professional sphere. But this bad situation cannot and
should not continue anymore, definitely, not in the twenty-first century, when we are living in a fast
changing and modernised digital world. In this world there should be no discrimination among the
people. There is a strong need for the government to do something special and useful to free and
liberate these weaker sections from the web of suppression, marginalisation and backwardness. But
realistically, this vision cannot be achieved by the government efforts alone. This centuries old
malaise runs deep in the Indian society and requires strong contribution from the people too.
INDIAN CONSTITUTION WITH REGARD TO EDUCATION OF SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED
Scheduled castes and scheduled tribes can be arguably considered as the two most deprived
sections of the society in our country. These communities have been provided statutory safeguards
under the Indian constitution, thereby making it obligatory on the part of the state to take special
corrective measures for their educational upliftment. There are several provisions in our constitution
that provide the base for protection and promotion of the interests of these socially disadvantaged
groups
STEPS TAKEN BY GOVERNMENT OF INDIA TO IMPROVE THE SITUATION OF SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED
Since independence, various governments have been making efforts through constitutional
directives and amendments, committees, commissions, national policies and programmes to
strengthen the level of education in the disadvantaged sections of society. Some of the initiatives in
this regard include a number of centrally sponsored schemes for SCs, STs and other backward
sections of the society. These are;
6. Initiatives to destitute families to send their children to school regularly till they attain the age of
14 years.
7. Scheme of pre-metric scholarships starting from class-I onwards for children of families engaged
in manual occupations such as scavenging and tanning.
8. Post-metric scholarships
9. Grant-in-aid to voluntary organisations working to promote education among SC and ST children.
10. Abolition of tuition fees in government schools of all the states up to the upper primary levels.
Besides this, most of the government schools have abolished tuition fees for SC and ST students up
to senior secondary levels. Further, these states also provide various incentives like free textbooks,
school bags, slates, uniforms and mid-day meal etc. to these children.
11. Special education development programmes for girls belonging to schedules castes having very
low levels of literacy.
12. Provision of hostels for SC & ST boys and girls.
13. Reservation in recruitment of teachers from SC and ST applicants.
14. Location of school building and adult education centres to facilitate full participation of SC and
ST students.
15. Provision of primary school and informal education centre in every ST habitation.
16. Provision of educational facility in pockets having low literacy levels for the development of
girls‟ education in tribal areas. Residential schools including ashram schools are being established on
a large scale for ST children as demonstrated in states like Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
17. Various important projects like „Lok Jumbish‟ and „Shiksha Karmi‟ have been designed with
special focus on SC and ST community habitation.
18. Reservation for SC and ST children at all levels of education in educational institutions.
19. SC and ST populations are the main targets covered under total literacy campaigns.
20. In Navodaya Vidyalayas, admission for SC and ST children are reserved on the basis of either the
national norm of 15% and 7.5% respectively or the percentage of SC and ST population in the
district, whichever is higher.
21. Coaching and teaching classes are being organised for SC and ST and other backward class
students to enhance the scholastic achievement levels of these students. Special coaching for
entrance examination for institutions of higher learning particularly for professional courses is being
provided to SC and ST students of class X and XI.
22. Additional scholarships are provided to SC/ST girl students in the secondary and senior
secondary classes.
23. Special coaching and remedial courses are being organised for SC/ST girl students.
24. NCERT, New Delhi has developed & published 10 textbooks in tribal dialects and prepared
teaching and learning materials in 15 tribal dialects
CURRENT STATUS OF SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED GROUP
India‟s economic growth has been steady and it is also contributing towards the alleviation of
poverty. However, a huge chunk of the world‟s poor still live in India and about 30% of the
population were below the poverty line in 2009-2010 (Varadharajan, Thomas and Kurpad, 2013).
What is more distressing is that most poor people in our country belong to the lower castes. Most of
the people belonging to lower castes are illiterate. Education can be considered as the most potent
tool for empowering the socially disadvantaged groups. After independence, the government of
India has taken a variety of constitutional and administrative measures for socioeconomic
development of socially disadvantaged population in the country. There have been several levels of
reservations in government sectors. The aim of these reservations is to pull out the disadvantaged
sections of society and make them at par with the main stream of society.
The most realistic reasons for why the socially disadvantaged hav failed to take advantage of their
access to education is a combination of a history of oppression and a lack of access to local, quality
education systems.
Conclusion
There have been many attempts over the past one hundred and fifty years to help increase the
quality of life for the Socially disadvantaged section of India through various policies and provisions.
The lack of incentives to pursue education for the socially disadvantaged of India can be traced back
to a long history of mistreatment and oppression. Still occurring today, caste harassment makes
teaching environments unstable for disadvantaged children, it places caste homes on the outskirts of
towns so that children have greater distances to walk to school, and it economically suppresses
them so that they are unable to pay for their children‟s education. Minor increases in incentives for
socially disadvantaged to pursue primary education have been beneficial, but not sufficient in
equalizing the enrolment gap between the members of socially disadvantaged and members of
upper castes. For significant progress to be made in increasing the primary enrolment rates of these
children, development organizations must continue to explore varying levels of incentives and
pursue national social equality in India.

What Is National Curriculum Framework (NCF 2005)?

A curriculum framework is a standardized format or organized plan or learning outcome that drives the curriculum for
courses. It aims to define clear outcomes expected the students to achieve or know in their course. It is introduced in
new educational approaches such as outcome-based education or standards-based education reform design.

A curriculum framework is a set of rules or standards or learning outcomes that states the expectations from students
in form of content to be learned. It gives a standard for what they should know and be able to do after completing a
course. It is a part of standards based reform design or outcome based education.
 To promote a wholesome development of the child encompassing the academic, emotional,
physical, and emotional aspects
 To enable the students to develop intellectual quotient by providing them varied opportunities
 To make the environment conducive to quality learning where the students would be encouraged
to participate in various activities
 To foster creative thinking skills by facilitating different activities and giving the liberty to express
individual thoughts within the class
 In response to multi-cultural attributes, the schools must ensure no student is discriminated
against based on caste or religion, and social status

Objectives Of National Curriculum Framework - NCF 2005

 Introducing the concept of learning without too much load by reducing the syllabus
 All children should have access to quality education without any discrimination
 Curricular practices should be in alignment with secularism, social justice, and equality
 Strengthening a national education system in the society

Guiding Principle Of National Curriculum Framework - NCF 2005

The NCF 2005 has stated 5 guiding principles for the curriculum development of the students-

1. Connecting learning to real-life examples outside school

2. Ensuring different learning approaches rather than rote methods
3. Enhancing the curriculum to offer knowledge and experiences beyond textbooks
4. Improving flexibility of taking examinations and integrating them with class school life
5. Enhancing an overriding identity informed by concerns within the democratic polity of the country.
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
Viewing the world’s political, economic, social, and technological challenges from a perspective
other than one’s own national and/or cultural context is the goal of courses that develop students’
international perspectives. International perspectives involve the cultivation of empathy and an
ability to view problems from multiple historical and cultural vantage points. As phenomena
including environment, trade, information, and rights become more globally oriented, students must
be able to understand the full range of human experience across national boundaries. Students who
complete coursework to develop international perspectives are able to explain the relationships and
interdependencies of countries, regions, and/or non-state actors. They are able to apply discipline-
based approaches from fields including Anthropology, Communication, Economics, History, and
Political Science to analyze international issues, theories, and debates. Students are able to explain
the role that culture plays in constructing national, regional, and international identities, as well as
able to evaluate the reciprocal influence of past and/or contemporary political, economic, social, and
technological trends on global developments.
In the International Perspectives core area, students will be able to:
1) Global Context. Explain the relationships and interdependencies of countries, regions, and/or non-
state actors in a global context.
2) Methodological Approaches. Apply discipline-based approaches to analyze international issues,
theories, and debates.
3) Cultural Identities. Explore the role that culture plays in constructing national, regional, and
international identities.
4) Influential Trends. Evaluate the influence of past and/or contemporary trends on global
developments.
DAKAR FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION 2000
The Dakar Framework for Action is based on the most extensive evaluation of education ever
undertaken, the Education for All (EFA) 2000 Assessment. Called for by the World Conference of
Education for All, the Assessment produced a detailed analysis of the state of basic education around
the world.
What was the main theme of Dakar Conference 2000?
The Dakar Framework for Action. Meeting in Dakar, Senegal, in April 2000, we, the
participants in the World Education Forum, commit ourselves to the achievement of
education for all (EFA) goals and targets for every citizen and for every society. The Dakar
Framework is a collective commitment to action

What was the goal of the Dakar framework for action on education for all?
The Education for All (EFA) movement is a global commitment to provide quality basic
education for all children, youth and adults

We hereby collectively commit ourselves to the attainment of the following goals:

i. expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education,

especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children;
ii. ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult
circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to and complete
free and compulsory primary education of good quality;
iii. ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through
equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills programmes;
iv. achieving a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for
women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults;
v. eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and
achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls' full
and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality;
vi. improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that
recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in
literacy, numeracy and essential life skills.

8. To achieve these goals, we the governments, organizations, agencies, groups and

associations represented at the World Education Forum pledge ourselves to:

i. mobilize strong national and international political commitment for education for all,
develop national action plans and enhance significantly investment in basic
education;
ii. promote EFA policies within a sustainable and well-integrated sector framework
clearly linked to poverty elimination and development strategies;
iii. ensure the engagement and participation of civil society in the formulation,
implementation and monitoring of strategies for educational development;
iv. develop responsive, participatory and accountable systems of educational governance
and management;
v. meet the needs of education systems affected by conflict, national calamities and
instability and conduct educational programmes in ways that promote mutual
understanding, peace and tolerance, and help to prevent violence and conflict;
vi. implement integrated strategies for gender equality in education which recognize the
need for changes in attitudes, values and practices;
vii. implement as a matter of urgency education programmes and actions to combat the
HIV/AIDS pandemic;
 viii. create safe, healthy, inclusive and equitably resourced educational environments
conducive to excellence in learning with clearly defined levels of achievement for all;
ix. enhance the status, morale and professionalism of teachers;
x. harness new information and communication technologies to help achieve EFA goals;
xi. systematically monitor progress towards EFA goals and strategies at the national,
regional and international levels; and
xii. build on existing mechanisms to accelerate progress towards education for all.

 The Dakar Framework for Action: Quality Education and EFA

Sheldon ShaefferDirectorUNESCO Asia and PacificRegional Bureau for Education
 2  The Dakar Framework for Action
The Dakar Framework for Action requires that each of its six targets be explicitly addressed in
National Action Plans.Most EFA plans in Asia treat quality and gender equality as cross-cutting
issues and attempt to “mainstream” them across the sections of the Plan.This is possible but risky
– “mainstreaming” can easily lead to “invisibility”.Special attention must therefore be paid to ensure
that issues of quality and gender do not get lost from EFA plans.
 3  The Dakar Framework for Action - a target and a strategy on quality
Target 6: Improving all aspects of the quality of education for all, so that recognised and
measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy, and essential
life skills.Strategy 8: Create safe, healthy, inclusive, and equitably resourced educational
environments with clearly defined levels of achievement for all.Dakar’s definition of quality is no
longer focused on only teaching and learning and the classroom...
 4  Ten components of quality from the Framework for Action
1) Healthy, well-nourished, and motivated students
 2) Well-motivated and professionally competent teachers
 3) Active learning techniques
 4) A relevant curriculum
 5) Adequate, environmentally friendly, and easily accessible facilities
 6) Healthy, safe, and protective learning environments which include:adequate water and
sanitation facilitiesaccess to health and nutrition services
 7) Adequate evaluation of environments, processes, and outcomes
 8) Participatory governance and management
 9) Respect for and engagement with local communities and cultures
 10) Adequately and equitably resourced educational institutions and programmes

 In other words, Dakar’s comprehensive view of quality includes:

Quality learners
Quality content
Quality teaching-learning processes
Quality learning environments
Quality outcomes……
and learning environments that are gender-responsive throughout.
To develop and put in place this broad definition of quality, we need rights-based, child-friendly
schools….
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2000

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2000-2015 deadline ended on 31 December

2015 and has since been will be replaced by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
2016-2030, to be launched in 2016. The MDGs have served as a cornerstone of
development policy around the globe since their adoption in 2000.

This report highlights the context, successes, challenges and lessons learnt in the efforts to
achieve the Millennium Development Goals in Zimbabwe.

Highlights
The MDGs era coincided with one of the most difficult periods in Zimbabwe’s economic
history, as reflected by severe economic challenges in the country.
Zimbabwe made significant progress in the reduction of HIV prevalence; gender equality;
primary school enrolments and provision of core text books; tertiary enrolments; literacy;
maternal health; and child immunisation.
Other areas of significant progress also include information and communication technology
(ICT); provision of essential drugs including antiretroviral drugs (ARVs); cessation of the use
of ozone depleting substances (ODS)
The unfinished agenda of MDGs lingers in the form of: weak economic performance, high
income poverty, the need for agrarian reform following the land reform, high maternal
mortality, high HIV prevalence, the need for sustainable provision of essential drugs, food
insecurity, gender equality gaps particularly in the economy and in decision making, water
and sanitation needs, and inadequate environmental management.

EXPLAIN THE STATUS OF ENROLMENT DROPOUT

Help in domestic work, economic condition, and lack of interest were found to be the topmost
cause of discontinuing education.
Many children believe that there is no point in studying if they have to do the same job as their
parents, thus they leave school at primary level itself. More than 30% of children involved in the
survey showed a lack of interest in studies, they preferred to drop out because whatever was
being taught in schools barely intrigued them. India is also dealing with the problems of
inclusion and equality, children from the marginalized sections of the population, or with
physical disability/ health issues have to leave schools when they face hostile behavior from
their peers.
How to control student dropout and not allow it to rise?
It is recommended that the government conducts awareness camps in cities, towns, and villages to
expose the hazards of illiteracy and unemployment. National Education Policy 2020 has mentioned
two initiatives that will be undertaken to curb the problem. The first is to provide efficient and sufficient
infrastructure to all students and the second is to set up alternative and innovative education centers
for the children of migrant laborers. These are vital steps to ensure that children have access to safe
and engaging school education as well as bring back the ones out of school. A dropout early warning
system enables schools to identify students who are at risk of dropping out of school, and to focus on
individuals who struggle to perform well. Schools should practice innovative teaching methods to draw
students towards education and spark interest in them. Digital learning strategies can be used to
provide education in the confines of their homes, students can access free educational content
through smart-phone applications or YouTube provided by different institutions.

Education enables a person to achieve a better job or means of self-employment, and climb out of
intergenerational poverty. It cultivates cultural values and beliefs in the child. Once the awareness to
send students regularly to the school continues, slow but sure results will follow. 

Educationally Backward Areas, Disadvantaged Groups and Children

It is important to understand the close connection between equity and quality-poor quality, for
instance, impacts on equity and poor equity reinforces poor quality. Therefore efforts which are
aimed at one must also include the other. The Sub-Group discussed the need for a renewed
focus on equity in the context of three dimensions of disparity/disadvantage that are clearly
evident in the education scenario in the country.