Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | SC/ST kids suffer bias in classroom: Rights group -Manash Pratim Gohain

SC/ST kids suffer bias in classroom: Rights group -Manash Pratim Gohain

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Apr 23, 2014   modified Modified on Apr 23, 2014
-The Times of India
 

NEW DELHI: "The teacher tells us to sit on the other side," said "Pankaj," an eight-year-old tribal boy from Uttar Pradesh, "If we sit with others, she scolds us and asks us to sit separately. The teacher doesn't sit with us because she says we are dirty." "The teacher didn't let us go to the toilet. One day, I asked her for permission to go to the toilet but she said, 'Sit down, go later.' So I urinated outside the window and she hit me so hard with a stick that my hand broke. I went to the hospital to get my hand bandaged. I had my hand in bandage for 10 days. Even now when I am working, I feel a lot of pain," says Shyam, 14, from Uttar Pradesh of Musahar community.

These and many more instances were cited of school authorities persistently discriminating against children from marginalized communities, denying them their right to education. The report was released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday, showcasing how even after four years of the Right of Children for Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE Act) coming into effect in India, guaranteeing free schooling to every child aged 6 to 14, almost every child is enrolled, yet nearly 51% and 58% of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes respectively are likely to drop out before completing their elementary education.

The report, "They Say We're Dirty': Denying an Education to India's Marginalized," documents discrimination by school authorities in four Indian states - Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh - against dalit, tribal, and Muslim children. It stated that the discrimination creates an unwelcome atmosphere that can lead to truancy and eventually may lead the child to stop going to school. The report was also critical of the weak monitoring mechanisms failing to identify and track children who attend school irregularly, are at risk of dropping out, or have dropped out.

"India's immense project to educate all its children risks falling victim to deeply rooted discrimination by teachers and other school staff against the poor and marginalized," said Jayshree Bajoria, India researcher at Human Rights Watch and author of the report. "Instead of encouraging children from at-risk communities who are often the first in their families to ever step inside a classroom, teachers often neglect or even mistreat them," she added.

The report cited case studies which indicate how lack of accountability and grievance redress mechanisms are continuing obstacles to proper implementation of the RTE Act. HRW conducted research by interviewing more than 160 people, including children, parents, teachers, and a wide range of education experts, rights activists, local authorities, and education officials.

The report recommended that the central government should adopt more effective measures to monitor the treatment of vulnerable children and provide accessible redress mechanisms to ensure they remain in the classroom. The 77-page report reinforces the fact that school authorities continue with their discriminatory attitudes based on caste, ethnicity, religion, or gender. Children from dalit, tribal, and Muslim communities are often made to sit at the back of the class or in separate rooms, insulted by the use of derogatory names, denied leadership roles, and served food last. They are even told to clean toilets, while children from traditionally privileged groups are not.

It also highlighted how majority of the state education departments failed to establish proper mechanisms to monitor each child, and intervene promptly and effectively to ensure they remain in school.


The Times of India, 23 April, 2014, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/SC/ST-kids-suffer-bias-in-classroom-Rights-group/articleshow/34091359.cms


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close