Access to school education is usually defined in terms of indicators such as Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) and Net Enrolment Ratio (NER). However, this paper contends that access to education cannot adequately be understood only in terms of enrolment numbers. Once enroled in a school, whether government or private, a number of factors affect the ability of a child to actually “access” the education being imparted, and many of these factors may not even be directly related to the school. Keeping this in mind, the primary objective of this paper is to unpack and analyse the different factors that affect a child’s ability to fully engage with the educational process, especially in the context of the urban poor in India.

Primary research for this paper was conducted in an urban slum in the city of Delhi, India over a period of ten months (from July 2021 to April 2022), where semi-structured interviews were conducted in 55 households. This study finds that even after getting admission in a school, several factors related to a child’s home, family, and neighbourhood, significantly affect the educational experiences of children. In the context of the particular slum where this study is based, an important role was also played by factors such as caste-based discrimination and the desire for the next generation to break free of caste-based occupations.

Authors:
Bhuvaneshwari Subramanian, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University Delhi, India

About the Presenter(s)
Ms Bhuvaneshwari Subramanian is a University Doctoral Student at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD) in India

See this presentation on the full schedule – Sunday Schedule

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