Quality and Inequality in School Education: Analysing the Status of SC/ST Students in Odisha

Education

Education is essential for both individual and societal progress, and modern education has made enormous contributions to the cause of socio-economic advancement. However, not everyone in society has the opportunity to access education, let alone quality education. Traditionally marginalised sections, such as Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), are among the most educationally deprived, and their educational attainment continues to lag far behind other social groups. The government has adopted various educational development programmes to facilitate the SC/ST in achieving their educational progress. However, due to their marginal socio-economic status and ingrained discriminatory attitudes and practices, their educational achievement remains largely poor. Despite the fact that the literacy rates of SC/STs have improved since independence, their overall educational attainment remains unsatisfactory. SC/ST students attend schools at the bottom of the school hierarchy where they receive poor quality education in schools with inadequate infrastructure, untrained teachers, and an unsupportive environment. The paper examines the situation of educational attainment of SC/ST in school education in Odisha using primary and secondary data. It also analyses issues such as the quality of education received by SC/ST students as well as disparities in relation to other social groups. The paper focuses on enrolment, retention, dropout, and challenges linked to educational attainment of SCs and STs students.

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