Unit 4: Enriching Exchanges (1ère AMC)

Indian Educational Divide

The document under study is an article from the Guardian published on January 30^th, 2020. It deals with a seven-year-old girl named Janhavi Kumari who is alone in a school in a small village in India. Moreover, we know that the school is a tiny one with only two teachers and one cook. It is a state school, which means that it is financed by the government.

The seven-year-old girl comes from a poor family therefore, her parents cannot afford to pay the school fees to send her in a private school. Nevertheless, even if she is the only student in this school, going there will be the only way for her to receive an education and someday to have better prospects in life.

Nowadays, more and more rich Indian people do not trust schools financed by the government and prefer to send their children to private institutions, even if these schools offer products to help students to study in good conditions, rich parents are not convinced to leave their children there.

Another possible reason why wealthy people refuse to let their children go to those schools is that they do not want to see their children hanging out with children belonging to the lowest caste. In fact, they do not want their children to rub shoulders with “Dalit kids”.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

Debating Time: In groups, imagine why state schools tend to be losing their appeal/attractivity in some parts of the world and discuss the potential risks in terms of access to knwoledge.

A spokesperson from your group will have to list orally the elements you would have discussed about.