Upper Primary Education among Scheduled Castes: A Study of Coastal Region of Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

The caste-based stratification of society adversely affected the equality of educational opportunities to the disadvantage of the groups like Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), as they were engaged in traditional family occupations, which did not require any kind of formal education or special training. This situation persisted through the ages and the depressed classes continued to be deprived of educational opportunities, which were controlled by the upper castes. In this context, the present article aims to compare educational status of SCs at upper primary stage with non-SCs in government and private schools in Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts in coastal region of Andhra Pradesh. The article seeks to place SCs vis-à-vis non-SCs in terms of gender issue among students in class; management of the school; transport facilities for schools; drinking water and toilet facilities as well as other infrastructure facilities and scope of implementation of welfare schemes, etc., in both government and private schools in the given area. It is observed that there is not much difference between SCs and non-SCs in respect of admissions, hostel facilities, library facilities, computer facilities, etc., for the students studying in the government schools. However, they were not adequate to cover all the SCs aspiring to study and that often resulted in students (about 33 per cent) seeking admission in private schools. Importantly, the SC students in government schools could avail the scholarships, freeships like books, school uniforms, etc., but this facility is not available to the SCs studying in private schools. Thus, there is a need for the government to take appropriate and immediate decision to improve the educational opportunities of SCs in private schools also.