In isolated communities in India, lack of education for children in poverty and oppressed castes remains a pressing global concern. In rural communities, several factors currently impede the possibility for widespread education, despite the fact that education is a vital factor to eradicating poverty and erasing social and economic stigmas. When educated, an individual gains job qualifications that are vital for lifting them out of poverty, and it is imperative that all social classes, economic classes, and castes are given access to this condition that is a fundamental right outlined in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. Unfortunately, this fundamental right is not available for many social groups in India, most of which are traditionally marginalized and socially stigmatized peoples.
Interestingly, the root of these issues does not lie solely in physical barriers to education. Statistically, proximity to schools has not been found to be a significant obstacle for most rural Indian communities, thanks to government efforts post-1993. The roots of this current inequality in India actually relate more pressingly to issues of economic stature, stigmatized and underrepresented castes and classes, and lack of resources. Many rural tribes, for example, do not have access to resources like ample qualified teachers and effective infrastructure. Furthermore, this educational gap is found most prominently among castes and classes that have been historically underrepresented, like scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and other backward classes that have been less favoured by the Indian school system, which most strongly supports those in higher economic standing. Teachers often discriminate based on caste, or do not teach in the indigenous language of the pupils, which leads to lower test scores and higher dropout rates among these groups.
To prioritize the importance of education, the United Nations and government of India have taken actions in the past, many of which have seen some success. In September 2000, the United Nations adopted the “Millennium Development Goals.” India and 189 of the UN member states set education as an international priority for all citizens, and many UN committees have furthered these educational goals. Additionally, the government of India’s parliament instituted The Right to Education Act (RTE) in 2009, reinforcing the right to free education for children under the Indian Constitution. Primary education in India has also undergone many developments since the 1990s. Before this, the United Nations, World Bank, and UNICEF provided primary educational support, yet today, more international aid organizations are working in India.
Yet although these actions have been implemented, the UNPO observes crucial issues that remain unaddressed, despite the clear prioritization of education; the value of education has been reinforced, and yet it still being denied to many citizens. It is clear that the issue of education most disproportionately affects those in minorities and oppressed castes; the national average of literacy was at 73%, yet the literacy rate for ST is 59%, and only 24.2% of ST living in rural areas are literate on a primary level. Considering the right of representation of these classes that have been clearly denied representation and fundamental rights, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization sees a pressing need to address education in these tribal communities, and taking specific actions extending beyond reinforcing the importance of education to better address its implications in rural communities.
To solve these issues, The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization would like to advocate to increase the incentives to attend school for indigenous communities and castes. Taking in mind the global priority of representing those that are politically, economically, and socially stigmatized, especially those in minorities, the organization believe that it is crucial that the needs of these stigmatized castes- who are currently marginalized and not having their rights adequately protected- are met first. The curriculum in schools in isolated communities needs to be readjusted so that students have incentive to go to school, and do not feel culturally oppressed in their institutions.
Seeking and instituting teachers that speak the underrepresented tribal languages would also be an adequate measure to incentives students (and their families) to want to attend school. Discrimination can be prevented by changing the curriculum to respectfully interact with all castes and tribes. This might only be instituted in rural communities, where teachers intend to relocate quickly, if the government of India allocates more money and resources to paying teachers and funding rural education, and perhaps improves infrastructure as well to attract qualified teachers. NGO support can also be called upon, such as many of the UNPO’s many partners in the fight for universal rights, that could provide resources to these rural schools.
The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization also has potential to act upon this situation. As the UNPO holds training seminars around the world in situations of rights violations such as this, they recommend holding training sessions to educate promising tribal youth to take up teaching in the tribal areas of their descent. The solution to providing adequate teachers lies not just with the government and higher pay, but also the drawing of teachers from traditional unrepresented backgrounds as a way to insure that caste discrimination, and the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization can allocate resources to do so.
The stigma against unrepresented peoples, such as rural tribes and lower castes in India, will be most adequately targeted by raising education rates. It will help bridge the gap between the social classes, ultimately promoting the UNPO covenant rights of human rights, democracy and self-determination. We must address the consequences of marginalization, including the denial of the right of education to far too many children in India, by taking urgent and necessary measures to reinvolve these unrepresented peoples within India’s education system.
Interestingly, the root of these issues does not lie solely in physical barriers to education. Statistically, proximity to schools has not been found to be a significant obstacle for most rural Indian communities, thanks to government efforts post-1993. The roots of this current inequality in India actually relate more pressingly to issues of economic stature, stigmatized and underrepresented castes and classes, and lack of resources. Many rural tribes, for example, do not have access to resources like ample qualified teachers and effective infrastructure. Furthermore, this educational gap is found most prominently among castes and classes that have been historically underrepresented, like scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and other backward classes that have been less favoured by the Indian school system, which most strongly supports those in higher economic standing. Teachers often discriminate based on caste, or do not teach in the indigenous language of the pupils, which leads to lower test scores and higher dropout rates among these groups.
To prioritize the importance of education, the United Nations and government of India have taken actions in the past, many of which have seen some success. In September 2000, the United Nations adopted the “Millennium Development Goals.” India and 189 of the UN member states set education as an international priority for all citizens, and many UN committees have furthered these educational goals. Additionally, the government of India’s parliament instituted The Right to Education Act (RTE) in 2009, reinforcing the right to free education for children under the Indian Constitution. Primary education in India has also undergone many developments since the 1990s. Before this, the United Nations, World Bank, and UNICEF provided primary educational support, yet today, more international aid organizations are working in India.
Yet although these actions have been implemented, the UNPO observes crucial issues that remain unaddressed, despite the clear prioritization of education; the value of education has been reinforced, and yet it still being denied to many citizens. It is clear that the issue of education most disproportionately affects those in minorities and oppressed castes; the national average of literacy was at 73%, yet the literacy rate for ST is 59%, and only 24.2% of ST living in rural areas are literate on a primary level. Considering the right of representation of these classes that have been clearly denied representation and fundamental rights, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization sees a pressing need to address education in these tribal communities, and taking specific actions extending beyond reinforcing the importance of education to better address its implications in rural communities.
To solve these issues, The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization would like to advocate to increase the incentives to attend school for indigenous communities and castes. Taking in mind the global priority of representing those that are politically, economically, and socially stigmatized, especially those in minorities, the organization believe that it is crucial that the needs of these stigmatized castes- who are currently marginalized and not having their rights adequately protected- are met first. The curriculum in schools in isolated communities needs to be readjusted so that students have incentive to go to school, and do not feel culturally oppressed in their institutions.
Seeking and instituting teachers that speak the underrepresented tribal languages would also be an adequate measure to incentives students (and their families) to want to attend school. Discrimination can be prevented by changing the curriculum to respectfully interact with all castes and tribes. This might only be instituted in rural communities, where teachers intend to relocate quickly, if the government of India allocates more money and resources to paying teachers and funding rural education, and perhaps improves infrastructure as well to attract qualified teachers. NGO support can also be called upon, such as many of the UNPO’s many partners in the fight for universal rights, that could provide resources to these rural schools.
The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization also has potential to act upon this situation. As the UNPO holds training seminars around the world in situations of rights violations such as this, they recommend holding training sessions to educate promising tribal youth to take up teaching in the tribal areas of their descent. The solution to providing adequate teachers lies not just with the government and higher pay, but also the drawing of teachers from traditional unrepresented backgrounds as a way to insure that caste discrimination, and the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization can allocate resources to do so.
The stigma against unrepresented peoples, such as rural tribes and lower castes in India, will be most adequately targeted by raising education rates. It will help bridge the gap between the social classes, ultimately promoting the UNPO covenant rights of human rights, democracy and self-determination. We must address the consequences of marginalization, including the denial of the right of education to far too many children in India, by taking urgent and necessary measures to reinvolve these unrepresented peoples within India’s education system.