Education for all

The layers of inequity woven into India’s social fabric are well known, and teachers and students alike bring these to the school and classroom. Social divides like language, caste, faith, gender, location, culture and customs are inherited from generation to generation together with their inherent biases. 

A child’s gender, economic class, location and ethnic identity largely define the type of school they will access, the kind of experiences they will have in school and the benefits they will reap from being educated. With the great diversity of learners in today’s classrooms, there comes the responsibility to provide equitable education to every child.    

Over the years, awareness has increased in India has increased about the need to ensure that quality education reaches children from all social backgrounds. This is particularly the case for girls, and children of both sexes from Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), children with disabilities and children from linguistic, ethnic and religious minority groups.

Across India, gender inequality results in unequal opportunities in education, and while it impacts the lives of both genders, statistically, it is girls who are the most disadvantaged. 

Girls are more likely than boys to drop out of school – this is because they are traditionally expected to support housework, it could be considered unsafe for them to travel to school, or because a school lacks sanitation facilities for them during their menstrual period. Gender stereotypes around a woman’s place being at home also persist and result in girls dropping out of school.

UNICEF works with the government and partners to address issues around the gender gap in primary and secondary education. It also seeks to ensure that, all children complete primary schooling, with girls and boys having equal access to quality education.

We provide gender-responsive technical support to enable out-of-school girls and boys to learn, and to develop more gender-responsive curricula and pedagogy. For example, implementing new strategies for identifying vulnerable out-of-school girls and boys, and an overhaul of textbooks so that the language, images and messages do not perpetuate gender stereotypes.

Gender equality and inclusion are two of the most critical aspects UNICEF considers as part of training programmes for teachers and the wider community. Training for the community ensures that all children in the neighbourhood around a school are enrolled, attend school regularly and are treated well in school. UNICEF has supported states in developing training modules and incorporating training on developing skills to respond to diversity in school and classroom settings.

UNICEF has led community mobilization programmes in areas where education indicators are below par. The focus has been on mobilizing the community through localized campaigns, sensitization meetings involving existing community-level institutions, such as the attendance campaign, creating awareness about the entitlements of children and talking directly to particularly vulnerable families.

UNICEF has commenced work in selected areas of Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha that are affected by conflict, to provide children with education as a fundamental right. In Assam, for example, UNICEF and its partners have been able to reach small communities in remote and hostile locations to ensure school attendance and participation, where a lack of education would otherwise add further to people’s marginalisation. 

While the approach has been different in the four states, each focuses on aspects that will help children in these areas complete eight years of elementary education. Alongside this, both UNICEF’s Education and Child Protection sections have initiated inclusion programming in Jammu and Kashmir.

UNICEF is also working to improve the functioning of the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) - residential upper primary schools for children out of school, especially for religious minorities and girls aged 11-14 years from marginalised groups.  

In addition, it has introduced a physical education and sports programme (Prerna, Handbook for Physical Education and Sports) and undertaken vulnerability mapping in selected KGBVs. Discussions have been initiated to improve transition rates of girls from the upper primary level to the secondary level of education.  

At the national level, UNICEF has collaborated with the Department of School Education and Literacy on the National Evaluation of the KGBVs and subsequently coordinated a review through state-level workshops.

UNICEF has been working closely with the Indian government's flagship education programme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), at both the national and state levels, while also supporting states in developing teacher capacity and wardens' management skills.

UNICEF has also been working with girls' collectives, such as Meena Manch, in states including Bihar, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh to build self-confidence among girls, create awareness about the importance of education and regular school attendance, and promote desired hygiene and sanitation practices.

Additionally, it aims to develop leadership qualities and team spirit.  There is evidence that involvement in these collectives has helped delay the marriage age of participants' peers and others in the local community, and increased the flow of children withdrawing from work to enrol in, and regularly attend, school.

To further accelerate the efforts, UNICEF has also formed partnerships with various NGOs and the Mahila Samakhya Programme (a programme of the Government of India for the empowerment of women through education).