Which of the following statements is/are correct? I. Hierarchical caste education system can promote the exclusion of the lower caste from the education system. II. The spoken language should play a deterministic role in the medium of instruction in the school.
Which of the following statements is/are correct? I. Hierarchical caste education system can promote the exclusion of the lower caste from the education system. II. The spoken language should play a deterministic role in the medium of instruction in the school. Correct Answer I and II
Education has a social context in which it must be understood. To begin with, this context is observable in the local community which plays a vital role in understanding and giving direction to the educational process. In India, the local communities are varied depending upon the nature of habitations that comprise it. The educational needs of different types of communities vary according to their nature.
- Community Composition: A community with a heterogeneous population with diverse castes, languages, religions and ethnicity may pose a challenge to the education system in that community or may enrich the system depending on the mutual relationship and harmony between various population subgroups. The hierarchical caste or socioeconomic systems may lead to exclusion of lower caste and poor people from the education system. The attitudes towards minority ethnic or religious groups may influence the education of these groups. The language spoken in the community should play a deterministic role in the medium of instruction in the school.
- Occupational and Economic Factors: Poverty may impede the education of many children due to other competing needs for survival. People may not be able to afford to spend on education or may prefer to send their children to work instead of school.
- Customs, traditions and belief system: Community traditions and customs based on and shaping its belief system may affect the education process in the community children. For example, a community having belief that children are disabled as a result of punishment by God for their (or their parents) sins in previous lives, may consider education of disabled children as an interference in “karma".
- Attitudes Towards Underprivileged and Marginalized groups: The community may have a negative attitudes disabled, underprivileged and marginalized groups due to their belief system sand exploitative practices which may hamper in proper participation of these groups in education process.
Hence, we conclude that both statements are correct.