I was invited to
deliver a talk on ‘Bridging Gender and Social Gaps’ at the National Seminar on Brighten Minds Through
Quality Education Across India –AMSES 2017 organized by Mar Severios College of
Teacher Education, Chengaroor on 28
February 2017.
Around 80 gender
related visuals I had collected were displayed.
Here is the handout
I had distributed prior to my multimedia-based presentation:
Bridging Gender and Social Gaps
On
quality
Examined within
context, education quality apparently may refer to inputs, (numbers of
teachers, amount of teacher training, number of textbooks), processes (amount
of direct instructional time, extent of active learning), outputs (test scores,
graduation rates), and outcomes (performance in subsequent employment)-(Adams
1998)
Quality
in the Indian context
The Public Report on Basic Education which
investigated the schooling situation in over 200 villages of north India in
1996, says, “quality education”, however defined, involves certain minimal
requirements such as adequate facilities, responsible teachers, an active class
room and an engaging curriculum.
Gender
and social gaps …the Indian reality
*According to the World Economic
Forum, India ranks 87 in WEF gender gap report.
* A study conducted recently found that Indian society suffers from
substantial inequalities in education, employment, and income based on caste
and ethnicity.-Desai and Kulkarni
Strategies
for reducing Gender and social gaps
*Transport
facilities to centres of learning and home.
*Setting up of training
centres for competitive exams.
*Guidance camp for
providing information of various governmental schemes.
*Provide financial assistance, free tuition, free boarding and lodging facility.
*Community based
collective learning, particularly for girls
to become entrepreneurs.
*Ensure security,
hostel and scholarship for girls interested in pursuing technical education.
*Create awareness
among deprived classes who tend to show
a lack of interest in Higher education.
*Provide training for
employment- Fibre arts, different heritage food, wood carving, etc.
*Bridge gender and
social gap, by employing specially trained teachers who through community awareness programme
can help
transform the community and bring
about an attitudinal change among men.
Strategies proposed to tackle inequality in India
*Introduce land reforms and raise taxation
for the wealthy.
*Give a voice to oppressed groups.
*Improve the balance of mass media.
*Eliminate caste discrimination.
*Harness the power of technology.
*Widen access to quality basic services.
*Make women more visible in public life and
institutions.
*Ensure that India's growth is for the
benefit of the many, not the few.
*Make development inclusive of those with
disabilities.
-Asha Kowtal, general secretary, All India Dalit Women Rights
Forum (Aidmam), New Delhi, India. @ashazech
Exit remark
Priority should be given to socially
disadvantaged groups. Investments in women and gender equality will deliver
higher growth rates, faster poverty reduction, and better education and health
outcomes for household members. It is
not the responsibility of the government alone…Teachers can chip in too and
play a significant role in reducing gender and social gaps in the country.
References
Adams,
D. 1998. Defining Educational Quality: Educational Planning. Educational
Planning 11(2):3-18
Desai, Sonalde and Kulkarni, Veena. Changing Educational
Inequalities in India in the Context of Affirmative Action.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2474466/
Public Report on Basic Education in
India, 1999, [R.N21.604]
World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report 2016.
-Live Mint e-paper 24 February 2017 http://www.livemint.com
13 ways to tackle inequality in India
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2014/apr/22/india-elections-tackling-inequality-advice
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