NCDHR, along with the Dalit Baal Adhikaar Abhiyaan (Dalit ChildRights Campaign), held a consultation on the issue of child education in Bihar.  Literacy and enrollment rates among Dalit children in Bihar are alarmingly low, thus the conference sought to bring to light evidence and cases of the real challenges and discrimination faced by Dalit children in accessing and participating in education—including caste-based exclusion, segregation, humiliation, punishment and beatings.  

 

These factors, combined with poor quality of education and physical distance from schools, constitute the central reason Dalit children often drop out of school and get caught up in child labor.  This conference brought together Dalit children, parents, activists, and teachers with administrators and other stakeholders in education to share their experiences and devise new strategies to achieve 100% enrollment, retention & effective learning among Dalit children.

 

In a related effort, NCDHR’s Legal Desk recently drafted a policy on “Elimination of Caste Based Discrimination and Harassment and Harassment in Educational Institutions” for the Planning Commission’s Subgroup on Social Empowerment.  As no legislative measures have been taken by the government to eradicate caste-based discrimination and harassment in educational institutions, NCDHR took the initiative to provide the State with a draft for such a policy

Right  to  education
Right to education is  denied for  Dalits   and  Backward  classes for
 centuries in   India. And it prevented their   development in an
unequal hierarchical social order. " Education provides the single and
  critical opportunity for all children in particular Dalit children
for acquiring the social and intellectual skills they need to move out
of the strictly hierarchical, segregated and stigmatized spaces of
living, occupation and identity ( Dalit Children's Right to Education
,  NCDHR.)
Special focuses and provisions are there for the weaker sections. But
continuing disabilities, abuse, humiliation, violence,
untouchablility,   inaccessibility to  educational institutions,
poverty ,caste   based  descriminations largely keep  Dalit children
from   schools and caused their high drop out rates. Dalit children
below eighteen years are 70 million people in India   .
The National Policy on Education, 1986 aimed at the Universal
enrolment of all Dalit children in the age group of 6-11 and 75 %
enrolment in the 11-14 age groups.  The  86th amendment  of  the
constitution , 2002 promises free  and  compulsory  education to all.
.Sarva Siksha Abhiyan ( Education  for  All), 2000,  focuses  on
marginalized children's eduactaion

Despite  all these the  drop out rate  of  Dalit  children is
high."The national drop out rate among Dalit  Children   is 36.6% at
primary ,59.4% at middle and 73.1% at  secondary level of
education"(Report  National  Commission  for  SC&STs, Govt of India
,2000-2001).
According to NCERT(National  Council   fro  Educational  Research and
Training ) only 54.6% of schools and 10% Dalits students are covered
by the free text book scheme.29.3 schools and 4.6 Dalit students are
covered  by  free uniform. 13.9%schools and 3.9 % Dalit students were
covered by the midday meal scheme.
Only 3.4%  o f Dalit  men over the age of  15 and  I% of Dalit  women
 had  a  post secondary  education of  any kind.The new  education
policies like privatization and  huge   cut in govt  spending in
education also affected them negatively.
Although the enrolment of  Dalit  children   has  increased  to   92%
during  1999-2000 the comparative literacy  rate  of  Dalits is
disturbing


Year        ST                 SC                   others
1991        29.6                37.41                57.69
2001        47.1                54.69                68.81

Source : Planning Commission ,2005,Table 2.3.
Report on Children's Rights &Discrimination in Higher Education.

.
 Hence of Dr Baba Saheb  Ambedkar exhorted  Dalits to "Educate,
Organize and Agitate" .

CASE STUDIES
 1 Bajrangi Das ,8 years, Primary School , Shiv Temple .
Baliadeh,Jhajha,Jamui district , Bihar 6 July 2006
One day  the teacher brutally beaten Bajrangi Das up and called the
child by his caste name for using the common glass  used by every
children for drinking water. The teacher also used abusive terms
against his parents in front of whole the class. The  demoralized boy
stopped attending school. The boy also complaint that the Brahmin
(upper caste ) teacher used to call him 'Bajrangi Ch amar' and used to
beat him and make him sit in the last row. While the parents
complaining of untouchability the teacher maintains that he is only
trying to teach the students personal hygiene.

 2 Gautam Ravidas ,Primary School Ahridra ,Block Aligaj Thana,
Chandradeep ,Jamui District.

One day an upper caste boy from his class roughed up Gautam for daring
to sit in the front row. While beating him the boy got hurt himself.
His father came to the school and  in front of the teacher dragged him
to the toilet and dumped  on the toilet pan Smeared all over with
excreta he cried .But the man  kicked and beaten the boy still he was
fainted.  Guatham's parents complained to the police and Block
Development Officer but no action was taken. The teacher shakes off
the issue saying that dalit children don't study and attend the class
only for midday meals and scholarships. .Police stand is that there is
no such incident of discrimination at all. But the people   in the
village complained  that once  this  Brahmin teacher  came the   lower
caste  students found  it  pretty  difficult .