I wonder if vacations were extended for the reasons which we know, why admission process

is also delayed.....right to education ...justice delayed is justice denied. With admission

processes for new admissions kept in process new admissions would have occurred in
advance

OBSTACLES TO EDUCATION OF CHILDREN: A STUDY OF UNDERPRIVILEGED

SECTIONS OF SOCIETY

Qysar Afzal Sofi*

Dr. Aadil Bashir*

ABSTRACT

According to the latest census the literacy rate in Jammu and Kashmir is sixty seven percent. A
substantial number of children are still out of school, and dropout rate is also high and a major
concentration of these children is from the underprivileged section of our society. One needs to
know the obstacles to education of the children from underprivileged sections and conditions
arising out of which what Lewis regards culture of poverty and its vicious cycle. The present
paper attempts to study what hampers the education of the underprivileged children. The study is
mainly based on secondary data and is corroborated with the observation and field notes of the
authors first hand experiences of working with underprivileged parents and their children in
various communities from Bandipora and Baramulla, living in and around Wular Lake . While
the basic needs of food, clothing, health, sanitation and shelter of these children remain unmet,
education takes a backseat. Change in livelihood and structural changes in market act as
compelling factors for poor families to engage their children in income generation activities.

This Paper makes an attempt to study the obstacles to education of children from
underprivileged sections of society and also highlights various challenges confronted by children
in availing educational schemes.

Key words: Obstacles, Education, children, underprivileged, poverty, inequality

*Qysar Afzal Sofi, Ph.D. Research Scholar Department of Social Work University of Kashmir
*Dr. Aadil Bashir, Sr. Assistant Professor Department of Social Work University of Kashmir
According to R.N.Sharma, education is the process of developing the inner abilities and powers
of an individual and the term is connected with the Latin educere which means propulsion
from the internal to the external and it implies some kind of change for the better in a person
1. INTRODUCTION
Education is every child's basic right and forms the crux of societal and individual development.
Education for underprivileged children is the key whether we are addressing healthcare, poverty,
population control, unemployment or human rights issues. Children are the future of a nation.
For an emerging and developing country like India, development of underprivileged children
holds the key to the progress of the nation itself. Focus should be on the prevailing issue of lack
of basic education of children who are from weaker sections of society, from other social caste
groups and who comprise of first generation. According to the government estimate, out of 200
million children in the age group of 6 to 14 in India, around 59 million do not attend school. Of
the rest, who are currently in school, four out of every 10 children beginning to attend school
will drop out before completing their primary school education. The government has fixed a ratio
for the private schools also. The disadvantaged boys and girls are to be enrolled for 25% seats of
the total strength of a particular entry class of the private school. The expenses are to be paid to
the private schools by the government through the education department. Even though efforts
taken by government, private schools and NGOs in the main stream remain a distant dream
unless and until the underprivileged children are motivated and assured about the importance of
education in their real life. Ignorance can't be taken as advantage to keep off the underprivileged
from providing their basic education needs. It is a much publicized issue and schools must come
forward to educate the deprived children.
Education is a process by which people are subjected to the influence of a selected and controlled
environment so that they can attain social competence and an optimum level of development. It
allows people to stand on their own feet by enhancing their potential to work for the betterment
of their own life and society at large. It has been observed that the nations who have achieved
their literacy targets are developing and progressing rapidly in every field of life as compared to
those with a low literacy rate. The spread of education in the state has made great strides in the
past few decades of planned development; considerable educational facilities are available even
in remote hilly and backward areas. Factors responsible for non-enrolment, low enrolment and
drop-out rates could be classified into the following:
Supply-related factors which include long distances to schools and/or dysfunctional
schools.
Opportunity Costs including financial constraints, domestic work and participation in
household activities, as well as participation in paid economic activity outside household.
Lack of interest among mothers to send their daughters to schools.

Objectives
1. To trace the government schemes for empowering education of children from
Underprivileged sections of Society (Jammu and Kashmir).
2. To locate various obstacles to education of children from underprivileged sections of the
society (Jammu and Kashmir).
METHODOLOGY:
The study is mainly based on secondary data. The main sources of data are the Census reports,
reports of local, National and International Non- Governmental Agencies, Websites, Research
articles and Books.

2. EDUCATION IN INDIA
Education breaks generational cycles of poverty by enabling children to gain skills and
knowledge for better jobs. Education empowers children to be full and active participants in
society, able to exercise their rights and engage in civil and political life. Access to free and
compulsory primary schooling is already guaranteed by the nearly universally ratified
Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, progress in realizing this right is woefully slow.
Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights (1948) inter alia states that
education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the
strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedom. It shall promote
understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, social or religious groups and shall
further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. Historically, education
is an instrument of development and an important factor for social change. In this view, Human
Rights education is / has to be an integral part of the right to education. Of late, it is recognized
as a Human Right in itself. Human Rights Education cannot merely be an intellectual exercise. It
acts as a linkage between education in the classroom and developments in a society. Study of
Human Rights should be included in the curriculum or syllabus in schools and colleges making it
an essential part of the learning process. India has accepted elementary education as one of the
basic needs of everyone. The Constitution mandates to provide free education to all children in
the age group of 6-14 years. The World Conference on Education for All held in Jomtien,
Thailand in 1991 pleaded universal primary education in particular on education for girls and
women. The Karnataka Womens Information and Resource Centre (KWIRC), Bangalore
involved various activists, advocates and key persons associated with the movement for the
rights of certain vulnerable sections of the society, for developing reference material for human
rights education in universities.
In more than thirty investigations around the world, Human Rights Watch has repeatedly found
significant and systematic barriers to safe and accessible schooling that violate childrens rights
to an education, undermine their ability to learn, and cause them to drop out. For many children,
particularly those from poor families, school fees and related costs of schooling put education
beyond their reach. Fees imposed by schools may include fees for tuition, matriculation, exams
and a range of other expenses, including electricity, water, heat, teachers bonuses, and costs of
maintenance. In addition, many families must pay for uniforms, books, other school supplies and
transportation. In more than a dozen countries, Human Rights Watch found that these combined
costs often cause children to drop out of school, start late, or never attend at all. Other children
suffer discrimination in gaining access to education based on their race, ethnicity, religion or
other status. For many children, the biggest threat to their right to education is violence within or
near their schools that undermines their ability to learn, puts their physical and psychological
well-being at risk, and often causes them to drop out of school entirely. Fulfilling childrens right
to education entails not only the presence of schools and teachers, but also ensuring an
environment that allows them to learn in safety. Despite constitutional guarantees for making
education a fundamental right. Some sections of the society are underprivileged and lack in
education.

In post independence India, provisions for education were incorporated in the Constitution under
Article 45 in Directive Principles of State Policy, which insisted on providing compulsory
education to all children up to fourteen years of age. Various schemes and programmes were
initiated; different educational bodies and policies formed, all culminating in one Right to
Education Act of 2009 that makes education free and compulsory for all children up to fourteen
years of age. The latest census puts literacy rate at seventy four per cent and enrolment in schools
has increased but India is still burdened with a huge illiterate population. Vidyasagar, R.K, 2006
reports that an estimated 59 million children in the age group six and fourteen years are still out
of school. Most of them belong to the poor and disadvantaged group. Unemployment scenario is
also grim with more than 41 million educated youth being unemployed. Increased enrolment rate
in basic education masks the fact that poor children including working children, street children,
children in remote areas, children from minority groups, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes,
and disabled children, are not mostly enrolled. Kingdon, Geeta & Muzzamil 2003 in their work
The Political Economy of Education in India give mention of human capital theory as Just as
physical capital augments worker productivity according to the human capital theory, so does
human capital acquired through education improve the productivity of individuals.
 3. EDUCATION OF UNDERPRIVILGED SECTIONS
4. OBSTACLES TO EDUCATION OF CHILDREN
5. OBJECTIVES
6. OBSERVATIONS
7. SUGGESTIONS
Globalisation has brought about a revolution in information technology. Satellites,
telecommunication, computers are providing more avenues for rapid dissemination of
information. Technology might become single most determinant of the progress of nations.
Inability to use, master and adapt modern technology in developing countries may widen the
disparity between the rich and the poor within countries. The schooling for underprivileged
children, like others, needs to be made interest based. Serious attention should be given to the
technology development and its extensive spread. Quantity and quality of instructions in the
schools in general and for underprivileged areas should be given special attention. Teaching
needs to be interactive rather than monotonous. Administration should take tough measures to
ensure that teachers take up their jobs seriously. Community participation in this regard should
be encouraged. Schools should be in close vicinity and proper infrastructure must be provided.
Modern teaching aids should be adopted and education should be made employment oriented
through skill development in children. Vocational training should be made a part of curriculum.
Special emphasis also needs to be placed on child labourers and street children not only by
making child labour and child begging an offence and punishable under law but also endowing
them with the kind of environment where the responsibility of eking out livelihood does not fall
on their shoulders. Monthly scholarships, though present in documents, does not always reach
the needy. Steps must be taken to make certain that children of underprivileged groups obtain it.
State has an important role to play in educational development through provision, regulation,
promotion and funding.
8. CONCLUSION
Uneducated or less educated causing unemployment or low income employments perpetuate
poverty, besides other reasons, leading to exclusion of these groups from the mainstream. The
self reliance and self confidence under these circumstances dwindle. Outdated methods of
teaching leave the children of underprivileged disempowered rather than empowered which is
the main purpose of education. Though Right to Education Act of 2009 has certain ambitious
provisions but its implementation part will decide the future of millions of underprivileged
children.