How can the curriculum be made meaningful for the underprivileged learners?

It has been noticed universally that the system of education is targeted at the privileged in society and the curricular content, both in its selection and nature, mirrors the life of the privileged. The textbooks appeared alien to the underprivileged learners as they did not find any resemblance to their lives or their culture in the textbooks. In addition, the methods of teaching too were developed on certain assumptions of pre-knowledge which led to a gap in understanding for the underprivileged. Similarly, the teachers suffered from biases and an unfriendly attitude towards these learners which either led to the neglect of these learners or a simplification of the content and assignments, making them repetitive and boring.

As early as the 60’s, ‘The Kothari Commission (1964-66) articulated the idea of a “neighbourhood” school as a common space, where all children cutting across caste, class and gender lines learn together in the best inclusive manner. This idea has been articulated in practically all policy documents thereafter: the National Policy on Education 1968, as well as the National Curriculum Framework, 2005. This concept has also been incorporated in the RTE Act, 2009.’ (Anshu Vaish, Secretary, School Education and Literacy, in her speech at Shri Ram School).

It has also been felt that the inclusion of underprivileged learners in schools, either government or private, has not been implemented fully, remaining a mere lip service in certain institutions. There is a clear demarcation between the schools for the privileged (privately-run schools) and those for the underprivileged (schools run by the government) and these cater to two distinct categories and economic strata. This segregation starts at an early stage in school; and many private schools feel reluctant to follow a policy of integrating children from the socio-economically weaker sections of society with those from the better-off strata.

The education policies of the government like the Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE), Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the Right to Education Act and the policy of neighbourhood schools are attempts to assimilate and integrate the underprivileged learners into the mainstream. In spite of these, certain assumptions need to be revisited and some interventions are required to realise these policies. By opening of the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, the Government of India has made quality education accessible to rural learners.

The curriculum of the schools largely focuses on the skills and knowledge required for an individual to be integrated into the society of the middle class and white collared jobs. Skills and knowledge required for blue-collared jobs are neglected except for certain special schools and institutions. The textbooks are written from the point of view of the culture of the privileged. Contribution of the underprivileged class to nation building is neglected or ignored. Facts and information are densely packed in the textbook which seem suitable for highly motivated learners. Since the underprivileged learners find nothing of their lives, history or culture in the textbooks they find these irrelevant to their experiences and thereby lose interest. A simplified curriculum for these learners is created based on the assumption that the underprivileged learners would not be able to handle this. This further demoralizes them, and moreover they are not stimulated intellectually.

A conscious attempt needs to be made to make the curriculum not only attractive but also challenging for the underprivileged learners. Some of the suggested interventions are listed below:

·         Inclusion of topics of interest or familiarity for the underprivileged learners

·         Reflection of the lives and culture of the underprivileged as equal contributors to society

·         Removal of biases in favour of the privileged

·         Content should aim at fostering a positive attitude towards their lives and culture.

·         Illustration could include tribal art and styles that represent their culture and lifestyles

·         Stimulating but linguistically simple questions to help them develop their cognitive and analytical skills.

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