Barriers and Pathways to Universal Education: A Study of Educational Inclusion among Migrant Girls in Gautam Buddha Nagar District

Abstract

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasises universal access to education to ensure equitable access for all. Global Sustainable Development Goals to achieve equality and equity in education have been prioritised in the formulation of the NEP 2020 by Government of India. The positive outcome of adopting equitable policy measures to remove disparities based on gender, social status, location, etc., reflects the narrowing of the gender gap in elementary education in India. NEP 2020 recognised the underrepresentation of certain social groups and the existing gender gap in educational attainment, as well as outlined focused interventions to encourage the participation of ‘Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs)’, which include both women and migrant communities. The section of society tagged with ‘migrant’ status and belonging to the lower-income group faces challenges of economic hardships as well as discrimination based on cultural identities. The educational attainment of children from migrant families largely depends on the family's socio-cultural access. Girls’ access to education in those families is strongly related to intra-familial opportunity cost. Government policies extended safeguards to migrant people to ensure equitable access to education with flexible admission norms, hostel facilities, etc. However, the policy gap exists at the implementation level. The study focuses on people who migrated to NOIDA city for livelihood, live in urban slums and face challenges of economic hardships and socio-cultural discrimination. Though the importance of girls' education is largely realised, but often subjected to preferential access opportunities due to intra-familial priority allocations and gender preferences. Thus, access to free education has become necessary for this section of society. However, for parents, the standard and quality of education are also important parameters. The paper attempts to visualise the educational landscape in the neighbourhood of three selected urban villages of NOIDA using geospatial technology to understand the access opportunities for girls to complete school education up to Grade 12 . Interview-based interactions with students and guardians helped to understand the access challenges faced by the migrants to the city. It is found that geographical proximity to the school is not the sole factor, but other infrastructural and institutional factors related to the schools play important roles in deciding access opportunities. The study identifies gaps in policy implementation and recommends policy intervention measures to extend schooling opportunities to female students belonging to the deprived migrant class.