According to the American Psychological Association, Discrimination is the unfair or prejudicial treatment of people and groups based on characteristics such as race, gender, age, or sexual orientation.
Living in this era we have either witnessed or seen & heard people face discrimination on multiple levels. Be in directly or indirectly. Irresectable of the type and way the discrimination happened, it has a major impact on a person’s mind and emotional health. There are physical and emotional traumas that people experience post getting treated partially based on their age, gender, and caste.
We have seen many studies based on the discrimination that people face based on their gender, caste, and race. Unfortunately, very little research has been done on the domain of education, especially in India, hence no concrete percentage can be mentioned.
Discrimination can occur in any stage of school life, from the people’s attitudes and expectations of teachers to schools’ rules, ideation, and codes of conduct. The process of the selection and grouping methods, teaching methods and materials, changing facilities, career guidance, canteen food, and the physical school environment.
According to Indian law, the Right to Education Act includes 25% of seats under non-minority private unaided schools and prohibition of discrimination against children admitted under this provision. (ref- Times of India). Article 46 of the Indian Constitution recognizes the state should promote with special care the educational interests of scheduled castes. Despite the reforms, many educational systems are being biased toward people/ students belonging to a particular caste.
Last year a similar case happened in the villages of India, where students from the minority community were being ill-treated in the school. These students were given the last seats to sit on in the classroom, they were not allowed to use the washroom and the canteen. There are also cases where Dalit students are served from a distance, and several students bring their plates for fear of utensils being touched by Dalit classmates.
Girls from socially excluded communities have either stopped mid-way through their schooling or have suffered mental tension due to instances of discrimination, verbal abuse and harassment, corporal punishments, physical assaults, abetment to suicide, threats of assaults as well as actual assaults on them by dominant caste teachers and students.
It is mentally detrimental for people who are being recognized by their caste and not the amount of hard work or effort that they are putting in. Under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 every child aged between 6-14 years has the right to free and compulsory elementary education with adequate infrastructure facilities, free textbooks, and writing materials. Here it is very much important that the government ensures, that children from disadvantaged social groups are not getting discriminated against and prevented from completing their elementary education.
In a report by the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN), there are 14 cases of violence in schools reported and 12 of them are about sexual abuse of children from marginalized communities. It is saddening to see that the cases are presented in the report because they were reported or complaints were filed against the perpetrators. Bullying is another form of harassment that is widespread and underreported. Dalit students are subject to repeated bullying by peers of higher castes.
The other numerous instances of corporal punishment, and physical and sexual harassment based on identity happen across the lesser-known regions in the country. Bullying does not only focus on caste, this takes place in educational systems across the world and the harassment is done over peoples’ racial status, body type, language, disabilities, etc.
So, where does this road end then? children need a lot of support systems while growing up. The educational systems should make efforts to provide the environment for young minds to flourish. The role of teachers and peers becomes very significant in the psychological development of a person. From ages 10–13, besides math and science, children also need to build emotional health and resilience-like skills which are gained through general exposure and increased self-esteem. Many of the schools have started taking Life skills or SEL (Social-emotional learning) classes to help students understand their emotional health.
India’s recent education law has helped to develop more schools and give better access to children, especially from rural India from the poorest and most socially marginalized communities. The government authorities must take needed steps and do timely speculations to make sure that the law is being implemented properly which will provide these children in the school a child-friendly and equal environment, without practicing discrimination and prejudice.
So, what should we do on an individual level? What we can do is voice against it. We must provide safe space and social support to people around us. And letting official authorities know, if we happen to see any discriminatory practices happening around us. Together we can take the pledge to stand up for our rights and make this world a beautiful place to live in for EVERYONE!
Discrimination is difficult to deal with and is often associated with symptoms of depression. Psychologists are experts in helping people manage symptoms of stress and depression and can help you find healthy ways to cope.
