SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION-TOPIC-EQUALITY AND EQUITY Concept of Equality: Constitutional Provisions for Equality:  Indian Constitution and the Role of Government at various Levels Equalization of Educational Opportunities among SC, ST, Girls, and Differently Abled: Objectives of Equalization of Educational Opportunities for the SC/ST Students  Equalization of Educational Opportunities among Girls: Equalization of Educational Opportunities among Differently Abled Recommendations of the NPE 1986 on Equal Opportunity of Disabled Children: Equity: Measures taken by Central and State Government in the Equalization of Opportunities: Measures to Equalize Educational Opportunity:

1. PAPER-II
SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION
TOPIC-EQUALITY AND EQUITY
SANA FATIMA
M.ED (SEM-I) 2018-20
GHULAM AHMED COLLEGE OF
EDUCATION, BANJARA HILLS, HYD.

2. EQUALITY AND EQUITY
Equality and Equity are two strategies we can use in an effort to produce fairness. Equity is
giving everyone what they need to be successful. Equality is treating everyone the same.
Equality aims to promote fairness, but it can only work if everyone starts from the same place
and need the same help.
Concept of Equality:
Equality of opportunity has becomethe dominant factor in education debate and policy.
Countless writers and politicians believe that quality is a yardstick for judging educational
practices. Writers like A. H. Halsey opine that the role of education must largely be to maintain
society of equals. A sociologist like Brian Simon states the education’s objective should be
equality.
The politicians favor this idea of the sociologists and demand that equal opportunity must be
provided to every citizen for acquiring intelligence. Teachers of course, are not to be outdone.
They opine that the education budget should be multiplied many times to achieve equality.
They further argue that public and direct grant schools be abolished, that all teachers be paid a
single salary scale, that higher education be free for all who wish to have it, and that selection
and competition be replaced by collective endeavour in fully comprehensive schools in which
the contributions of all are equally valued.
Constitutional Provisions for Equality:
India is a democratic country. Its Constitution reflects the aims and ideals of its citizens. The
Constitution, which gives certain rights and protection to its citizens, has Education as one of its
important components. It guarantees Justice, Freedom, Equality and Fraternity to its citizens.”
There are several provisions relating to Education in the Constitution.
i) Free and Compulsory Primary Education Provision
Article 45 of the Directive Principles of State Policy lays down:
“The state shall endeavour to provide within a period of ten years from
the commencement of this constitution, for free and compulsory education for all
children until they complete the age of fourteen years”
ii) Right of Minorities to Establishand Administer Educational Institutions
Provision: Articles 21and 30 of the Indian Constitution guarantees the minorities a few cultural
and educational rights to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice
whether based on religion or language.
age
Article 29 states
i) “Any section of the citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof, having a
distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same.”
ii) “No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the
state or receiving aid out of state funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any

3. one of them.”
Article 30 states
i) “All minorities whether based on religion or language shall have right to
establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.”
ii) “The state shall not discriminate against any educational institution in respect of grant in aid,
on the ground that it is under the management of a minority, whether based on religion or
language.”
iii) Education of Sociallyand EconomicallyBackwardClassesof People
Provision: Article 46 of the Constitution states that the federal government shall take the
responsibility for the economic and the educational development of the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes.
It states: “The state shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of
the weaker section of the people and in particular of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes,
and shall protectthem from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.”
iv) Religious Instruction or Religious Worship in Educational Institutions
“Subject to public order, morality and health, every religious denomination or any section
thereof shall have the right to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable
purposes”.
Article 28(1) Forbids religious instruction in any educational institution wholly maintained out
of state funds.
Article28(2) states “Nothing in clause (I) shall apply to an educational institution which is
administered by the state but has been established under any endowment or trust which requires
that religious instruction shall be imparted in such institution.”
Article28(3)states, “No personattending any educational institution recognized by the state or
receiving aid out of state funds shall be required to take part in any religious instruction that
may be imparted in such institution or any premises attached there to unless such personis a
minor, his guardian has given consent there to.”
Article 29-“No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational
institution, maintained by the state or receiving aid out of state funds on grounds only of
religion, race, caste, language or any of them.”
(v) Instruction in MotherTongue
Indian people of different regions have their own native languages and dialects, and unless they
possessgood knowledge of their respective language, they cannot receive true education.
Recognizing the importance of mother tongue. The Indian constitution provides for the
development of its instruction.
Article 350 - A states, “It shall be the endeavour of every state to provide adequate facilities for
instruction in the mother tongue at the primary stage of education of children belonging to

4. linguistic minority groups: and the president may issue such directions to any state as he
considers necessary or properfor securing the provision of such facilities.”
(vi) Promotionof Hindi
The Constitution also makes provision for the development and propagation of Hindi - the
national language.
According to Article-351 “It is the special responsibility of the center to develop the national
language i.e., Hindi so that it may serve as a medium of instruction for all the elements of the
compositeculture of India.
Provision: India being a secular state, every religion has the right to popularize and spread its
religious ideals. Article 25(1) of the Indian Constitution guarantees all the citizens a right to
freedom of conscience and the right to profess and practice their religion.
(vii)Education for Women
Regarding education of women, Art 15(3) of the Constitution empowers the state to make
special provision for women including their education. Article 15(1) state, “the state shall not
discriminate against any citizen on grounds of sex.”
 Indian Constitution and the Role of Government at various Levels
The constitution clearly provides for the educational functions of government at various levels.
Our Constitution being a federal one divides powers in Venter and state and describes some
powers concurrent. The center has the power to legislate over the items in List I, while over the
items in List II, state has the power to legislate. Over the items in List III which is a concurrent
list, the centre and state both can legislate. While List I includes items which are of great
interest to the nation, List II includes items of local interest and List III includes items which
concern both centre and the states. Education is in the concurrent list, i.e.; List III.
Equalization of Educational Opportunities among SC, ST, Girls and Differently
Abled:
According to the census, the all India literacy rates of Scheduled Castes. and Scheduled Tribes
were 21,38 and 16,35 per cent respectively, as against 41, 20 per cent of the Non-Scheduled
caste and Non-Scheduled Tribe population sectors. The progress of the education of women of
these communities is poor. The literacy rates of women of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes were 10.30 and 8.04 per cent as against 29 per cent. 43 per cent of other population
sectors. The incidence of higher education in these communities is dismally low. The
imbalances in educational development between different population sectors lead to many
social and economic ills, in addition to the loss of human resourcedevelopment in the country
in general, and the non-harmonious development of the individual learners personality.
Objectives of Equalization of Educational Opportunities for the SC/ST
Students
i) Educational backwardness amongst the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has been due

5. to social deprivation and economic poverty meted out to these communities in the pre
independence period.
ii) The inequalities in educational development between educationally backward communities
and other sections of Indian Society ought to be minimized by special efforts.
iii) The behavioral discrimination show towards the children of the scheduled caste and
scheduled tribes, even inadvertently, resulted in their disinterest in studies, early withdrawal and
development of a low self-concept.
iv) Teachers have a special role towards the education of children of these communities,
specially the first generation learners.
v) Teachers have a role to sensitize the parents and community members of the scheduled castes
and scheduled tribes on the schemes and incentives for them and to motivate them to educate
their children.
vi) A crash programme of universal functional literacy and teacher’s whole-hearted
participation would bridge the gap and imbalance in the education of the scheduled castes,
scheduled tribes and other communities in Indian society.
Steps to be Taken:
The following are some important steps which should be taken by the school to
facilitate the SC/ST students in their education.
(i) The teacher’s example in his/her own behavior towards students belonging to Scheduled
Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities is the most powerful way to build up a congenial
climate.
(ii) As a rule, the schoolstaff should seek, provide and ensure non-discrimination between the
children of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other communities.
iii) Use of caste name or derogatory words while calling roll calls or naming children should be
avoided.
iv) Teachers should lead all the children equally to participate in the curricular and co-curricular
activities of the schoolincluding games.
v) Frequent meetings between the staff schoolteachers, and parents of Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes children should be arranged. At these meeting details of the schemes for
promoting education among Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes hold be explained. It
should be impressed upon them that they must continue the education of their children. Special
attention should be paid to motivating them for the education of girls.
vi) If there is an adult education centre in or around the school, teacher should suggest to
illiterate parents the advantages gained by attending functional literacy classes in the centre.

6.  Equalization of Educational Opportunities among Girls:
In the Independent India one of the main concerns of the Government and the educational
administrators is to equalization of educational opportunities among girls. There are several
provisions in the constitution for the equalization of educational opportunities among girls.
• Free and Compulsory Primary Education: Article 45 of the constitution states:“The state
shall endeavor to provide within a period of ten years from the commencement of this
Constitution for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age
fourteen years”.
• Equalization of Opportunity in Educational Institutions: Article 29
(i) states:“No citizen shall he denied admission in to any educational institution maintained by
the state or receiving aid out of the state funds, on ground only of religion, race, caste, language
or any of them”.
• Women’s Education:Article 16(1)states: “Provides equality of Opportunity for all citizens
— men as well as in employment or appointment to any office under the state”.
• Education of Women: Article 15(3)states:“Theconstitution empowers the state to make
special provisions for women including their education” and Article 15 (1) states: “The state
shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of sex”.
Various committees and commissions have studied the prevailing conditions and suggested to
the Government to provide equalization of educational Opportunities among girls. They are:
SecondaryEducationCommission (1 952-53): The commission feels that at the present stage
of our socialevolutionthere is no special justification to deal with women’s education
separately. Every type of education open to men should also be open to women. There was
general agreement however that for girls as well as for boy’s education needs to be more closely
connected with the home and the community.
NationalCommittee on Women’s Education(1958-59):The committee suggested following
recommendations:
i) Steps shall be taken to constitute as early as possible a national council for the education of
girls and women.
ii) The state government should establish state councils for the education of girls and Women.
iii) Every state should be required to prepare comprehensive development plans for the
education of girls and women in its area.
The National Council for Women’s Education (1963): The committee was appointed under
the chairmanship of M.Bhaktavastalam to study on girl’s education and public cooperation.
This committee examined the cause of lack of public supportfor girl’s education especially in
rural areas.
The EducationCommission (1964-66):This commission suggested that:

7. 1. Primary Stage:The education of girl’s requires special attention in filling the constitutional
directive. More and more ancillary services should be provided. Special measures should be
taken to check the undesirable growth of stagnation and wastage among girls.
2. SecondaryStage:
Efforts should be made to accelerate the expansion of girl’s education so that the proportion of
girls to boys reaches 1:2 at the lower
secondarystage and 1:3 at the higher secondarystage in 20 years. Emphasis should be placed
on establishing separate schools for girls, provision of hostels and part-time and vocational
courses.
Phulrenu Guha Committee Status of Women (197-74):This committee recommended co-
education at all stages of Education. They also suggested that; provide the ample opportunities
for girls in classes XI and XII for education in any area. This committee strongly recommended
universal education up to 14 years of age by providing primary schools within a walking
distance and free secondary education to girls with scholarships and hostel facilities. So as to
improve women education.
NationalPolicyon Education(1986): The policy recommended that equalization of
educational opportunities should be given priority and women education should be stressed
upon.
In spite of the recommendations of various committees and Commissions will be accelerate the
pace of equalization of educational opportunities among girls. Elementary education has
emerged as the key policy and programmatic concernof the Government of India. Some
important schemes have been launched. The Sarva Shiksha Abhayan (SSA) or Education for
All with very ambitious goals was launched in 2001. Specific programmes with in SSA
National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level (NEPGEL) and Kasturba
Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBVS) focus exclusively on girls in educationally backward
districts.
Equalization of Educational Opportunities among Differently Abled
Who are the DisabledChildren?
Impairment, disability and handicap are not synonymous terms. These are distinct and separate
terms. A child might have a physical impairment and be disabled but may not feel handicapped
at all. Another child who has no physical impairment is not disabled and is tremendously
handicapped, Impairment refers to biological forces: the disability to how a culture deals with
impairment and the handicap, to how the individual deals with physical impairment. It is
important for the teachers to become familiar with these three distinct concepts.
Impairment: Impairment is nothing but the physical defect of an individual. It is the biological
aspectof life. It develops either due to over work or accident or due to hereditary factors. It

8. decreases mobility, limits the range and depth of interpersonal and social relationships which
causes psychological problems.
Disability: Disability is the behavior evolving from the impairment Impairment imposes
limitations upon an individual’s capacities and levels of functioning. Frequent or prolonged
periods of hospitalization, medical treatment and need for special drugs may develop disability.
Disability in this sense is temporary. Disability has a cultural aspectalso. How the culture of a
particular society deals with impairment, determines disability. In most cases, the negative
feelings and reactions from physically able children may develop a tendency towards disability.
The Visually impaired or the hearing impaired or the mentally retarded persons are permanently
disabled. These impairments prevent them from functioning in certain occupations.
Handicaps: Anything is a handicap, if it prevents someone from doing what he wants or ought
to do. Handicap is a technical term which refers to conditions such as blindness, deafness or
very low intelligence, which most people would agree are disadvantageous. But there is bound
to be disagreements about where the line is drawn between minor and real handicap and of
course, there can be paradoxical cases Where real handicap is turned to advantage., a beggar’s
livelihood from defect or deformity a serious wound that takes the soldier away from the danger
of fighting, a child’s ailment that gains him special sympathy etc.
There are ten officially recognized categories of disabled children requiring special educational
facilities children who are
(1) Blind (2) sighted (3) deaf (4) Partially hearing (5) educationally abnormal (6) epileptic (7)
maladjusted (8) physically handicapped (9) affected by speech defect and (10) delicate.
In modern sense, special type of education is prescribed to the disabled and gifted children, but
not usually used with the majority of average children. Webster defines “special” as
“distinguished by some unusual quality, uncommon, noteworthy, extraordinary, and additional
to regular, extra or employed for a certain purposein addition to the ordinary. This meaning of
“special” is applicable to special education, which aims at modifying school practices to help
the students with unique, uncommon, unusual, quality. It also aims at the modification of school
organization and instructional procedures used in general schoolsystem.
Seen from this angle, it appears that the national goals of development, integration, excellence,
and equity cannot be fulfilled without ensuring that every child in the country crossesa
minimum threshold of educational attainment. Even for facing the challenges of the world of
today, a minimum level of education is essential for the development of individual personality,
appreciation of the constraints and potentials of environment, internalizing a value system,
imbibing an awareness of social responsibilities and the acquisition of special capability o deal
with lifeline the years to come a general spread of this type of education will become crucial for
survival. Hence universalisation of elementary education has to be one of the essential
ingredients of national strategy.

9. Unless the disabled children get equal opportunity we cannot achieve our national goal. The
main goal is to bring about effective and vocational possibilities, self-sufficiency, and
independence of the disabled. Parent’s educators and administrators are to work hand-in- hand
in order to achieve the marvel of integrated programme, for psycho-specialadjustment of the
disabled into the society.
Recommendations of the NPE 1986 on Equal Opportunity of Disabled
Children:
The NPE 1986 states, the objective should be to integrate the mentally handicapped with the
general community as equal partners to prepare them for normal growth and to enable them to
face life with courage and confidence. The following measures will be taken in this regard.
i) Wherever it is feasible, the education of children with motor handicaps and other mild
handicaps will be common with that of others.
ü) Special schools with hostels will be provided as far as possible at district headquarters, for
the severely handicapped children.
iii) Adequate arrangements will be made to give vocational training to the disabled.
iv) Teacher’s training programmes will be oriented, in particular for teachers of primary classes,
to deal with handicapped children and with their special difficulties.
v) Voluntary effort for the education of the disabled will be encouraged in every possible
manner.
Equity: Measures takenby Central and State Government in the Equalization of
Opportunities:
After independent India. One of the main Concern by Central and State Government is the
equalization of educational opportunities for all sections of people. This means education
should go down to every citizen of India, every SC, every ST, every girl, and every rural child
and to every economically poorchild.
But this was not the case with the traditional society. In the traditional society. Education was
denied to SC, ST, girls and the rural child. This discrimination is to be rectified. This is why
measures are taken to give equal access to education to all. This is a democratic commitment.
Measures to Equalize Educational Opportunity:
Compensatory Education: The conceptof compensatoryEducation is universal agreed as a
necessary condition to education opportunity. This compensatory education is imported to the

10. culturally deprived and socially disadvantaged children.
Poverty, child labor, low culture, social discrimination, defective language spokenat home,
poorhygiene, malnutrition, overcrowded home, illiterate home environment are all
impediments to educational pursuit and achievement.
To help this socially handicapped section of the Society the following measures are suggested
by the commissions and implemented by Government, State and Central.
• Pre-metric Scholarships and Post-metric scholarships for the children of scavengers, tanners,
sweepers and other economically poorchildren are awarded by the government.
• Incentives are given to the family to enable eligible girls to come to the school. Girls are an
economic asset. So, parents do not want to part with the girls and send them to school.
Schools are built in the tribal areas and in the areas where SC’s are concentrated.
Government is taking steps to train teachers who belong to the SC/ST communities, as they
would have burden for their own disadvantaged people.
Reservations of seats are accorded to the socially handicapped in education, employment, etc.
To help the rural children, more schools are built in the rural areas.Navodaya schools are
established in the rural areas to achieve this objective. Free and quality education is to given
these children. They are given boarding and lodging.
Residential schools for the scheduled tribes.
Special coaching classes for scheduled castes for University courses and competitive
examination like I.A.S, State Administrative Services, etc.
Scholarships for students from the economically weaker sections are provided to enable them to
complete University education and pursue studies abroad.
Whatever distortion caused to these socially handicapped people in the past is being rectified
now. This measure is called protective discrimination.
 Universalizing Elementary Education:
It is a constitutional commitment. Many commissions suggested measures to effectively
Universalize Elementary Education. As per our constitution Central and State Governments
under took to educate all children below the age of 14 within 10 years of the commencement of
constitution meaning 1960. But until now, the problem is not resolved. NPE 1986 (i.e. National
Policy on Education, 1986) gave of therefore unqualified priority. It claims to cover all
children up to the age of l4 by 1935.
 Proposal of NPE 1986 :
NPE 1986 proposesto cover all children the age of 11 by 1990 and those below l4 by 1995.
‘NPE 1986 emphasis two aspects of this problem

11. I) Universal enrolment and universal retention, and
ii) Improvement in the quality of education
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Educationfor All)-SSA:
The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (The Education for all movement , sometimes referred to as “each
one teach one”) is a flagship programme of the Government of India pioneered by the Former
Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee for achievement of Universalization Elementary
Education(UEE) in a time- bound manner, as mandated by the 86th amendment to the
constitution of India making free and compulsory education to children of ages 6-14 (estimated
to be 205 million in number in 2001) is a fundamental right. The programme aims to achieve
the goal of Universalization of Elementary Education of satisfactory quality by 2010.
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is an effort to Universalization of Elementary Education by community-
ownership of the school system. It is a responseto the demand for quality basic education all
over the country. The SSA programme is also an attempt to provide an opportunity for
improving human capabilities of all children, through provision of community- owned quality
education in a mission mode. Some of the highlights of SSAare given of the following:
• A programme with a clear time frame for UEE.
• A responseto the demand for quality basic education all over the country.
• An opportunity for promoting social justice through basic education.
• An effort at effectively involving the Panchayati Raj Institutions. Parents, Teacher
Associations Mother Teacher Associations, Tribal Autonomous Councils and other grass -root
level structures in the management of elementary schools.
• A Partnership between the Central State and Local Government.
• An opportunity for states to develop their Own Vision of elementary education.
The Framework forImplementation of SSA is:
To allow states to formulate Content — specific guidelines within the overall framework.
To encourage districts in states and UT’s to reflect local specificity.
To promote local need- based planning based on broad National Policy Concerns.
To make planning a realistic exercise by adopting broad national norms.
References:
Nimbalkar.R.M , Viswanathappa.G & Srivastava.R . (2016). Sociological Perspectives of
Education. New Delhi-Hyderabad: Neelkamal Publications Pvt.Ltd.