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desired. In Uttar Pradesh free textbooks mean little because most children purchase ‘guide books’
– right from class 1. Parents insist that teachers forced them to buy these while the teachers aver
that parents buy them on their own. The fact remains that most children had them in their school
bags and copy the question and answers in their notebooks – some of the children could not even
read what they had written!
Box 16: Inside the classroom: Attitudes and practices
Uttar Pradesh: Caste discrimination was discernable in the attitude of teachers during
interviews. The six FC teachers out of nine showed a definite upper caste bias in their expressions
saying that as children from ‘Good families’ (i.e. upper castes) are not coming to GPS the
standards had gone down, especially in urban GPS. The community on the other hand felt that FC
teachers discriminate against children from lower castes (including poor Muslims) and
misbehaved with the parents when they tried to monitor their child’s performance in school.
Karnataka: Humiliation of children who come late: ‘Oh you went to graze the sheep and collect
fodder?’ Sarcastic remarks when a child asks for help: ‘So, you are going to become the D.M.
(district magistrate), is it?’ – knowing well that the child comes from a very poor family with
little means. Or the observations of a girl who was often scolded for being a ‘pure breed daddi
(idiot)’: I can’t do anything properly at school and if what I do at home is stupid, then I am a
useless person. Some of the children stop coming to school because of this, afraid of what the
teacher will say.
Andhra Pradesh: The headmistress of the urban centre slum school (who has an M Phil degree
in Telugu literature from the Hyderabad Central University) felt that she was being punished for
‘papam’ (sin) she had done in her previous life and hence had been posted to this slum. For the
Headmaster who is never there in the tribal village, parents are not interested. They never come to
the school. They are ‘vulgar, rough and tough and so dirty. They have no manners. Look at their
crude language. How can we expect anything from their children!’
Source: State reports – Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh
Teachers’ attitudes and development of self-esteem and confidence:
What value does education add to the lives of children? There is little disagreement over the role
of education in enhancing the self-esteem and self-confidence of children. Yet, discrimination
and/or differential treatment in school can and does affect the overall confidence levels and the
self-esteem of children. Both children and parents are categorical that teachers treat poor children
differentially, that they do not appreciate the predicament of children who have to work before
and after school. Constant reinforcement of caste and community based negative stereotypes also
have a long-term effect on children, whereby they internalise these perceptions and see
themselves as being solely responsible for their own situation. Hence, it is not surprising to come
Educational Resource Unit Page 63 April 2003