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Abstract

Education enables the growth and development of nations and individuals through multiple channels. However, everyone may not have access to education in general and to quality education in particular. This article is a modest attempt to explore the issue of caste-based premarket discrimination in rural Punjab. Caste-wise differences in access to education are analysed using the primary survey data collected in 2015–2016 from 12 villages spread across three districts—Bathinda, Jalandhar and Rupnagar—of Punjab. The analyses show that Scheduled Castes (SC) lack access to education facilities. Compared to the non-SC, a significantly larger proportion of the SC is found illiterate. It is observed that almost, at every level of education the percentage of SC possessing that level of qualification is lesser than that of the non-SC. The females are facing dual discrimination as their access to education is relatively poor in general and poorest for females belonging to the SC community in particular. Caste consciousness among the students is observed in case of their close friendship relations with peer group and seating preferences in the class.

Keywords

Scheduled castes premarket discrimination dual discrimination access to education rural Punjab

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Caste and Access to Education in Rural Punjab: A Case of Premarket Discrimination

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