Meaning
 Egalitarianism is an ideology, principle or doctrine
referring to equal rights, benefits and opportunities
or equal treatment for all citizens of a society.
 It is a political doctrine that holds that all people
should be treated as equals and have the same
political, economic, social, and civil rights.
.
Need for Egalitarianism
 Closed and heterogeneous Indian society
 Multiple complexities and divisions
 Discrimination on the basis of
- Sex,
- Caste,
- Religion and
- Disability.
Need for Egalitarianism
 Patriarchal society,
 Women face discrimination
 Reflected in the sex ratio & low literacy levels
 caste system – traditional society
 Leads to severe oppression and
segregation of the lower castes
Need for Egalitarianism
 Discrimination based on cultural norms, beliefs,
practices and customs deriving its legitimacy from
the principles of caste system and religion.
 Limits access to various freedoms, including
education
Need for Egalitarianism
 Disability is another area which has experienced low
priority in the service sector.
 Disabled people’s needs are not addressed in our
society. Inclusive education has not become a reality
yet.
Need for Egalitarianism
 Discrimination based on the religion of an individual
cuts across gender, caste/tribe, class and disability.
 Marginalisation of minorities
 Under-represented in nation-building activities
Impact
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Deprivation
Poverty and ignorance
Poor, pathetic living conditions
Religious exploitation and superstition
Identity crisis, isolation
No human dignity
No dignity of labour
Low status
Mental block
Impact
10. Humiliation
11. Dependency syndrome
12. Inferiority complex
13. Communication gap
14. Escapism
15. We and they feeling
16. Suspicion
17. Poor performance
18. Crisis and conflict
Solution
 Needed a higher platform to have equal
access
 The Constitution of India - the Part III, -
Fundamental Rights, made powerful
provisions to combat all forms of
discrimination.
Solution
 Identifying under-represented groups.
 Caste, gender, religion, state of domicile (N-E States,
Bihar and U P are under-represented), rural people,
etc.
 Reservations intended to increase the social
diversity in campuses and workplaces
 Lowering the entry criteria for certain identifiable
groups that are grossly under-represented
Reservation criteria
 Gender (around 30% of seats are reserved
for females in many institutions).
 Sons/Daughters/Grandsons/Grand
daughters of Freedom Fighters.
 Physically handicapped.
 Sports personalities.
 Non-Resident Indians (NRIs).
 Candidates sponsored by various
organisations.
 Those who have served in the armed
forces(ex-serviceman quota).
 Dependants of armed forces personnel
killed in action.
 Repatriates.
 Those born from inter-caste marriages.
 Widows and deserted women.
Relaxations


The minimum high school marks criteria are relaxed for
reserved seats. For example in IIT JEE reserved category
candidates scoring about 65% of the last admitted general
category candidate are directly offered admission.
Candidates not meeting this cutoff but scoring as low as
half of this are offered admission to a one year preparatory
course.
Age – Relaxation of upper age limit is 3 years for OBC
candidates, 5 years for SC, ST candidates and 10 years for
physically challenged candidates.
 Fees, Hostel Room Rent etc
 Tuition fees and room rent is waived.
 50% of the scholarships are reserved for
SC/ST and OBC candidates
 In each stream, 25% of scholarships are
reserved for girl students and 10% for
physically challenged candidates.
Role of Education
The education system can play
positive interventionist role in the
 Empowerment of people and
 Removal of all kinds of biases which
are man-made.
1.
Teachers can inculcate the ideas and the need for
non-discrimination on the basis of sex, caste,
religion, disability and also briefly explain racism.
2.
Teachers can foster in children equality, promote
and strengthen the constitutional culture/spirit and
stability
3. To promote equality, an awareness of the inherent
equality of all can be created through various
curricular areas.
4. Education can motivate the younger generation for
international cooperation and peaceful co-existence
Education leads to the development of new
values through new design of curricula
and text books, the training and
orientation of teachers, decision makers
and administrators and active involvement
of educational institutions.
6. The curriculum, through its content and
process should reflect the constitutional
obligations
7. Schools can play an important role in
preparing the younger generation for
assuming their roles as constructive and
responsible citizens.
5.
For SCs & STs
Teachers can help to remove prejudices and complexes
transmitted through the social environment and accident of
birth.
9. Schools can carry out all educational programs in strict
conformity with secular values.
10. Teachers can organize various co-curricular activities like
debates, essays, street plays on secular themes like human
dignity and values
11. Administrative staff can be sensitized
12. Education can strengthen the view that whole world is one
family.
8.
For Women
13. Teachers can give examples and illustrations
showing women in different roles with different
responsibilities
14. Teachers can depict men and women in shared
roles through visual aids, puppets etc
15. Teachers can invite women writers, artists,
musicians to talk with the students or give
performance
16. Teachers can counter the prejudices that may be
found in the textbooks
17. Teachers can practice gender equality in the
classroom
18. Textbooks can be made free of gender bias and
sex stereotypes
19. Teachers can ensure gender equality through
curriculum transaction - their teaching should
- be gender bias free and
- portray boys and girls in shared roles
- also women excelling in different
walks of life
For Children with Disabilities
20. Schools should admit all types of disabled
children irrespective of the extent of
disability
21. Teachers should have basic general
knowledge about the education of children
with disabilities
22. Teachers should be able to modify teaching –
learning strategies to teach children with
disabilities
23. Schools should provide support material
such as aids, appliances and books
24. Schools should arrange for specialist
teacher support if possible
25. The need for non-discrimination should be
taught to young children so that the
disability does not become a handicap.
26. Young non-disabled children should be
taught that disabled children are children
first and disabled next.