Abstract
Globalisation and liberalisation has opened the doors of higher education for students from all walks of life—greater access, free flow of information, ideas, plethora of opportunities across the borders, to name a few. However, the results of globalisation of education have been paradoxical in the Indian scenario, especially in the backdrop of the structural changes struggling with the issue of equality. No doubt mass education has taken off, yet, in practice, socio-cultural hegemony exists in the educational institutions. The present article is an attempt to delineate the experiences of women students, pursuing higher education, about their interactions within the educational institutions in the city of Lucknow.
Introduction
As society becomes knowledge driven, higher education becomes the vehicle for success reflecting on socio-economic development of the country. The ideology of socialist society, once seen as commendable is being replaced by economic rationalism and crash consumerism. With increasing globalization and liberalisation, advanced capitalist mode of production has permeated into the structure of society. In such social formation, structure of social inequality is derived from class, cultural and gender domination. The model of higher education itself has undergone immense change–massification, commercialisation, changing modes of delivery, growing mobility, increasing privatisation, new market-oriented courses and fast-changing technology to mention a few. How higher education, in the backdrop of the structural changes of society, grappled with the concerns of equality, has become imperative to the policy-makers and academicians. The issue of social exclusion–inclusion has come to the prime focus in higher education and even now it continues to be urban, language (English) centric, gender and caste-/religion-based. In such a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multilingual society, these parameters are crucial in determining access to higher education. The present article investigates the problem of social inequality with special reference to gender inequality in the Indian higher education. The focus is on the paradoxical impact of globalisation on higher education and how it augmented the social complexity by continuing to disadvantage women. The concern of this article is to detail, how structural inequity exhibit itself not just in the text but also in interpersonal interactions in the institutions of higher education and in the classroom settings which include the curriculum, pedagogy, teacher attitudes, peer interaction as well as institutionalised rituals and practices. It also tries to delineate how gender identity influences the experience of education in higher education and the exclusion of women in higher education. Moreover, caste restraints, rural–urban variations and minority/majority status make it multifarious and hegemonic. Attempt has been made in this article to demonstrate how far the increased participation of women in higher education and market economy has enhanced gender equality.
From the perspective of a critical sociologist, therefore, I investigate how a discourse of dominance is perpetuated within higher education institution in India. Drawing upon the writings of Bourdieu and Passeron (1977) and their discussions of ‘cultural capital’, coupled with an explanation of Gramsci’s notion of ‘hegemony’ (1971), I contend that university/college knowledge is inherently ideological and reproduces the culture of middle classes and perpetuates the established patterns of social inequality observed in status of girl students and experienced by them in higher education and social order of contemporary Indian society.
The article is broadly divided into five sections. The first section introduces some of the central themes and issues that are addressed in existing theoretical perspectives on higher education in India. Importantly, the argument is put forward that one cannot isolate the analysis of educational inequality, particularly for women in India, without considering how other forms of social inequality are manifested in wider social, cultural and political dimensions of Indian social life. The second section deals with locale of study and research methodology. In the third section, the focus is on the social and economic background of the respondents. The fourth section looks at the nexus between higher education, male hegemony, culture and society in India perpetuating subalternity and exclusion in higher education. And the last section concludes the article.
Issues in the Theoretical Perspectives on Higher Education in India
Significantly, the Indian social formation is continually being subjected to change and revision. On the one hand, there is increasing gulf between the urban and rural sectors, and on the other, the emerging middle classes have consolidated their social positions by controlling the professional occupations and cultural institutions. Thus peasants, manual labours and women in all walks of life are continually marginalised from the loci of power and influences in globalising India. One major source of institutional influence, education, has historically been and continues to be controlled in the interest of the middle classes. Importantly, these middle classes maintain both social and cultural dominance. Socially, they have the access, skills and education to avail them of professional employment. Hence, the middle classes have an explicit degree of ideological control in contemporary Indian society. In relation to the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, the dominance is maintained by highly cultured, politically and ideologically influential groups. But unfortunately, women in these classes are excluded from the benefits of higher education.
As in most nations, education in India is both a complex and contradicting institution to analyse. The complexities arise due to many reasons. Different states in India have in place different educational programmes at different stages of implementation. State education bodies have interpreted the central governments’ ‘National Education Policies’ in various ways and have implemented the recommendations in this policy with varying degrees of success. Some states already have a high degree of participation in and completion of higher education whereas the majority of students in other states are struggling to complete their education. Moreover, there remains a vast difference between the quality of higher education experienced by the boys and girls. While these problems are acknowledged as being proverbial thorn in the side of Indian policy-makers and politicians, why they persist has rarely, if ever been, adequately addressed by the Indian educational researchers. Indeed, sociological research in Indian higher education has been marked by a strongly positivists and structural functionalist guise (Naik, 1975; Thirtha & Mukhopadhaya, 1974). Yet few scholars have attempted to present a critical explanation arguing that the problems of Indian higher education are the result of historically derived structural inequalities inherent in the Indian social and cultural formations (Acharya, 1981, 1982; Kalia, 1979; Thapan, 1986).
Central to any critical analysis of education is the role of the state, especially as the state now plays an increasingly important role in capitalist societies in administering and controlling education. Even more importantly, at the level of cultural formation, the capitalist state maintains ideological control by, among other things: determining policy, training teachers, setting curricula, overseeing examinations and generally the bureaucratic running of the university and education department. The university serves to maintain hegemony (class domination through consent). The state’s hegemonic control over vast majority is therefore exercised in two important areas: (a) textbooks and curricula prescribed in university are invariably sanctioned by the education department of the UGC and (b) the large majority of the colleges are sanctioned by the state through their affiliation to particular university. Essentially, these textbooks, not only contain an explicit ideology in fostering national goal but also an implicit ideology or set of ideologies that either complement these national goals and ideas or more often than not, are in contradiction to the ideals of fostering equality in education. Whose interest these ideologies represent and serve is a crucially important question because if the answer is the dominant classes then we can at least go some way towards putting the case for an analysis that views higher education as an ideologically dominant and class-biased social institution. Finally, there arises the third issue of gender domination and control in Indian universities. I approach this issue in this study by discussing the role of the middle class defined also in terms of caste and religion and their domination in educational, political and cultural institutions in UP. In addition, I discuss the role of English as medium of instruction in the colleges under study. My aim in analysing English language as medium of instruction is to uncover the ideology that the large majority of the Indian middle class in general and women in these classes in particular are exposed to and explain how this ideology largely serves the middle class interests to the detriment of class and cultural interests of the Indian subaltern.
Universities today are not merely social but cultural institutions as well. They are sites where culture of the dominance is established and legitimated. This legitimation serves the ideological function of suppressing and marginalising subaltern culture in the established arrangements of the social order and structure of Indian society. University/college processes, pedagogy and curriculum, all play a significant part in reproducing the culture of the students which the college serves. The elite gain educational benefits because of their privileged social and cultural position within the society. The important question that emerges is how this privilege is maintained within an educational setting. For one thing, the middle classes dominate the arena of educational politics in terms of determining policy and curriculum. Yet, educational privileges are also maintained at a more subtle level; that is at the level of ideology.
We have taken cognisance of all of the aforesaid issues in this article while analysing both inter- and intra-gender inequality/discrimination in institutions of higher education.
Locale of Study and Research Methodology
Locale of Study
The study was conducted in ten colleges selected from around 80 affiliated colleges of Lucknow University. These colleges represent myriad social and cultural milieu reflecting on the fact that the educational system still carries some of the feudal strands of thought.
Research Methodology
Sample Selection
The study opted for multistage process in selection of sample. At the first stage, a total of 10 colleges of Lucknow University offering both undergraduate and postgraduate courses were selected, on the premise that the larger the number of institutions the greater would be the number of the units with scope for wide representation. In the next stage, a sample of I00 respondents (females only), were selected from the identified professional institutions. This was done by selecting 10 young students within the age group of 19–25 years, from each institution with focus on representation of gender, reserved category and religion. This selection was made basing on both purposive and stratified random sampling. The data for the study was primarily collected through an in-depth interview schedule and FGDs. These methods were preferred as they helped in establishing rapport between the interviewer and the interviewee and also facilitated weeding out irrelevant information. They assured accurate and complete information, as they provided opportunity for face to face interaction with the interviewees to collect appropriate responses.
Constraints in Data Collection
However, getting entry into the field was not as easy as expected despite the fact that it was not just how much one is familiar with the field but also as a participant in the field. The first encounter was with ‘myself’ as a teacher. I had to understand my ‘subjectivities’ and ‘biases’ and then balance my role as researcher as well as a teacher. The field was rich waiting to be narrated. Though most of the respondents were feeling comfortable with me during interview hours, some of them remained reticent and cautious in the beginning but after I satisfied their set of queries, they were more co-operative and participated readily. The theme of the research was taken casually by most of the institutions under the impression that in today’s age when women are entering all walks of life, who cares about ascribed roles and status. They felt that the topic was a non-issue and in fact would give space for discordant behaviour from the students. However, as experienced during my classroom interactions. 1 I found many questions which opened up a plethora of concerns wanting serious introspection as a teacher.
Background of the Respondents
The background of the respondents was important as it provided conceptual material for understanding the process of gender exclusion and inequality in higher education in India.
Educational Status
Forty-seven per cent of the respondents from general category were pursuing graduation, while 53 per cent were doing postgraduation. Only two candidates of the minority group were pursuing postgraduation. Eighty-two per cent of respondents belonging to backward classes were pursuing postgraduation. On an average, the number of respondents pursing postgraduation courses was higher across the categories (Chart 1).
Economic Status
On examining the economic status of the respondents it was found that only a small fraction (13 per cent) of general category were from lower class while an almost equal number of them were from middle (45 per cent) and upper middle class (42 per cent). The economic status of the minority respondents was very good, as all of them belonged to the upper middle class. Among the reserved caste, the percentage of lower class was higher (27 per cent); almost half of them belonged to middle class. Thus, most the respondents among general and reserved category were from middle class background (Chart 2).
Female Students in Colleges of Lucknow University: Experiencing Gender Exclusion and Subalternity in Higher Education
The gender exclusion has been experienced by the respondents in different milieu within the colleges under study in Lucknow. English as medium of instruction in higher education, preference for type of institution and discipline, rural–urban divide, reservation policy in higher education and future aspirations of the respondents are some of the potential areas where the gender exclusion was vividly observed during the study. The following is the description of the process of gender exclusion occurring in aforesaid areas.
English as Medium of Instruction in Higher Education
Despite the efforts of the government to introduce Hindi as the national language, English still maintains a dominant position in higher education. There are at least four major factors that operate to keep English a dominant language in India: (a) class position of the speakers, (b) its cultural role as a status maintainer, (c) the recent proliferation of its teaching in colleges and (d) its concentration within urban centers. Besides these, English is the link language between most of the states and nations, which further emphasises its importance in the context of political, economic and administrative discourse.
Generally, in India, those who are literate in English are from the middle class. Many of them are in white collar professions. Higher education in the area under study has remained in the control of the middle classes. This was found in the dominant way in which the people from the middle class had structured cultural formation and maintained their control over education in the area. Despite the fact that the UP state has attempted in one way or the other to reorganise the higher education in order to make it easily available to the disadvantaged, excluded and female students, it has not borne satisfactory results. Women and lower classes still lag behind. This reflects on the persistence of class and gender discrimination. In addition, girls are also finding much tougher to compete in this kind of academic milieu pregnant with unequal and discriminatory opportunities in higher education. Undoubtedly, social indicators (as per the data) show that the high level of ideological control in the middle class has remained the mainstay of their continued social and cultural domination over the subaltern groups, particularly the women. The following analysis affirms this fact.
The persistence of English as a medium of instruction overshadows the inevitability of higher education today. The data from the field reflects that even though the overall ratio of Hindi medium respondents was higher than that of English medium (60:40), there were visible differences when the respondents were seen as isolated categories. Nearly 42 per cent of the higher caste candidates were from English medium and 36 per cent of the reserved caste had Hindi as medium of instruction. All the minority respondents chose Hindi as medium of instruction (Chart 3).
Despite the pre-dominance of Hindi as a medium of instruction (58 per cent) among the higher castes, they never felt inferior, on the other hand, more than half of the respondents from reserved castes and 100 per cent minority respondents, suffered from inferiority complex due to Hindi being their preference as medium of instruction (Chart 4).
The following narratives speak volume of the reality of the society and how the English as medium of instructions and created inferiority complex among them, particularly among the reserved category respondents. One of the minority respondents from the reserved caste said:
‘I always fear interacting with English medium students as I feel they would make fun of me’.
Another one lamented:
‘I feel very inferior as I cannot speak in English although I know that the official language in the state is Hindi’.
Some of the respondents were reticent but still confided that their parents were to be blamed for this status of theirs. Had the parents been educated enough they would have guided them properly. The pain experienced by them, especially those from rural society and reserved caste, because of their inability to communicate in English was much more.
‘My parents send us sisters to government schools and brothers to convent school. They felt that for boys it is important as they have to carry the family responsibility… now we feel that we have been denied the opportunity to many career openings’.
Another one retorts:
‘Unknowingly, the English medium students feel superior and look down upon us as less intelligent’.
This demonstrates both intra- and inter-gender discrimination in the higher education institutions.
A clear picture regarding English as a medium of instruction is emerging and it has also accentuated the persistence of its dominance in today’s higher education institutions. English as the language of the educated middle classes in India serves to maintain an internally imposed hegemony while facilitating the perpetuation of a caste-based domination by the indigenous elite (Ganguly-Scrase & Scrase, 2009)
Nearly 25 per cent of the respondents across categories changed from Hindi to English medium after completing high school studies (Chart 5). The data reflects a welcome change with the increasing role of peer advice and exercise of their agency in the change of medium of instruction. However, among the rural background respondents, parent’s advice and teacher’s guidance seemed equally important.
The motivation to shift from Hindi to English medium gets reflected in these responses as almost equal number took the decision on their own:
My friends told that teaching was done mostly in English language and even the books on the subject are of foreign authors. That prompted them to change the medium as it will help them score better, so I did even though it is quite tough for me to manage.
Another response:
‘In today’s globalized world not knowing English is like being illiterate and I do not want to lag behind in the race for success and be immobile’.
The data drawn from schedules as well as my own observation, safely give the impression that the medium of instruction plays a vital role in their perception about self, influence their decision making and add to their experiences of subalternity.
Choice for Type of Institution
The vulnerability and availability of resources was experienced as one of the potential factors for determining the choice of type of educational institution one prefers. The following data logically reflect on this hypothetical assumption.
Most of the respondents (62 per cent) were from Girls’ institution, and only 38 per cent were form co-educational background. For nearly 3/4th of the respondents, the choice of institution was made by the parents and on their own (Chart 6).
However, the reasons for their choice differed from that of the parents. Chart 7 presents a clear picture regarding the reasons for choosing single sex institution/co-education.
Not much difference is observed in the reasoning behind the choice of institutions even when the respondents were segregated except for among the minority, where 100 per cent preference was for same-community institution (Charts 7, 8, 9, 10). The following remarks made by the students reflect on the parent’s preference for women’s institutions and have implications for the civil society formation.
Most of the students studying in girls institutions said that they preferred to study in same sex colleges as it is easy to manage everything in the given environment.
One respondent stated that ‘It is easy to mix around and be careless about dress, walk and talk. One need not be cautious all the time about what will “he” think’ echoes others choice too.
Another comment reflects on the comfort zone:
‘It gives the freedom to be who you are and helps my personality grow’.
However, the parent’s preference for only women’s institutions had different reasons. One of the respondents felt that it was due to strict ‘behavior ethos’ expected from girls.
Distance and single sex institutions were also major issues for parents across the categories. However, distance seems to be a major concern for both the minorities and the reserved castes. Studies show that distance from school is often more important for girls than boys, especially in countries with single sex schools and cultural emphasis receive top priority (Jacobs, 1996).
The deteriorating law and order situation—rise in cases of rape, molestation and kidnappings—compels one to lay certain physical limits on the girls; quite unknowingly one has managed to ‘control’ the freedom of a girl though, in all seriousness, it was merely intended to safeguard her dignity. The respondents belonging to the minority communities preferred minority institutions even though they knew the importance of mainstream education. They articulated their preference for institutions which have high social standing along with that also for same community institutions as that would give them the ‘socialised environment’ with little need to be cautious and adjust. It would help them avoid unnecessary anxiety.
One of the students belonging to minority community stated:
‘my friends often complain about the demeaning remarks made by the classmates— specially on their eating and dressing sense (wearing head gear)’.
As another respondent opined:
‘the college has modest dress code, good combination of tradition and modernity and located nearby to ensure that they can be contacted if required’.
It points out the inherent dialectics between the growing desire for higher education among both parents and students, on one hand, and the choice being limited by traditional social concerns, on the other.
Discipline Preference
The relationship between availability of disciple choices and women’s ability to access them are not directly related nor are they dependent on women’s academic achievement. In India, girl’s academic performance is generally better or at par with the boys when they finish school. Every year newspaper headlines highlight better performance of girls at the school board examinations across the states. Yet when the girls opt for joining the college, it is not necessarily the subject get priority of choice. Many a times, despite their desire and competence to go in for professional courses, they are unable to get admission. The reasons are varied—low percentage, unable to clear entrance exams, lack of finances and parent’s insistence for marriage of girl students. The data from the field show interesting results (Charts 11, 12, 13). Overall, a maximum number of respondents (46 per cent) were from social sciences and humanities, while 3 per cent were from science and 22 per cent from commerce stream. Even now the girls tend to cluster in what is perceived as the more feminine arts and humanities courses (Nambissam, 2004). One of the respondents remarked, ‘why study science when arts is an easy option and a girlie subject’. However, some of them felt that they could have done better in science but could not take up the subject as the investment was much higher and parents preferred giving the amount for dowry to education. Chanana rightly points out that it is the future use of the female body that determines the choice of subject and not the present intellectual capabilities or aspirations of young women (Chanana, 2003).
More than half of the respondents (57 per cent) of the government institutions accepted that the choice of choosing the stream of education had been made by their parents, while only 31 per cent from the private institutions said that the decision had been made by their parents. This clearly indicates that the respondents from private institutions had better decision-making capability than those from government colleges. However, overall, nearly half of the respondents had taken the decision by themselves. The more the upbringing of children was democratic, the better the decision-making capacity was experienced.
Rural–Urban Divide
Besides the discrimination on the basis of caste, the rural–urban divide also invited problems of superiority and inferiority. India represents a picture of contrasts when it comes to education of girls. Various factors, be it financial or social, still prevent them to have an access to the higher education opportunities.
On inquiry regarding the problems they face, more than 4/5th of the respondents from rural background admitted that they feel inferior. It is reflected in Chart 14.
One of the students said:
‘the problem is more in my mind … even if the students from urban background are on the fence I feel they are ignoring me as I am from village and cannot talk in English like they do’.
Half of the urban background respondents too felt that the students from rural background suffered from inferiority complex. Majority of them believed it was because of their inability to talk in English and poor/shabby dressing sense (Chart 14). As one of them whispered:
‘see the major problem with them (rural background) is language … majority of them are from Hindi medium and adding to this is their dressing sense, use of peer lingo so obviously they feel out of place’.
This reinforces the rural–urban divide and shows how preference for language and sense of dressing is much more significant than the subject knowledge, according to the respondents.
Reservation Policy in Higher Education
The reservation policy has been a matter of contention ever since it was implemented on the recommendations of Mandal Commission in the 1990s. The main objective was to increase the opportunities for enhancing social and educational status of the underprivileged and bringing them to the mainstream. However, it still remains bone of contention as the benefits have not trickled down as expected. The reactions of the respondents on the reservation policy present very interesting picture (Chart 15).
Twenty six per cent of the total respondents belonging to general category, 100 per cent from minority and 64 per cent from reserved caste expressed that the reservation policy was helpful. Thirty-four per cent from general category and 36 per cent from reserved caste respondents were of the opinion that the reservation policy was not helpful whereas 40 per cent from general category were of the idea that reservation policy had created new inequalities.
The following opinions of the respondents in this regard deserve here special mention:
‘What it has done is just to add new dimensions of discrimination and inequality among the reserved only … let them fight out this now’.
Others felt that they were denied of their fundamental rights, and it was merely a gimmick for political mileage which erupts every now and then during the time of election.
‘Reservation is a device to meet narrow political ends … you know just a political publicity stunt ... if they are really concerned why don’t they stop corruption’.
The responses of the reserved caste were interesting, though 3/4th of them were assured of the positive impact of the reservation policy.
‘they (higher caste) oppressed us on something not in our hands (our birth) and now when we are being given opportunity to climb up they feel insecure?’
One-fourth of them were of the opinion that it had not really made much needed change. One of the reserved respondents commented:
‘no, it has not helped much even those amongst us who have money and power get the benefit of reservation, the poor are still left out’.
Most of the beneficiaries were positive in regards to the impact of reservation while the general category respondents were quite bitter as it denied them rights to equality and they felt marginalised and discriminated despite they were more deserving and often scored better.
Discrimination within the Classmates and the Faculty Members
Education is often mentioned as means of ‘levelling the field’ for students from disadvantaged and minority groups, opening socio-economic opportunities for them. But the reality is different. India has a history of caste and religion-based discrimination (Deshpande, 2006; Newman & Thorat, 2007). It is no new fact that social discrimination is widespread in the education sector in India (Desai & Kulkarni, 2008).
However, such discrimination is not being openly acknowledged, for it may carry some stigma. Therefore, the faculty and students in the institutions avoid focusing on the prejudices of and discrimination against some their colleagues. The data point out such forms of prejudices and discrimination (Chart 16). Nearly 63 per cent of the respondents did not experience any prejudiced behaviour being practiced either by classmate or the faculty. On analysing the category independently, the result was lopsided. Only 1/4th of the general category described practices of discrimination while nearly 3/4th of the Dalit and 100 per cent of the minority reported experiences of discrimination in educational institutions.
Studies also point out that discrimination in the classroom can further reduce the quality of education. If it exists, Hannah and Linden (2009) in their paper ‘Measuring discrimination in education’ point out studies (Coate & Loury, 1993; Hoff & Pandey, 2006; Mechtenberg, 2009; Taijel, 1970; Steele & Aronson, 1998) which have shown that discrimination can have lasting effects, both reinforcing erroneous beliefs of inferiority and discouraging children from making human capital investments.
Ability, caste and minority distinguish each respondent. The pre-conceived notions about academic calibre of the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) students label them ‘academically backward’. The experiential account of the respondents on the areas of inequity exhibited by the faculty (Chart 17) shows that the teaching, learning activities were the most visible across the categories (26 per cent). Isolation experienced was more social than academic, as one of the respondents commented:
‘I think there is a standard way of thinking that is upper caste Brahmin in nature, which assumes all intelligence is concentrated in the upper caste’.
Other equally important area where discrimination was experienced was class participation (22 per cent). Many of these feelings spawned from inside the classrooms with several respondents feeling left out of discussion and class participation and literally becoming ‘invisible’ to the teachers. Rich’s statement very aptly summaries the feeling of the students:
When those who have the power to name and to socially construct reality choose not to see you or hear you ... when someone with the authority of a teacher, say, describes the world and you are not in it, there is a moment of psychic disequilibrium, as if you looked in the mirror and saw nothing. It takes some strength of soul—and not just individual strength, but collective understanding—to resist this void, this non-being, into which you are thrust, and to stand up, demanding to be seen and heard (Rich, 2011).
The areas of discrimination experienced by the general category students were minimal in most of the areas as compared to those belonging to other social categories (Chart 18). Nearly 50 per cent of the minority respondents pointed to discrimination in teaching learning, evaluation and delegation of authority (Chart 19); whereas, 68 per cent of the backward respondents stated prejudice in class participation and teaching–learning (Chart 20). Initially hesitant to talk about discrimination faced by them in the institution, what came forth subsequently was their anger and frustration at the fact that casteism is well entrenched in the institutions of higher education.
One of the respondents said:
‘Some of the faculties are often prejudiced and a reference to the lower caste tends to be dismissive and offensive, the stereotypical image still persists’.
The teacher often identifies low level of intelligence and academic performance due to change in medium of instruction and the social category to which one belongs.
One of the respondents complained:
‘We are not encouraged to participate in classroom activities, thinking that we hardly have brains to speak… after all what can be expected from the ‘reserved quota’ walas and to top it Hindi medium …’
Their complain and hurt against the classmates too was obvious and expressed:
‘If ever we inquire or show interest in extracurricular activities they taunt—you can never become a big shot, the only reason why you are here is only because of quotas’.
Another one shared:
‘Many times students form groups which totally excludes the rural and reserved and cut them from any kind of information regarding lecture, admission, form filling etc’.
The attempt to link intelligence with other characteristics—race, social class, ethnicity, sexuality—still rests substantially on an unremitting determinism. It represents not the celebration of difference but its construction (Harvey & Schubert, 2000).
However, the rejoinders of the general respondents were unlike the rest. They felt there was no discrimination against anyone. As one of them stated:
‘See the discrimination is in their mind and they feel inferior, so they blame us on every pretext’.
Another response:
‘There are many economically worse off students belonging to the forward classes but they cannot get admission into such institution as they are not the “Reserved Privileged Lot”. They cannot claim such reservations merely because they belong to the “general” category.’
They also echoed that the reserved themselves had inhibitions about their own social status.
As this response stresses:
‘They do not prefer to mix around with us, even out of the class- like going to canteen, or some other place because of certain complexes I guess, even though we try to include them in the group.’
With the dawn of twenty-first century and post liberalisation and globalisation, one may say that the caste-based discrimination is in its fossilised stage, may be widely prevalent only in the rural India. But to our utter surprise, data affirm that the universities have virtually become the potential ground of prejudices against the reserved castes and minority especially the Muslims. New forms of intolerance and radical behaviour seem to have replaced the old patterns of inequity.
Future Aspirations
The data gathered from the field speak volumes of the future aspirations by the respondents, detailed as: (a) proper placement in life, (b) well-established career for women, (c) being a good mother and (d) security from untoward incidences/circumstances.
These future aspirations have been revealed by the respondents irrespective of their social and cultural background. But when we segregate the responses, at the level of general, minority and reserved, we get two more responses, that is, old age security for parents, to pass time till settlement of marriage and at times avoid pressure for early marriage (Chart 21).
There is no denying the fact that women have made progress in the liberalisation process and that too in the sector of higher education.
On examining the reasons for pursuing higher education, nearly all of the respondents across the categories felt higher education facilitates in finding them well placed life partners (Charts 22, 23, 24). Higher education is still seen as investment in girl’s marriage as it improves the choice of grooms and might lessen dowry (Chanana, 2001) as another study quotes ‘it improves their access to high status husbands’. Mickelson (1989) emphasises on the ‘Marriage–Market dimension’ (Frankfort, 1977; Horowitz 1993) of higher education. As Lyotard rightly commented, knowledge has become a commodity that is bought and sold on the market and is also the basis of power (Malpas, 2003). So, knowledge seems to be a vehicle for getting returns, be it social, political or economic rather than for its own sake.
As one of the respondent commented:
‘more than anything else now the boys want well educated and preferably English speaking girls so doing a post graduation course that too in such a prestigious institution is worth it’.
Even though the girls participate in higher education, the reasons for the same do not necessarily get translated into their role as breadwinner. For some, motherhood is as important as marriage.
‘I will be able to guide my children in their studies and to understand them also it will make them proud that their mother is also well educated and fit in the society’.
Nearly half of them agreed that getting good education would help them in becoming good mothers. Despite the dreams for partner and motherhood, the concern for unforeseen circumstances loomed large. A good number of them (3/4th) felt that getting higher education would definitely help them take care of themselves. Education is, among the majority, an investment to fall back upon in case of the daughter becoming a widow or being deserted (Chanana, 1998).
One of the respondents said:
‘if required, I will be able to fend for myself and not be a burden on anyone and lead my life the way I have till now’.
A few of them were not really interested in pursuing higher education seriously, for them it was just to chill out with friends and pass time till marriage is arranged. ‘I am only trying to avoid marriage as I want to enjoy life. After marriage, it will be the same old rigmarole—husband, children, kitchen … I wish I was a boy’. Although a good number of them (3/4th) wanted to take up a career but had no clear picture of how to go about it. Some of the respondents explained the dialectics between aim and effort.
‘everyone wants to be an IAS officer (civil servant) but does not want to put in the hard work …as if just enrolling for post graduation and joining coaching classes would make them realise their dream’.
Though women are entering higher education but for a majority of young women in the academia, higher education is not linked to careers. Social role expectations affect the aspirations of women most of the time.
Importance of Teacher’s Image
Learning takes place within a web of social relationships as teachers and students interact both formally and informally. The faculty not only teach but also shape the dreams and vision of the students, but unfortunately at times, under the influence of caste and religion, promoting intra-discrimination and exclusion in the academic system and this is also true.
More than half of the students across the categories (Chart 25) seemed decidedly influenced not only by the appearance and personality of the faculty but also by caste and religious affiliations.
One of the respondent’s remarks deserves quote:
‘If the teacher does not even look good and smart enough, do you think she can make the class interesting? No, in today’s world be it a teacher or anyone, looks are important.’
Another remark sums up the reason:
‘We need a role model in all sense- looks and personality too, not just knowledge.’
Studies too, point out that attractive professors consistently outscore their less commonly colleagues by a significant margin on students evaluations of teaching (Hamermesh & Parker, 2003). It may sound farfetched but pulchritude (looks) plays a very important role in evaluating the teacher.
However, on segregating the data for each category of respondents, a different picture emerged. For all the minority respondents, religion was an important category for forming image besides others.
While for more than half of the ‘Dalit’ respondents (reserved castes), the ‘caste factor’ played an important role in formation of the teacher’s image, besides other factors. Only 1/4th of them formed image of the teacher on the basis of teaching skills and knowledge (Charts 26 and 27).
After globalisation has permeated into professions, appearance and personality have become very important criteria, yet traditional decisive factors play equally vital role. This can be observed in the table given below (Chart 28).
We as a society have adopted a very utilitarian model of education. For most of the students the main aim of education is to get lucrative job. For this, they require a degree with good marks from university. In order to achieve this goal of scoring good marks, students influence the teachers with the help of factors like caste, religious affiliations, besides others. With this one-dimensional perspective in the process, education has lost its soul. This may be vividly seen in the following comments of the respondents:
‘We came to the institution because of its name in society, but now everything looks like a façade. Most of the teachers help the students on the basis of their affiliation within caste and religious and class groups.’
This statement of the respondent is a testimony to the fact that, of late, our education system has become communal in nature, perpetuating exclusionary feeling and reinforcing traditional gender biases. Hence, the education system appears to have has lost its capacity in disseminating knowledge of equality and freedom, both among the students and faculty.
Conclusion
The study reveals that no doubt, the era of post-liberalisation and globalisation has opened up the doors of higher education for women across all sections of society, yet in practice even today reflections of cultural hegemony thrives in the educational institutions reproducing gender/class and caste dominance and perpetuating new patterns of inequality. Women as a group in this study are heterogeneous identified through caste, religion and class and therefore their experience in higher education is not uniform. Education is still enmeshed within the traditional parameters of social structure. It remains a challenge for higher education to inculcate appreciation for difference of socio-cultural background and also for being constructive rather than creating division on new parameters.
In the analysis of the data on gender and class formation in the study, it was revealed that knowledge in higher education institutions are functioning to reproduce the dominant structure, which promotes the gender exclusion. Moreover, in this article, we have also raised a number of issues and arguments. One of the vital issues is in regards to gender as a subaltern class whose cultural reproductions are determined by their immediate social environment. The experiences of female students within the colleges during the interaction in different situations are patriarchal and exclusionary. These experiences reflect social hierarchy of prestige and power in higher educational institutions in India. In the first instance, they represent a hegemonic determination in that the culture of women as a class is narrowly represented. In the second instance, they reproduce established forms of power and authority. The cultural codes embedded in these structures signify the male dominance and represent the process of a dominant emergent culture edging itself over the established residual cultural patterns. The middle class imagery espoused is now the dominant form of cultural expression in India. However, the basis of persistence lies in the element of residual cultural formation determined by the traditional view of dominance over females (Scrase, 1989).
Three important issues emerge from this study. First and foremost, educational reform in India must seriously address the problem of the innate cultural and gender bias in knowledge. The depth of discrimination of women, in various situations within the colleges under study counters the ideas specified in Indian education, especially those concerning policies of equal opportunity for all in terms of access and fair representation in the promotion of ideal of gender equality. Second, there is a fundamental issue of teaching in English. It must be understood that teaching is not an ideologically neutral activity. Thus, an agenda for reform must not only tackle the problem of ideologically biased knowledge (which fundamentally this study has revealed) but must equally be concerned with the problem of teaching and the models of teaching which beset the Indian education system as a whole. Finally, if teachers teaching in English understand the possible social worlds and characters contained in language texts, then it will perhaps assist them in maintaining gender equality. Students, whether girls or boys, coming from backgrounds of varying experiences and by drawing upon these experiences in teaching in any language, the teachers will enable an improved, culturally vibrant student to develop. Therefore, what is immediately required in India is improvement in design, implementation and evaluation based on the principle that effective and reflexive teaching occurs in a gender free socio-cultural context.