Decoding Exclusion is a 7 episode interview series aimed at discussing the complex issues of exclusion in the Indian education system.
Interviews covered topics of evidence on exclusion during times of crises (COVID-19), solutions for addressing challenges of the most marginalized children from mainstream education, and strategies for reintegration into schools post COVID-19 lockdowns.
Full episodes are available on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube
*Episode 1: Addressing Household Vulnerabilities, with Madhuri Dhariwal (Associate Director, Indus Action)
This episode discusses addressing vulnerabilities by emphasizing the social security of households as cohesive units, and the challenges faced by the state in identifying and reintegrating out-of-school children.
*Episode 2: Short-term Migrants and Access to Education, with Leena Bhattacharya (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Econometrics and Operations Research, Tilburg University, Netherlands)
This pandemic delves into the unique challenges faced by children from households engaged in short-term migration in accessing education, especially in times of crises.
*Episode 3: State & Central Schemes for Out of School Children, with Mridusmita Bordoloi (Associate Fellow, Centre for Policy Research)
This episodes discusses various central and state schemes - including the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan - and how they are designed to address issues of out-of-school children. It also delves into the challenges states face in prioritizing education amidst public finance constraints brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic .
Episode 4: Reintegrating the most Marginalized - the case of Bihar, with Praveen Kumar (Founder, Law Foundation)
This episode reflects on in-depth experiences from the state of Bihar to delve into reintegration of the most socioeconomically marginalized communities, particularly children categorized by law as in 'conflict with law' or in 'need of care and protection' .
*Episode 5: Early Childhood Education during COVID-19, with Namya Mahajan (Co-founder, Rocket Learning)
This episode discusses evidence on deprioritization of education for younger children during COVID-19, and highlights the role parents can play in enhancing early childhood education experiences of their children.
Episode 6: Accessibility & Equitability of Ed-tech, with Ankit Vyas (ESRC PhD scholar at University of Leeds)
This episode delves into the state's role in regulating ed-tech to safeguard children's rights. It also discusses how regulatory policy can contribute to making digital education more accessible and equitable.
*Episode 7: Addressing Vulnerability From Cradle to Career, with Madhukar Banuri (Founder, Leadership for Equity)
Coming full circle, the last episode of the series discusses the urgent need for reform in tracking and delivering entitlements to children and their households - "from cradle to career". It also delved into persistent challenges states encounter in tracking out-of-school children, including challenges of capacity and autonomy of mid-level state leaders to drive change .
(*Hosted episodes)
Acknowledgements
Hosts: Pooja Pandey, Nisha Vernekar
Video design and editing by: Asad Ali
Illustrations by: Hitesh Sonar
Research Team:
Aditya Narayan Rai, Avinash Reddy Pichhili, Kadambari Agarwal, Pooja Pandey, Nisha Vernekar (Inclusive Education Team, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy); Karan Singhal (University of Luxembourg & Luxembourg Institute of Socioeconomic Research)
This interview series was based and born from Vidhi’s report, “Clearing the Air: A Synthesised Mapping of Out of School Children during COVID-19 in India (April 2020-May 2022)”. This report was produced under funding received from Voltas Limited, as part of their CSR Initiative.