WHY INDIA’S EDUCATION SYSTEM FAILS MARGINALISED COMMUNITIES — AND HOW TO CHANGE IT

From rural India to urban institutions, the struggle for quality education for marginalised students in India is fraught with invisible barriers.

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The story I share is not mine alone. It belongs to millions of students from marginalised communities across India who face systemic barriers in their pursuit of education.

Born to illiterate farming parents in Buldhana district of Maharashtra's Vidarbha region, the idea of quality education seemed like a distant dream from my earliest memories. Our village school had broken benches, overworked teachers, and no electricity for days. Yet, it was the only gateway to a future beyond the fields. For students like me, cities like Pune and Mumbai represented the only hope for proper education, but they might as well have been foreign countries: unfamiliar, expensive, and often hostile to our presence.

The journey from rural India to urban educational institutions is fraught with invisible barriers. The financial burden alone crushes countless dreams before they can take flight. Even for those who manage to secure admission, the cultural transition is brutal.

Our accents are mocked, our clothes scrutinised, and our food habits ridiculed. We are made to feel like outsiders in our own country. This constant othering creates a psychological burden that privileged students never have to carry. Many talented students from marginalised communities drop out, not because they lack ability, but because the system is designed to make them feel they don't belong.

A dubious concept