In the case of India at the time of independence, the total literacy rate was as low as 12 %. The 1951 census indicates that it increased to 15.99 %.This figure indicated that mass education was unknown to Indian society and it was monopolized by upper castes and classes who used to get various government positions and perpetuate their domination. Indian educational system was greatly cultural focused and not linked to the Indian economy which was agricultural in nature.
The distribution of education both in terms of quality and quantity is highly uneven in most societies. Inequality of education opportunities is found not only with reference to individuals and social classes but also in terms of regions and territorial regions such as urban and rural areas.
Our educational system is urban biased in the matter of location of facilities; allocation of finance etc is a well-established fact. Most institutions of higher learning and good schools are concentrated in urban areas. The awareness of their existence and utility is also greater there. The students from the urban areas are favored for admission than those from the rural areas.
This acts as a barrier to the rural person that has the effect of insulating the educational facilities from being observed by the latter.Urban bias in the educational system is sometimes defended on the ground that in the potential progress of developing societies the city plays a dynamic multiple roles as it is the focal point for change and progress and that such bias is not entirely absent even in the western countries. Another group advocates that technical efficiency and economic tenability necessitate educational facilities to be developed as a part of an urban–industrial complex. These arguments counter the role of education as removing the inequalities that it supposes to do.
The inevitable consequence of the urban bias in education has been the neglect of education in villages where a majority of the population lives. Not only is rural education neglected, but it is also suffering from serious ills in its present state.
It is seen that good education is virtually the monopoly of a select stratum of urban society. The institutions are selective as far as the socio-economic background of the students is concerned. Students are given preference that comes from high educational, occupational, and income backgrounds.
While the government has taken up the cause of ameliorating the educational situation among the scheduled tribes and castes the response has been far from satisfactory. It is also seen that despite rapid expansion in their education women are still at a disadvantage compared to men. The availing of benefits of the rapid expansion in higher education by women is chiefly confined to those belonging to the higher social strata and upper caste groups in urban areas.
Inequality of educational opportunities does not take place solely at the level of higher education. In fact, the initial unequal selection takes place at the school level itself and higher education merely reinforces it. A majority of students in higher education have had English medium education and that too in privately managed schools. The public or private schools contribute to the ranks of higher education.
With widespread inequality in opportunities for education resulting from the operation of socio-economic factors education seems to have failed as an effective equalizing factor. However, it is not that education has not contributed at all to the process of upward social mobility but the momentum has been slow considering the social fabric of the country.
Role of State in Mass Education
Democracy gives importance to equality of opportunity. It encourages vertical mobility and recognizes the man as an individual thus defining man based on the collective identity. Education plays a very important role in making democracy more meaningful and relevant. Education offers common knowledge to all the citizens of the country making them aware of their rights and duties.
Equal access to education offers an equal chance for every individual to compete with other individuals to have access to highly valued occupations, skills, and services in society accelerating the process of mobility. Education also helps citizens to develop common virtues important for an integrative role in social life.
The history of education reveals that it has always been a monopoly of the dominant class in societies. Weber in his study found that how their monopoly over education has led to a consolidation of their predomination in the status structure and class structure of the society. The concept of mass education came into prominence in American society and subsequently spread to France and Britain.
In the case of Britain in the post-industrial revolution period public opinion was divided in relation to the type of schools that Britain should set up. Elites supported missionary education for the masses.Labour class demanded government sponsorship to open up schools in slums and sub-urban areas. Multiple school system made appearance in Britain. Though the curriculum in schools was greatly adjusted to meet the demands of industry, the classical converts gave importance on value-education, spoken English, articulation drawing aristocrats in these kinds of school programme
Middle classes went for public schools and rationalized individualism, competition and gratification of self-interest. State sponsored schools running in peripheries got membership from lower class that considered themselves beneficiaries and preferred to go for submission and loyality.As a result different schools produced different classes. Political leadership emerged from the first school, technocrats and bureaucrats and entrepreneurs from the second and semiskilled and skilled labours form the third .This explains that how expansion of mass education in Britain failed to break down the traditional class hierarchy.
Gandhian system of education known as moral education gave importance on character-building, humanism than offering scope to improve their economic position by utilizing skills. It can be advocated that success of mass education is greatly instrumental for promotion of equality in social life as it generates a kind of consciousness in the masses spelling out their duties, obligations, responsibilities both in relation to work and society. The role of government is very significant for the success of mass education program as it has both the resources and ability to take up the work on a huge scale.
“Our education system needs to be equitable, efficient and effective suiting the needs of the society.”