PERSISTING EDUCATIONAL INEQUALITIES IN THE EDUCATION SYSTEM OF NAGALAND

Abstract

The growth of modern education in Nagaland has been featured with an increase in the number of schools and enrollment alongside a healthy literacy rate. Such growth has catered to the growing educational needs in the state and thus, viewed with optimism. However, among the consequences of modern education in a tribal society, since the colonial period, an evident inequality was one of them. This inequality has aggravated with the turns of socio-political changes. It has taken various forms in the present day Nagaland marked with urbanized sections existing in parallel with ‘backward’ and underdeveloped areas, depicting a wide disparity. Such disparity is exacerbated by the existence of poor performing government run schools and a high number of better performing private schools. The presence of a poor performing government sector and a growing private sector in a highly disparate society, such as Nagaland, affects the affordability factor in education. Meanwhile, the location of the schools also determine the accessibility of the various sections of population with regard to education. This paper, therefore, analyses the High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) examination performance and related data from the Nagaland Board of School Education (NBSE) to present the existing educational inequalities and explore other educational gaps within the education system in Nagaland. It also delves into the aspect of accessibility of education for both the Government run and Private schools throughout Nagaland.