Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: Dalit Experiences of Primary and Secondary Education in West-Central Nepal
February 2023
| Chapter
| Educational Transformation and Avenues of Learning: Anthropological Perspectives on Education in Nepal
As ‘untouchables’, Nepali Dalits were effectively banned from engaging in reading and writing and thereby almost entirely excluded from senior positions in both public and private sectors, until the system of reservations was introduced a decade ago. Today Dalits still face multiple forms of everyday exclusion, ‘hidden’ or ‘unseen’ discrimination, even though overt discrimination is now legally sanctioned. While there exists an increasing body of research on school education and exclusion, very limited work has been done to explore and account for the responses and experiences of Dalits themselves, and how these are changing longitudinally. These experiences encompass, on the one hand, much greater Dalit involvement in schooling than ever before, and a much greater sharing of experiences between Dalits and non-Dalits. On the other hand, traditional skills and knowledge systems are very much on the decline. Combining ethnography and qualitative interviews with a range of people, including parents, teachers, students, and activists, with a quantitative survey, this chapter explores Dalit responses to modern education and show how their experiences of school have changed over time. Our study shows that while both the response (in terms of enrolment and commitment) and experiences of exclusion and discrimination in schools are changing for the better, more needs to be done to translate these changes into improved educational and occupational achievements. At the same time, there is a tension between improving Dalit participation in modern educational institutions and preserving traditional skills and knowledge.