Inclusive Secondary Education in India : Challenges and Future Directions <Special Issue : Right to Education>

The focus of this article is on secondary education in India as the transition phase from school to higher education, as an instrument of promoting education as a right and as the pathway to higher education and through that to social mobility and equality. The dimensions selected for detailed analysis are: participation of the SCs and STs, the gap between the education of boys and girls and the regional variations with a focus on the northeast. I am revisiting this composite focus on marginal social groups after a long hiatus (Chanana, 1993). The dimensions of caste, tribe, region and gender are selected because students from these social groups, region and women continue to negotiate inequitable cultural barriers, a theme I have been exploring consistently in the context of gender (Chanana, 1998, 2006). This is followed by a discussion of the contribution that schools can make to help students move into colleges by providing the soft skills and cultural capital thereby making secondary education inclusive. Last section focuses on the future areas and directions of research

Desafio estratégico da política pública: o ensino superior brasileiro Public policy strategic challenge: Brazilian higher education

Poucas pessoas no Brasil são, em comparação com países desenvolvidos, portadoras de diploma de ensino superior. Admitindo-se que a qualificação da população do país, a este nível, constitua interesse estratégico nacional, este artigo examina as características do caso brasileiro e discute as opções pregressas que o país fez, bem como observa as opções futuras, que estariam abertas ao país. O Brasil deliberou, ainda que não tenha manifestado claramente tal deliberação, por expandir seu ensino terciário por meio do setor privado. Desde o final do século XX esta expansão vem adquirindo uma faceta mercantil. Ao Estado brasileiro, contudo, apetece a estratégia da "não-decisão". Escolhe o setor privado para expandir a oferta de educação superior. E escolhe a via comercial, a partir de 1997, para fazê-lo. Mas não revela tal escolha. Deixa-a ao sabor, senão olhar, do analista das políticas públicas. Resta analisar as conseqüências desta "não-decisão" brasileira. Este artigo oferece números, argumentos e sugestões sobre o tema.<br>Few people in Brazil, compared to developed countries, have a higher education diploma. Admitting that the qualification of the country's population at this level may constitute a national strategic interest, this article examines the characteristics of the Brazilian case and discusses the country's past choices, as well as the future ones that could be at its disposal. Brazil has decided, even thought not explicitly, to expand its tertiary education by means of the private sector. Since the end of the 20th century, this expansion has been gaining a mercantile facet. The Brazilian state, however is interested in a 'non-decision' strategy. It chooses the private sector to expand the offer of higher education. And since 1997 it has chosen the commercial path to do it. But it does not reveal this choice, leaving it to be examined according the perspective of the public policy analyst. One can only analyze the consequences of this Brazilian 'non-decision.' This article provides numbers, arguments and suggestions pertaining the issue