Paper short abstract:

Across two studies in North India, working-class parents resisted the separation of their children's learning from that of privileged children, asserting that services for the poor are poor services. Their experiences highlight the need for renewed political commitment to a common school system.

Paper long abstract:

In many contexts, research shows that services for everybody fail the poor but services for the poor are poor services. Across two studies in North India, working-class parents primarily expressed the latter view in relation to education. While many middle-class educators made the argument that working-class children’s needs could be better met if they were educated separately from privileged children, working-class parents associated such separation with discrimination and disadvantage. This paper presents working-class parents’ experiences of and perspectives on a desegregation policy that requires private schools to give educate underprivileged children, and distance learning when schools closed for nearly two years during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their experiences highlight the need for renewed political commitment to a ‘common school system’ comprised of ‘neighbourhood schools’ attended by all children in the vicinity.