The Intersection of Identities: Access to Primary Education in Kamrup District of Assam

Abstract

Access to primary education is often interpreted as access to school education, resources inside and outside the school, the way different children are treated by teachers and peers, and even access to distinct types of schools. However, different resources are not accessible to all members of a particular social system based on their intersectional identities. The intersection of identities may be gender, caste, class, region, religion, race, and age group in the context of Assam located in the North Eastern Region of India. Further, ‘access’ is a ‘socio-cultural’ construct that involves selection and multiple interpretations. Access to primary education is linked to the socioeconomic, political, and cultural identity of an individual or a group of individuals. It is against this backdrop that this article attempts to understand the experiences and interpretations of access to primary education from an intersectional perspective. The study is based on the in-depth personal interviews with students, teachers, and parents (in total, 75 respondents) in Kamrup district of Assam, located in the North Eastern Region of India, to understand differing perspectives on access to primary education, which reflect their socioeconomic, cultural, and political locales.