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Bigotry, bias, acceptance: For EWS kids, school life a mixed bag

A 15-year-old girl from a slum faces discrimination in a private school, highlighting ongoing challenges of the EWS quota and inclusivity in education.

Updated on: Dec 18, 2024, 03:04:39 IST
By Somya Lakhani, New Delhi
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The moment her Hindi teacher announced a group quiz in class one day, dread enveloped the 15-year-old girl hiding in the back benches at a private school in south Delhi. As other students coalesced into groups of friends, she stood alone in a corner – aware that the teacher would have to fit her in one.

PREMIUMThis winter, the parents of a six-year-old EWS student at an east Delhi school could not get him winter jacket with his uniform. (PTI)
This winter, the parents of a six-year-old EWS student at an east Delhi school could not get him winter jacket with his uniform. (PTI)

“No one picked me. I sat in a circle with a group, and handed a book to a classmate, who said, ‘Chhee chhee

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Somya Lakhani

Somya Lakhani is the Metro Editor at Hindustan Times based in New Delhi, with over a decade of experience reporting on crime, gender, labour, politics, and heritage. She heads a team of reporters who cover governance, law and order, the environment, civic agencies, culture, and education, while also leading coverage of some of India's most significant public-interest stories. She started her career at The Indian Express in 2010, where she worked till 2021. She began her career as a features writer before switching to crime reporting. After that, she joined online news portal The Quint as the Current Affairs Editor and headed a team of reporters who worked on long format stories, videos, and immersives. In 2023, she returned to the print newsroom and joined Hindustan Times, where she co-wrote a coffee table book on the history of the newspaper as the voice of the nation for its centennial celebrations. In January 2025, she started her stint as HT’s Metro Editor. She studied history at Delhi University’s Miranda House, and then completed a diploma in journalism from Indian Express’s Express Institute of Media Studies (EXIMS) in 2010.

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