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.

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.

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