How Classism Still Haunts Education
“Education is supposed to be the great equaliser, but what happens when the educated themselves fear equality?”
There is a quote someone once said to me that has stuck with me: “A literate person might not be the educated person we assume them to be.”
We live in a society where education is celebrated as the very foundation of progress, empowerment, and equality. We are constantly reminded that knowledge has the power to transform lives, break generational cycles of poverty, and create opportunities for those who have historically been denied them. Yet, beneath this seemingly progressive outlook lies an uncomfortable contradiction- not everyone who believes in education believes that everyone deserves it equally.
Classism in education is not always as obvious as denying a child admission to a school. Sometimes, it manifests through subtle prejudices, discriminatory attitudes, and the derogatory belief that certain opportunities should remain exclusive to those born into privilege.
For generations, education has served as a marker of social status. Access to prestigious institutions, private tutoring, English-medium schooling, and influential networks has allowed privileged families to maintain their position in society. Meanwhile, children from economically disadvantaged and marginalised communities have often had to struggle for opportunities that others receive almost automatically.
But what happens when these children begin to overcome those barriers?
What happens when the child of a domestic worker earns a place at the same university as the child of their employer? Or when a first-generation learner achieves more academically than someone who has enjoyed every educational advantage imaginable?
For some, these achievements represent progress. For others, they appear to threaten an established social hierarchy.
The uncomfortable truth is that equality can feel threatening to those who have mistaken privilege for superiority.
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This mindset becomes particularly visible in conversations surrounding reservations and educational opportunities for marginalised communities in India. While policies can and should be discussed critically, the debate sometimes extends beyond questions of fairness and implementation into resentment towards the very idea of historically disadvantaged communities advancing.
The problem is not constructive disagreement. The problem begins when someone’s social background is used to question their intelligence, capability, or right to succeed.
Education, ironically, does not automatically eliminate prejudice. A person may possess multiple degrees, speak eloquently about equality, and still feel uncomfortable sharing the same opportunities with someone they consider socially inferior.
Perhaps this is because genuine equality demands more than allowing disadvantaged communities to participate. It requires accepting that they might excel, lead, and even surpass those who have traditionally occupied positions of power.
And that is precisely where some people’s commitment to equality begins to weaken.
However, education was never meant to be an inherited privilege. A child’s potential should not be determined by their social standing. Talent is not exclusive to wealthy households, and intelligence does not recognise class boundaries.
Creating an equitable educational system requires more than scholarships, government schemes, or reserved seats. It demands a fundamental shift in how society perceives merit, opportunity, and success.
This is also why conversations surrounding educational inequality matter. Platforms such as Unessa Foundation can contribute to these conversations by encouraging awareness, questioning social prejudices, and bringing attention to the barriers that marginalised communities continue to face.
We must stop treating the achievements of underprivileged children as threats to someone else’s future. Another child’s opportunity does not diminish the value of our own.
Ultimately, the purpose of education is not to preserve existing hierarchies but to challenge them.
Because a society that celebrates education while fearing educated equality has not truly understood the meaning of education at all.
