Education in a 'Ghetto' The Paradoxes of a Muslim-Majority School

In her compelling journey with a government-aided, Muslim-majority school of (old) Delhi, a manager discovers structures of power, politicking, conflict and harmony. This book explores how teachers, administrators and students of low-income and disadvantaged communities navigate limited opportunities and resources. It examines the socio-economic-cultural background of students, institutional rituals and practices, and the impact of power relations in neo-liberal contexts on the worker-children. It uncovers the power and privilege of those in authority and elucidates how bureaucratic systems in state-run schools tend to overlook the interests and circumstances of students, thus perpetuating their subalternity. Education in a “Ghetto” will be of interest to educationalists, sociologists, historians, political scientists, developmentalists or just about anybody interested in the interface of state, society, and education.

Acknowledgements Introduction PART I School organisation and leadership 1 An introduction to the School 2 The many facets of power PART II The children’s context 3 Children of labourers, working children, and vicissitudes of the market PART III Children, children’s groups, and teachers’ perceptions 4 Different groups of children 5 Religious education 6 Maintenance of boundaries PART IV School functioning and changes 7 The School Gender Committee and its many paradoxes 8 Disciplining the children 9 The ordinary school calendar begets significant changes Conclusion References Index

Farah Farooqi is Professor of Education in the Faculty of Education at Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi, India. Previously, she worked for eight years at the Department of Elementary Education, Lady Sri Ram College, University of Delhi. Her research interests include education, school and community ethnographies, issues of identity, marginalization, ghettoization, and cultural politics.