Policy Briefs & Reports

A distinction between consultations to obtain a feedback of experiences and concerns around education and policy formulation needs to be made. The feedback from various civil society organisations of conducting consultations at the village and community levels highlight critical issues of representation of voices of the marginalised. Women, people from disadvantaged castes and tribes, economically weak households and other marginalised are unable to voice their opinions. It is mostly the dominant social groups and individuals who are in the position to influence the discussions. Conducting large group discussions in a democratic and participatory ethos also takes time and training of those engaged in carrying out these consultations. Since the range of participants in the field has increased substantively in the past decades, ensuring representations of multiple voices has become much more challenging.