Education at the Margins: Systemic Challenges and Transformative Possibilities in Delhi’s Slum Communities

A Policy Brief on Inclusive Education for Urban Disadvantaged Settlements Author: Ravindra Kumar Mishra, Senior Fellow, BNSK-Bharat

Urban slums in Delhi, characterized by overcrowding, inadequate housing, limited access to basic services and present unique challenges to education. While the Right to Education (RTE) Act mandates free and compulsory education for children aged 6 to 14 years, the reality in slum areas often falls short due to infrastructural deficits, socio-economic constraints, and systemic neglect. According to Asha India, the literacy rate in Delhi's slums stands at 56%, with dropout rates from classes I-X at 46% and enrolment in higher education at 45% .

Slums represent some of the most marginalized and underserved areas within country’s rapidly expanding and agglomeration of cities. Defined under Section 3 of the Slum Areas (Improvement and Clearance) Act, 1956, slums are characterized by overcrowding, dilapidated housing, poor sanitation, and a general lack of basic civic amenities, rendering them unfit for healthy habitation. In Delhi NCT, over 17% of the population lives in such conditions (Census 2011), a figure that may underrepresent the true magnitude due to the exclusion of unauthorized and unrecognized settlements.

Education in these areas is compromised by both systemic and socio-economic barriers. Although the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 mandates free and compulsory education for children aged 6–14 years, its implementation in slum communities is fraught with challenges. Children in slums often attend overcrowded, under-resourced government schools, provided they attend school at all. Many are forced to drop out early to contribute to family income, care for siblings, or due to safety concerns, especially adolescent girls.

Slum households lack access to essential services that support educational continuity, such as electricity for studying, clean water, separate toilets in schools, and stable housing. Parents often face challenges as they have low levels of literacy, limited awareness of the value of formal education, which further contributes to irregular attendance and early school leaving of children.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed and deepened these educational inequities, particularly through the digital divide. Without smartphones, internet access, or digital literacy, many slum children were effectively excluded from remote learning, further setting them back academically causing learning deficiency and wide learning gaps. .

An effort has been made in this document to explore the structural gaps and contextual challenges in urban slum education in Delhi, and to propose targeted, sustainable interventions to ensure inclusive, equitable access to quality education for every child irrespective of their socio-economic background or settlement status. Legal and Policy Framework

Constitution of India mandates education as a fundamental right and several targeted policies and schemes aim at improving access and quality for marginalized communities, including those residing in urban slums. However, the gap between policy intent and on ground implementation remains substantial, particularly in complex urban settlements like those in Delhi.

Sustainable development Goals: NITI Aayog, the Government of India’s premier think tank, has been entrusted with the task of coordinating the SDGs, mapping schemes related to the SDGs and their targets, and identifying lead and supporting ministries for each target. In addition, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has been leading discussions for developing national indicators for the SDGs. State governments are key to India’s progress on the SDGs as they are best placed to ‘put people first’ and to ensuring that ‘no one is left behind’.

The Goal SDG-4.1 states that “By 2030, ensure that all boys and girls complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.Further the SDG 4.5 states that “By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of Education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations”

1. Constitutional and Legal Provisions

Article 21A of the Constitution guarantees free and compulsory education to all children aged 6 to 14 years, introduced through the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act (2002). This right is operationalized by the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE), 2009, which mandates:

1. No child shall be denied admission for lack of documents.

2. Private schools must reserve 25% of seats for children from economically weaker sections (EWS) and disadvantaged groups.

3. Minimum standards for infrastructure, pupil-teacher ratio, and trained educators.

Despite this, implementation in Delhi's slums faces practical barriers such as lack of documentation (e.g., birth certificates, proof of residence), low awareness among parents, and resistance from some private institutions to the EWS mandate.

2. Key Government Schemes and Initiatives

1. Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA): Launched in 2001 to universalize elementary education. In Delhi’s slums, SSA supports school construction, teacher training, remedial teaching, free textbooks and uniforms.

2. Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (since 2018): The Union Budget, 2018-19, has proposed to treat school education holistically without segmentation from pre-nursery to Class 12. Samagra Shiksha - an overarching programme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to class 12 has been, therefore, prepared with the broader goal of improving school effectiveness measured in terms of equal opportunities for schooling and equitable learning outcomes. It subsumes the three erstwhile Schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE).

3. PM POSHAN (POshan SHAkti Nirman) Scheme for providing one hot cooked meal in Government and Government-aided schools from 2021-22 to 2025-26, earlier known as ‘National Programme for Mid-Day Meal in Schools’ popularly known as Mid-Day Meal Scheme. This is a Centrally-Sponsored Scheme which covers all school children studying in Classes I-VIII in Government, Government-Aided Schools.

4. Delhi Government Key Initiatives:

Mission Buniyaad (Delhi Government): Mission Buniyaad was unrolled on 1 April 2022 to 15 June 2022 across government and civic schools in Delhi to help make up for learning loss caused by school shutdowns during the Covid pandemic.

5. Free Transport facility of girls in rural areas in Delhi

The objective of this on going scheme is to encourage girl students of rural areas to pursue their studies by providing them free transport facilities. Presently, DTC buses are provided in 07 villages of Districts North West A, North West B and South West B. Additional schooling Facilities in the Age Group of 11-14 years & 14-17 years: The main objective of this continuing Plan Scheme is to provide additional schooling facilities to the students of the age group 11-14 and 14-17 years by opening new schools, upgrading and bifurcating existing schools. 

1. Stipend to Girl Students 

   Objective of the scheme is to promote education among girl students belonging to rural areas and JJ Colonies and retain them till their education is completed. 

2. Lal Bahadur scholarship to meritorious students  

   The objective of the scheme is to give recognition and financial help to the meritorious students of economically weaker sections of society. 

3. Coaching Facilities to the students. 

   The objective of the scheme is to facilitate coaching and study camps for the weak students to improve their performance. Earlier, students of SC/ST/ educationally backward minority & weaker section of society were covered under this scheme. The facility of coaching is now extended to all students who has poor achievement level academically. 

4. Examination Reform for Quality improvement. The main objective of this Scheme is to strengthen Examination Branch, to conduct the CCEP examinations from class VI to XII, to prepare and distribute question bank, printing of term-wise syllabus and evaluation of common examination if conducted in vacations.  

5. Bhagidari in Govt. Schools: The  objective of the scheme is to improve quality of education in Government Schools in collaboration with Public Schools, Public at large or N.G.Os.

Key Challenges and Analytical Insights

Source: PAB Minutes of PM Poshan, GOI, https://pmposhan.education.gov.in/

The above graph and table presents enrolment figures, one of the important indicators of access and the number of students availing mid-day meals across three school stages—Balvatika (pre-primary), Primary, and Upper Primary—for the academic years 2023–24 to 2025–26 in Delhi: The data reveals declining Enrolment in Primary and Upper Primary stages:

1. Primary enrolment decreased from 966,091 in 2023–24 to 795,229 in 2025–26 (a drop of

~17.7%).

2. Upper primary enrolment also dropped from 761,278 to 750,600 in the same period.

Possible Causes: Migration, disengagement due to learning loss post-COVID, and economic

pressure forcing children—especially from slums—into work or domestic duties. Improved but Uneven Meal Coverage: While the percentage of children availing mid-day meals improved across all levels, absolute numbers fell in 2025–26, especially at the upper primary level (a drop of ~83,000 from the previous year).

Concerns: Despite better coverage ratios, the absolute decline suggests either rising absenteeism or operational issues in meal delivery.

Underutilization at Balvatika Stage – Coverage improved significantly from 49% to 60% over three years, but enrolment dipped in

2025–26.

Challenge: Balvatika (pre-primary) remains under-prioritized in many slum areas, where parents may not see value in early childhood education or lack access to integrated childcare centers.

Possible Operational and Access Barriers in Slums

1. Slum schools often face erratic meal supply chains, inadequate centralizes kitchens, and

low awareness among parents about the benefits of school meals.

2. High rates of irregular attendance, particularly among girls, may also contribute to

reduced meal uptake despite enrolment.

The PM Poshan scheme plays a dual role: enhancing nutrition and incentivizing attendance.

Gaps in coverage—especially in slums—signal the need for improved implementation, localized monitoring, and infrastructure upgrades.Targeted outreach and better engagement with urban poor communities are essential to maintain and increase both enrolment and retention. Some progress is visible in PM POSHAN access, the decline in enrolment and fluctuating coverage in key stages highlight persistent educational insecurity in Delhi. Urgent, targeted interventions are needed to reverse these trends and ensure that essential entitlements translate into actual learning opportunities.

The National Achievement Survey (NAS): It is a national level large-scale assessment

conducted to obtain information about the learning achievement of students of Classes 3, 5, 8 and 10 studying in State Govt. schools, Govt. Aided schools, Private Unaided and Central Govt. schools. NAS does not provide scores for individual student/school.

It is a national representative survey that provides a system level reflection on effectiveness of school education. NAS findings help compare the performance across the spectrum and across population which may serve as input to move in the desirable direction and areas for remedial interventions.

NAS is useful for educational planners and policy makers including researchers in understanding the interdependence of assessment, pedagogical process and learning outcomes. 

NAS 2021 focused on competency-based assessment. It was conducted in Language,

Mathematics & Environmental Studies for class 3 & 5; Language, Mathematics, Science & Social Science for class 8 and Modern Indian Language, Mathematics, Science, Social Science and English for class 10. Based on NAS Data Comparison: National vs. State (Delhi) Performance The following data compares student learning outcomes across grades (3, 5, 8, and 10) in six key subjects based on the National Achievement Survey (NAS). The figures represent the percentage of students achieving grade-level proficiency, with national and Delhi (state) averages side-by-side:

Source: https://nas.gov.in/ Analysis of the NAS data reveals that: In Grade 3 and 5 students in Delhi perform below national averages in core subjects like Language, Mathematics, and EVS.

• Example: In Grade 3, Delhi trails the national average in Language (52% vs. 62%) and Math (47% vs. 57%).

• This reflects early learning deficits, likely due to lack of pre-primary preparedness, untrained teachers, and poor home literacy environments in slum communities.

In Mathematics there is Consistently Weak Performance across all grades, Math scores are the lowest or among the lowest, with Delhi’s numbers either below or barely matching national averages. Albeit, National average merits attention too. This trend is particularly concerning as numeracy is a foundational skill linked to academic progression and real-world functioning. This may be due to lack of individualized instruction, poor conceptual grounding, teacher absenteeism, and unengaging pedagogical approaches in government schools. Relatively, there is better performance in higher grades. In Grades 8 and 10, Delhi slightly outperforms national averages in Language, Science, Social Science, and English.

• Example: In Grade 10, Delhi leads the national average in English (58% vs. 43%) and Social Science (45% vs. 37%).

This may reflect the impact of Delhi government’s recent reforms (e.g., Mission Buniyaad, Happiness Curriculum), especially in upper primary and secondary government schools.

There is Equity Gap Between Subjects and Grades. The sharp drop from primary to middle school, especially in Math and Science, points to widening inequity in learning outcomes as students progress. This may be harmful particularly for slum children, many of whom already face marginalization, leading to poor retention and transition to higher education.

There is emerging strength in English but uneven: Delhi outperforms the national average in English (Grade 10: 58% vs. 43%), likely due to a push for English-medium instruction and better urban exposure. However, this is often skewed toward more stable, recognized settlements; children in unauthorized slums still lack foundational English skills due to poor early literacy access. Key Challenges Identified w.r.t slum children

1. Foundational Learning Gaps (Grades 1–5): Slum children often enter school without pre-literacy or numeracy skills; Overcrowded classrooms and insufficient support mean these gaps persist. 2. Weak Math Pedagogy: Lack of trained math teachers and student fear of the subject leads to poor engagement and performance; Few remedial or peer learning interventions exist in slum schools. 3. Language Barrier and Home Environment: Many children in slums speak dialects or regional languages at home, while instruction is in Hindi or English; Parents often lack literacy to support homework or reading habits. 4. Teacher Shortages and Ineffective Teaching Practices: Government schools in slum clusters often report high pupil-teacher ratios and untrained contract teachers. 5. Assessment and Feedback Gaps: NAS is diagnostic, but there is minimal localized follow-up in slum schools to address gaps through remedial action. 6. Digital Divide Post-Pandemic: COVID-era learning loss remains unresolved due to lack of digital infrastructure in slums - impacting current performance levels. According to UDISE 2021 there are 151600 teachers in 5619 schools and PTR in schools of Delhi is 30:1 which complies RTE Norms. Policy Recommendations and Best Practices

In order to address the persistent educational inequalities in Delhi, especially in slum communities, a multi-facet approach, local self-governance and community-responsive strategy is essential.

Recommendations:

1. Strengthening Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN)

• Learning recovery programms such as Delhi's Mission Buniyaad across all government and MCD schools in slum-dominated wards should be Institutionalized.

• Mobile learning units and community learning centers in unrecognized slums to reach out-of-school and dropout children should be deployed.

• Multilingual teaching aids to bridge home-school language gaps, especially in migrant communities should be integrated,

2. Expansion of digital Inclusion and EdTech Access

• Government funded digital devices (tablets/smartphones) should be distribute to students in slums, prioritizing girls and those in upper grades with uninterrupted internet access by installing community wi-fi hotspots..

• Partnership with CSR and NGOs may be of help.

• Low-bandwidth educational apps and offline digital content tailored for urban poor children should be developed.

3. Strengthening Community and Parental Engagement

• Parental awareness campaigns on the value of education, mid-day meals, and school retention, using local influencers and community leaders should be a regular feature of the schools.

• Regular SMC meeting should be organised as the convenience of the members. Launch

4. Ensuring Policy Inclusion for Migrant and Unrecognized Settlements

• Admission and KYC procedures under the RTE Act to allow enrolment without rigid documentation (proof of residence, Aadhar) should be simplified.

• Transport facility and/or transport vouchers or safe commute options for children living in slums far from the nearest school should be ensured.

• The PAB minutes and recommendations should underline slum-specific educational needs in the Annual Work Plans (AWPs) of Samagra Shiksha.

• Delhi’s experiment with Mohalla Classes during the pandemic offered informal, street-based classes with trained volunteers which may be an adaptive model for transient and underserved slum communities.

Best Practice:

• The Delhi Government’s Happiness Curriculum integrates mindfulness and well-being into daily instruction, fostering emotional resilience and focus among children from high-stress slum environments.

Conclusion

Bridging the education divide in Delhi’s urban slums requires more than policy intent-it demands localized execution, community involvement, and inter-departmental convergence between education, health, urban development, and women & child welfare departments. Drawing from best practices and tailoring them to the socio-economic realities of slum communities will ensure not just access, but equity and quality in education for all. References: 1. Asha India. (n.d.). Delhi slums. Asha for Education. Retrieved June 1, 2025, from https://asha-india.org/how-we-help/the-slums-of-delhi/

2. Baruah, S. (2022, May 27). NAS Survey 2021: Delhi among 5 lowest performing states for Class 3; improves at Class 8 level. The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/education/nas-survey-2021-delhi-in-5-lowest-performing-states-at-class-3-level-7937850/

3. Barman, S. R. (2022, May 26). Across class, subject, Covid hits school scores. The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/education/across-class-subject-covid-hits-school-scores-7936439/

4. Government of India, Press Information Bureau. (2024, December 6). Government has approved the Centrally Sponsored Scheme ‘Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM-POSHAN)’ for providing hot cooked meal from 2021–22 to 2025–26 [Press release]. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2082323

5. Handa, A. (2025, April 11). Underfunded, understaffed, underwhelming: Why Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan is failing. The Quint. https://www.thequint.com/news/education/samagra-shiksha-abhiyan-data-govt-schools-new-education-policy-nep-2020-vacancy-teachers-latest

6. Iftikhar, F. (2025, May 13). Slide in govt school enrolments continued in 2024–25; UP alone witnessed drop of 21.82 lakh. ThePrint. https://theprint.in/india/education/slide-in-govt-school-enrolments-continued-in-2024-25-up-alone-witnessed-drop-of-21-82-lakh/2624027/

7. National Council of Educational Research and Training. (2021). National Achievement Survey 2021 – State Report (Delhi). https://ncert.nic.in

8. Times of India. (2021, May 15). What is Right to Education Act (RTE Act)? Times of India (Readers’ Blog). https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/igoravsharma/what-is-right-to-education-act-rte-act-32034/

9. UDISE+. (2022). UDISE+ 2021–22: Flash statistics. Government of India, Ministry of Education. https://education.gov.in

10. Ministry of Education, Government of India. (2025). PM POSHAN dashboard. https://pmposhan.education.gov.in/

11. Ministry of Education, Government of India. (2025). Official website. https://www.education.gov.in/

12. National Achievement Survey (NAS). (2025). Dashboard and national data portal. https://nas.gov.in/

13. United Nations in India. (2025). Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in India. https://india.un.org/en/sdgs

14. Ministry of Education, Government of India. (2020). National Education Policy 2020. https://www.education.gov.in/