Schooling access and urban livelihoods : children from waste picker families in Delhi

Schooling is often seen as a promise for brighter futures and better life opportunities; however, these potential outcomes cannot be realised if schooling cannot even be accessed in the first place. While the availability and proximity of schools and educational institutions are undeniably important, it does not necessarily imply access as it is conditioned by various factors at the individual, household, community and institutional level. Based on eight months of ethnographic fieldwork in Delhi, my thesis explores the sociocultural factors which influence access to schooling for children and youth from waste picker families, whereby access entails not only initial enrolment but also progression, regular attendance and meaningful learning which has utility. I also examine how schooling might translate into better futures, and the sort of mobilities which it could lead to. This research is set within the context of schooling as a strategy to enhance livelihoods, especially during a time when waste pickers are increasingly excluded from urban development policies that seek to transform Delhi into a world-class, modern and clean city. Using interviews, informal discussions and participant observation, I explore how aspirations and perspectives towards schooling are shaped by the individual life experiences of children and parents. I consider how access is enabled and disabled by community leaders and NGOs, and how schooling informs the identity-building processes of waste picker children and youth. My findings show that parental aspirations and their perceived value of schooling have an important influence on how they negotiate access to schooling for their children. NGOs play a crucial role in this process, as they empower parents to navigate misrecognitions and acts of symbolic violence from community leaders and bureaucratic procedures that hinder schooling access. I also show how schooling enables one to "become somebody", which encompasses this sense of control and authority over one's self-identity, mind set and development. Through this thesis, I argue that for schooling access to be meaningful, it should be understood in relation to the lived realities of waste picker families - their livelihoods, experiences, relationships and their aspirations. For children and youth, aspirations not only mean what they want to become, but more importantly, who they want to become. Given this, it is important to reflect on the politics of care, and what it means to act in the best interest of the child, so that better and more effective support can be provided to children and youth in their personal journeys.