The domain of education with its promise of fostering awareness, consciousness and knowledge achieves a phenomenon that we often don’t realise: stratification. The system of entrance examinations assumed by the educational institutions is a strategy for segregating students who are eligible from those who are illegible. This segregation can be perceived to be necessary to select the best from the rest but this also paves the way for a calculated differentiation in the social fabric. This is the preliminary step towards stratification. The semester examinations conducted by the institutions is to assess the intellectual capability of a student. The subsequent scores attained by the students will be an indicator of differentiation in context to the student who has secured a first class first position to a student with low grades. The marks scored by students will always remain an aide-memoire of the ability of one and the inability of another.
The accentuation upon quality education is dependent upon the institution from where one is achieving their education. Two individuals pursuing the same academic course can be distinguished from where they are pursuing the academic course. Institutions in turn implement the policies of awarding the Best Student/All-rounder student which instils a sense of superiority in the students being felicitated.
One’s mere understanding of the course is not enough, the person who works hard, burns the midnight oil, possess additional knowledge with proper grooming will have an edge over others. These kinds of attributes of an individual, positions her or him in a hierarchical relationship in comparison to individuals who do not resort to the same.
A college that employs innovative methods of teaching and a college that pertains to the run-of-the-mill techniques are not evaluated at par. The use of technology in classrooms indicates the financial prowess of the institution. Since all institutions do not enjoy the boons of technology in their classrooms it becomes needless to say that students will be looking for state of the art education premises. The prioritization of technology aided classrooms against a technology deficient classroom among students and parents alike establishes the hegemony of technology. These tech-aid classrooms can ensure features of LCD Screens, Power point presentations, speakers to enhance the process of learning. Hence, a preference for these tech-aid classrooms over traditional classrooms is another dimension of stratification in the sphere of education.
The most severe form of stratification pervades among the illiterates and literates followed by the ascending order of educational qualifications constructed by the sector of education. Stratification becomes a mechanism of control and regulation of abilities, distribution of occupation and persistence of social fabric. However, this differentiation also brings about insecurity, envy and inferiority complex among the actors.