Populism and Education Policy-Making

The concept of populist policies primarily stems from the idea of catering to the “General Will,” which primarily stems from Jean Jacques Rousseau’s philosophy. Thereby leading to the genesis of policies that benefit the masses. One such area where populist policies tend to play a significant role is the sector of Education policy. Education is a sector that affects the people across all spectrum. Therefore, this entry is an attempt to look at two specific education policies in India that has, over the course of due time, managed to bring the entire populace into the fold of Education and thereby managed to create a more aware and literate citizenry. These two policies are the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Education for All) and Mid-Day Meal Scheme. While, on one hand the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, which is now known under the name Samagra Shiksha focused on adding a communitarian approach to provision of education, wherein not only the children or the students but also their parents, alumni, and the larger society as a whole was involved in the process of provision of education, through methods like canvassing, etc. On the other hand, the prime objective of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme was to not only quench the thirst for education among the children but also satiate the hunger of students with nutritious meal in order to ensure that no child remains malnourished. This policy was also populist in nature because it brought many children from different backgrounds into the schooling sector by giving them the allure of proper nutritious meal per day. Thus an analysis of these two policies goes to show populist policies in the education sector can tend to be more inclusive in nature, and thereby bring everyone into the fold of governance and policy-making.