Literacy access: Limited to first-gen learners

In todays illusory, abundant world, the label first-generation learner comes with new hope and added weight. It speaks of aspiration visibly twinkling in the eyes but also of the invisible pain the strings of responsibilities attached that follows with stepping into unfamiliar, knowledge-abundant terrains. Classrooms, libraries, and institutions with career guidance may be open for all, yet the routes to reach them are often tangled with confusion for many. Nelson Mandela once said, Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mine worker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another. As we celebrate International Literacy Day today, these tensions feel sharp. Most of us live in a concrete jungle, placed inside a protective layer. We know which lanes to take, how to circle the buildings, and whom to look out for and call when the need arises. There is comfort in knowing that a web of support exists and that the control, more or less, rests in our hands. But for some, the protective layer simply does not exist. No network of assets, no safety net, no idea on routes to navigate through. They are often met with a dead-end. The guidance dilemma Reporting the ground reality is Sarath Kumar G, an advocate and volunteer with Vyasai Thozhargal. He stresses how systemic the problem is: Career guidance is not available. They [students] dont know what they want, what job they should get into, or how they can achieve their aim. They dont know. While this is just the first difficulty, there is a train of problems. The second, a very major one, is the financial problem. Third, they dont have an interest in subjects. Now, many students are just going through the motions. They somehow manage to attend school and finish up without really engaging. This is the case in many schools. That is a block, he adds. Behind the scenes of these closing walls is the absence of family support, leading children to follow the path repeatedly taken by their parents. Marisamy E, who, with the help of Irai Anbu, former chief secretary of Tamil Nadu, runs Mudhal Thalaimurai Arakattalai in Kannagi Nagar, says, In this settlement, there are over 23,704 families, mostly from marginalised backgrounds. Many parents work as daily-wage labourers plumbing, carpenting, masonry earning around `1,000-`1,500 on the days of demand, but without a steady monthly income. Because of this, children dont see education as essential; they believe working immediately is the only way to survive. Parents are often unable to guide them due to their own hardships. This is also the lived experience of Nivetha N, now a third-year BE ECE student, in her higher secondary years. She says, I was worried about my future which college, which course, how much money we have to spend, and whether it will get me a job later. The parents who hold their childs fingers and teach them to walk, fall behind when the walk is in the corridors of educational buildings. Sarath sums up, They put the child into a school. But then, when it comes to making the childs ambitions a reality, they hit a block. Families end up placing restrictions. Instead, parents should encourage and allow the children to go further. Not just stop with, We sent them to school. That is not enough. The parents hit the great wall of uncertainty as they lack awareness. Yet, being passionate about the degree that follows names is a dream for many. Like Joy, founder of Ambedkar Reading Circle (ARC), even reaching college was fraught with compromises. When I first went to college, I had no direction. In our community, whatever was accessible, we would just take that. I did not know about IIT. I did not know about NIT. We just went along, he says. But for Nivetha, it was the digital community that answered her growing mountain of worry and questions. She explains, My parents didnt know much about admissions, so I searched on YouTube and found a channel (@Dinesh Prabhu) that clearly explained the counselling and cut-off ranges. Luckily, I got a 198 cut-off and was very happy. Then, I came to know from one of my school seniors that government seats are available in Anna University, which was affordable. Many families, and even students, consider educational institutions run and aided by the government, as they ease the financial load that comes with higher education. My mother, alone, could not have managed to get me into a private college. If I had to go through a private quota, the fees would be very high. But she wished for me to study. She pushed me. Because she herself had not studied, she wanted me to, says Lokeshwari S, a CA aspirant. On the contrary, Amudha Priya, a volunteer with the Mudhal Thalaimurai Trust, had to wait a year for her college admissions. After completing 12th, I applied for a paramedical degree. I hadnt applied for anything else because I only wanted to enrol in a paramedical course, for which, counselling starts late, in June-July. I couldnt get in because of the minimum cut-off. A year passed, she recalls, as she did not know which door to knock on next. Financial struggles Beyond the confusion, financial stress often proves to be the heaviest burden. Many first-generation learners find their ambitions curtailed by urgent family needs. As Sarath explains, By the time college finishes, being first-generation graduates, they are already tied to household responsibilities. So, though they complete their degree, for women particularly, the family situation is such that the father says, If you go to work, only then the family runs. So even if they decide to pursue further, their aim gets blocked. Debt and family obligations mean that the promise of education often remains incomplete. Joy recalls the burden vividly. Regarding fees, they somehow arranged the maximum that everyone could manage. People would even borrow to study. For Lokeshwari, financial stress was eased only through the Trusts support. Through the guidance I got, I managed to enter Queen Marys College, she says. Adding to the list are some distractions. Marisamy says, When the student sees a man in authority always surrounded by four others, and notices the number of rings on each finger, and the polished chains around the neck, they get disturbed. They want to become one of them. Then, we have to, again, teach them the importance of education how people who hold positions move around the city in official vehicles, have separate cabins and their chairs that could change many similar and other lives. Emotional hurdles Even when financial and academic hurdles are managed, emotional struggles persist. Nivetha remembers the overwhelming anxiety of her first semester. I overthought that I wont be able to pass. The English spoken in class made me feel very small, she says. Joy echoes this, describing the imposter syndrome of sitting in classrooms alongside students who seemed confident and prepared. There were a few people in the class who were very knowledgeable. Some came with clarity about why they were there, what they wanted. But we went into whatever private college we got, not even knowing if it was the subject we liked. For many, helplessness comes not from lack of ability but from the absence of institutional hand-holding. Sarath sees this lack of belonging as one reason for high dropout rates. Suddenly, the atmosphere is new, its challenging, and they cant adapt Some drop out. Even among the students studying in our division, even though we are here with them, still their level of frustration we dont fully realise it. Layered over these difficulties are social barriers. Joy recalls how caste and class divisions marked his hostel experience. In hostels, there were exclusions. It was unacknowledged, but caste and class distinctions were deeply felt. Sarath adds, Behind this system of certain people being first-generation learners, still, there is politics class politics, caste politics. Even if they are capable, the caste mindset blocks them. Unless those obstructions are removed, they cannot progress. Yet, for all their struggles, the students and mentors who spoke carry not just exhaustion but determination. Sarath, meanwhile, continues to push for structural change. Only when career guidance is formalised and not left to chance or volunteers can we stop young people from drifting without direction. For Joy, the struggle is not just about his own community but about reimagining education as truly universal. There should not be kids struggling as first-generation learners in the next generation or the one after that. Everyone should learn immediately. That is when we can say society has moved forward, he concludes.