Reframing Education Inequities and the Boys’ Learning Crisis

• In Event: Gender, Equity, and Education for Peace in a Divided World

Proposal

Over the past two decades, India has made remarkable progress in expanding access to education and narrowing aggregate gender gaps. Yet beneath this progress lie persistent and emerging inequities that threaten both individual opportunity and societal cohesion. Dalberg’s recent study for the Gates Foundation sought to uncover these inequities, focusing on who is most at risk of exclusion or underperformance in India’s primary education system and why.

Our findings reveal that while access has significantly improved overall and gender gap has largely closed in learning outcomes on the whole, intersectional inequities remain entrenched. Girls with disabilities are significantly less likely to enroll and complete school, and Muslim children face enrollment rates 13–14 percentage points lower than peers from other religious groups. Socioeconomic status and caste continue to shape educational trajectories, with children from the poorest households and marginalized caste groups far more likely to be excluded or to fall behind (ASER 2022). These disparities highlight the limitations of designing policies and interventions around the “average learner” and underscore the need for more targeted, equity-centered approaches.

At the same time, the study surfaces an under-acknowledged and deeply consequential trend: the emerging crisis of boys’ disengagement. Particularly among urban, relatively privileged populations, boys are underperforming academically and disengaging socially from schooling (Dalberg analysis of ASER 2022). This crisis extends beyond learning outcomes. Rigid masculinity norms and the absence of adequate socio-emotional support leave many boys feeling disconnected, frustrated, and alienated (Dalberg 2025). Left unaddressed, this disengagement risks manifesting in harmful ways—fueling cycles of gender-based violence, political polarization, and vulnerability to extremist ideologies.

This dual picture—of persistent inequities among the most marginalized and growing disengagement among boys—calls for a reframing of how we understand education and gender. Rather than treating boys’ struggles as competing with the long-standing agenda of girls’ empowerment, we argue for a systems-level, gender-transformative approach. Such an approach acknowledges that inequities facing girls, boys, and other marginalized groups are interdependent, and that failing to support any group undermines the broader goals of gender justice and social cohesion.

The study’s implications are significant for funders, policymakers, and practitioners. First, data and diagnostics must move beyond averages, employing intersectional analysis to identify and prioritize learners most at risk. Second, education policy must integrate socio-emotional development and identity formation, particularly for boys, to foster healthier, more inclusive masculinities. Third, gender equity must be reframed as a collective good, not a zero-sum competition, with investments in education positioned as investments in peace and stability.

As education systems recover from COVID-19 and societies grapple with widening inequities and polarization, this is a critical moment to act. Addressing entrenched disparities and re-examining the boys’ learning crisis together offer an opportunity to craft a future-facing agenda for inclusive, equitable education. By adopting a systems lens and embracing a gender-transformative vision, education can serve not only as a pathway to opportunity, but also as a bulwark against division, violence, and exclusion.

Authors

• Subhashish Bhadra, Dalberg Advisors

• Dayoung Lee, Dalberg Advisors

• Saskia Sickinger, Dalberg Advisors