Challenges middle class Women’s Facing While Pursuing Higher Education

INTRODUCTION:

Lower middle class refers to the class of people in a society having low level of education, lower income and high unemployment, and due to these characteristics they have a low social status. These families annual household income is less than two thirds the national medium. In lower middle class families, parents are not educated and their thinking is not much developed and expanded to allow their daughters to go abroad for higher studies. Moreover, they have not enough income to run the house along with provide better facilities of transportation and fulfill their study expenses. Therefore, middle class family girls must have to stand on their own foot and take the responsibility of their actions. They have to manage their studies and expenses both their self.

ECONOMIC CHALLENGES:

In lower middle families parents like fathers are not well educated and based on their qualification they have not a good job. As due to the decline in the wages of non-educated men, they earn more less income that they earn before. By considering this income they have to manage their household expenses. With the continuous increase in economy and cost of everything from groceries to petrol it is very hard to cover electrical bills and taxes. Inflation increases the foods prices which increase the poorest section of population. Prices of the goods are beyond of their purchases even they don’t have money to fulfill their basic necessities and needs. Poverty is the most critical factor that affects whether a girl can complete her education. Girls belong to the low family income and living ina poorly sector are farthest behind in terms of education.

EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS AND QUALIFICATION:

All parents wanted to educate their children in higher institutes but they cannot afford their study expenses. Students from low income background face issues in taking admission’s in higher institutions. Firstly, institutions charge a very high fee and secondly tuition cost is too high per semester. Therefore, along with father girls have to do job as well to support their family. Children from middle background and low socioeconomic status develop academic skills slower than children from higher socioeconomic status because they do not learn the social skills required to prepare them for school. Basically children start learning and reading in the home environment but due to middle background parents are not educated to teach them. They sent their children in the school that charged low fee.  In lower institutions quality of education is not good. Teachers are not well educated and they don’t have enough knowledge about the subject they taught. Their concepts are not clear so they don’t teach them in the right way. These students have lack of experience and knowledge to develop their basic skills of reading, vocabulary, grammar and oral language. Girls after a long struggle when take admission in higher institution faced inequality in many ways. At the beginning of their career they faced a lack of confidence to make friends and engage in groups. Gender bias with in schools and classrooms badly affects the ambitions of the girls, perceptions of their roles in society because they feel that if they wanted to participate in any activity they will have been rejected, their overall academic performance, choice of their field of study they think that they choose the wrong path for their career, especially affecting those students who pursuing difficult fields like technology, engineering and mathematics.

DIFFERENT CULTURE, BEHAVIOUR AND MINDSET OF PEOPLE:

 Girls from middle class faced difficulties due to different mindset of people. Parents thinking is not developed or expanded to allow their daughters for higher studies. Moreover they worried about their safety that how their daughter suffers in the different environment and recent news estimate that 60 million girls are sexually harassed on their way or at school every year. Due to these facts they don’t allow their daughters for higher studies. Another problem that is common in the higher Institutions is that different background of people are studying there and they found it very hard to make friends whose personality mindset and thoughts matches with them. Engagement of child under the age of 18 is the most serious problem in middle background. Parents fix their daughters engagement without their consent because they believe that they are protecting their daughters from harm or infamy that results from having an outside relationship without marriage.

MANAGING STUDY LIFE ALONG WITH DAILY CHORES AT HOME:

Mostly in middle background girls face many difficulties in their studies. Along with study life they have a lot of responsibilities because after a farther it is the responsibility of elder brother or sister to take care of the members of the family. In families where other members are younger than you  and you are the elder one then  your responsibilities are also vary.  They faced issues in time management. They don’t have time to manage study along with daily chores at home like helping mothers in the kitchen work, cleaning, cooking, taking care of their sick parents or babysitting siblings and teach their younger siblings. Household work and responsibilities creates low self-discipline in girls and they do not properly concentrate and focus on their studies.

TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS:

Transportation is the most serious problem for the students especially girls who are going abroad for higher studies. Parents don’t want to take risk to allow their daughters to travel to school if they have to cover a long unsafe distance. They are worried about the environment and people of abroad countries because many students especially girls are abused and harassed on their way to school every year. So, parents have to arrange proper van for their daughters to protect them from violence and sexual harassment that cost them too high. On the other hand one most important factor that affects the student’s career is the regular attendance and it is only possible when students are punctual in attending classes. If students skip classes they miss out planned instructions that negatively affects their academic performance.