The article highlights the predicament of EWS quota children in private unaided schools of Chandigarh. It offers insights about what these children have been experiencing and witnessing within or outside the school premises. Based on the field collected primary data from the selected private unaided schools of Chandigarh , an effort has been made to understand the challenges and experiences of the EWS quota children. The broader conclusion drawn from the finding was that all the selected EWS children fall in the Scheduled Caste (SC) category and none of the EWS children were from General category. Further the study has revealed that most of EWS children have not taken pre-school education before taking admission in the entry classes under the EWS quota. These non-pre-schoolers have faced many challenges in terms of adjustment with the school curriculum at an early stage.. Data collected through focused group discussions and interviews with parents revealed that besides tuition fees, other expenditures incurred such as purchasing uniforms, books etc., have increased the financial burden on them. Some parents mentioned that sometimes when they were not able to fulfil their demands due to financial constraints then they had seen shocking violent behaviours among their wards. The results indicate that though there is an attempt for social and educational inclusion of EWS children in private unaided schools but the actual reality as provided by the unheard voices is far away from the envisioned picture of inclusive schools.To enable an inclusive school environment to function appropriately, the administrators and policymakers must think to mitigate not only the learning losses of these marginalised but also address their mental and physical problems, they may exacerbate the already significant and pervasive inequalities in the educational system.
