School Exclusion as Social Exclusion: the Practices and Effects of a Conditional Cash Transfer Programme for the Poor in Bangladesh

Hossain, Naomi

Abstract

Evidence indicates that a much-feted conditional cash transfer programme designed to widen access to basic education in Bangladesh has failed in its aims. The programme is analysed here as an instance of the effort to govern chronic poverty. For the state, education fits within a national project of poverty reduction and creating governable citizens. For the poor, education signals social inclusion and access to the state. Yet class and social distinctions through which state actors ‘see’ poor children result in beneficiary selection practices that routinely exclude the poorest from school, with longer-term adverse effects for their social inclusion and citizenship.

Citation

Hossain, N. (2010). School Exclusion as Social Exclusion: the Practices and Effects of a Conditional Cash Transfer Programme for the Poor in Bangladesh. The Journal of Development Studies, 46(7), 1264-1282. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2010.487096

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Aug 23, 2010
• Deposit Date: Jul 3, 2025
• Journal: Journal of Development Studies
• Print ISSN: 0022-0388
• Electronic ISSN: 1743-9140
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 46
• Issue: 7
• Pages: 1264-1282
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2010.487096
• Related Public URLs: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/57a08b5aed915d622c000c3d/WP148-Hossain.pdf