Educational and Occupational Mobility of Plantation Youths in Sri Lanka

Abstract

National and international studies reveal that education is one of the key instruments for occupational mobility. Educated workers are more likely to move to a high level of occupation, and schooling has a strong effect on the likelihood of moving to a high level of occupation (Nachumn Sicherman, 1990). The impact of further education on occupational attainment is greater than the impact of basic education (Konig, Bachman and Sacchi, 2000). Occupational mobility via education is a cherished dream of many people who are in the lower strata of society. Divergence in educational and occupational mobility is aggravating the problems of social inequality (Ray, Jhilan, Majunder and Rajashi, 2010). Even though the education of plantation children has become part of the national education system, the educational attainment level of plantation youths is still far behind the national education attainment level, and the occupational attainment too remains without much change (Karunanithy, 2001). This study examines the extent of intergenerational mobility in both educational and occupational mobility of youths in the plantation.