Though it is true that human beings are not equal in ability and proficiency and though it would be illogical and not ideal to think of a society which may give equal status and equal rewards to all its members, yet providing equal opportunities to all people for achieving their goal? And aspirations are necessary. Here we are not talking of economic inequalities among people but of what Beteille has called inequalities in conditions of existence.
We are thus talking neither of inequalities based on nature (i.e., differences in age, health, bodily strength, or qualities of mind) nor those based on types of societies like, tribal, agrarian, and industrial) but inequality in terms of qualities and performances, or the factors which enable a person to achieve status and power.
The effort of a society which seeks to equalise opportunity, therefore, largely takes the form of providing services which compensate for the inequality in economic background through socialised community services and through provision of educational facilities.
There are, of course, obvious difficulties in the way of providing such facilities adequately and universally. It is almost impossible for a society like India to provide free education to all those desirous of benefiting by it, except at selected stages, say at primary level and to those who are needy and meritorious. This already gives rise to one type of inequality in opportunities. While the children of the needy can have education only if they are meritorious, the children of the well-to-do can go to schools so long as they can pay for it.
Equality of opportunity for improving one’s social standing is a recent idea that has been accepted after rejecting the all-importance of the ascribed status and recognising the importance of the achieved status in individual’s life. Gore has also said that social mobility has become feasible after individual status has been freed of its hereditary moorings. He holds that acquiring technical expertise, occupying high administrative office, and learning a new profession are some of the avenues for the achievement of monetary success and social esteem in a society. Achieving merit and ability is possible only through education.
Though education does not guarantee high status and higher positions to all people, yet without education, an individual is unlikely to achieve social mobility.