Even though enrollment in elementary schools and national literacy rates have increased greatly in India since its independence in 1949, the number of dropouts and illiterate individuals will also continue to increase unless the needs of the socially disadvantaged are identified and met. The majority of the dropouts and the illiterates belong to socially disadvantaged groups such as the scheduled castes and tribes, urban slum dwellers, and working class families. Almost three-quarters are females. While the rapid national birth rate accounts in part for the paradoxical literacy and illiteracy rates, responsibility must also be assigned to Indian educators who have failed to adapt to the demands of mass education. India perpetuates an educational system whose curriculum is based on a middle class bias. The lower class child is perceived by teachers to be uneducable. A study was conducted to identify factors that account for the low attainment of lower class children. Interviews were conducted with an unspecified number of children under the age of five years and their mothers from lower class groups. Results were compared with the responses of four mothers and their children drawn from the middle class. Findings indicate the following factors including: (1) discontinuity between the home and the school environments; (2) language deprivation; and (3) language use account for the situation. A list of references is included. (FMW)