There is still work to do to ensure a university education for the less privileged

The remnants of the caste system and socio-economic divides still hold part of society back in India from achieving academic success. India is a vast and varied country, we are increasingly recognized for our technological prowess and its our bustling urban centers.  Our growing middle-class is however offset by the fact that we remain predominantly rural country and society remains stratified. This has repercussions for education attainment and enrolment in higher education.

Socially and economically deprived groups (SEDGs). Two official subdivisions of the population account for a large proportion of our SEDGs – scheduled castes and scheduled tribes (SCs and STs).

For the global reader: what are Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes

The modern-day scheduled castes and scheduled tribes roughly correspond with the ‘untouchables’ of past, those deemed below the 5 levels of the Varna caste system. The caste system has existed for around 3000 years but was solidified and simplified under British colonial rule. It has been Illegal since the 1950s to discriminate based on caste but the mark of the system remains today, including within education enrolments.

Scheduled tribes differ from scheduled castes in that they are classified as marginalized communities on the basis of geographical isolation. There are over 700 scheduled tribes across India.

SC and ST enrolments in university

Young people from a scheduled caste or scheduled tribe background are much less likely to attend university than the rest of the population. Although scheduled caste and scheduled tribe communities account for around 16% of the Indian population, they only represent 2% of university students. This split in university enrolment has remained roughly unchanged for the period covered in Ministry of Education statistics.

Source: The Indian 2011 Census; Government of India Ministry of Education: Total population statistics from 2011, university enrolment statistics from 2019

The gender split in enrolments is less balanced among SC and ST enrolments. While the proportion of women in higher education as a whole has in recent years more or less become equal to men, they remain outnumbered in universities. Overall, women account for 43.3% of India’s university student population. This figure drops off slightly for women of scheduled tribes (41.8%) and considerably within scheduled castes (36.7%).

Source: Government of India Ministry of Education

Why the disparity?

One cause of the problem is geographical. Provision of education in rural communities, where much of the ST and SC population resides, is poorer than in the cities. Schools and colleges are harder to reach, staff are often poorly trained and resources are limited. This translates into poorer attainment outcomes and higher dropout rates.

History and established cultural norms however perhaps play the greater role. Organised stratification of society has lasting effects that can stretch over decades. Although discrimination based on caste became illegal over 70 years ago, the social structures on which the caste system was built are centuries older. Law may change in a day, but they do not guarantee an immediate shift in the mindset of those subject to it. Even in the cities, cultural melting pots where caste distinctions are supposedly fading out, caste discrimination is still very much present. 

Policy

The Indian government recognises the need to improve access to higher education and university for disadvantaged groups. The New Education Policy (NEP) places particular focus on ensuring members of SEDGs stay in education for longer, which include scheduled caste and tribal communities.  

To tackle the existing shortfalls in education provision for the less privileged, the NEP proposes that regions with a higher proportion of SEDGs become Special Education Zones (SEZs). While the NEP does not provide much clarification on what the development of SEZs will entail, it appears they are envisioned as priority areas that will receive more resources than well-developed regions.

Assuming that SEZs match up with regions deemed ‘disadvantaged’, we can draw some conclusions to their form in practice. According to the NEP, students from SEDGs will enjoy free and compulsory access to schooling from pre-school up to higher secondary education. State governments are to ensure that books and libraries are available in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas.  Universities will also be required to establish support centers catering to students from SEDGs.