Indicus Analytics: Class matters

The dropout rate among children in the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe category is still high

In India, the social class into which someone is born continues to determine a person’s socio-economic well-being. This is reflected in almost all social and economic development indicators for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes vis-à-vis the rest of the population. Statistics for the latest period available with the Ministry of Human Resource Development – 2004-05 to 2007-08 – show that the dropout rates at the primary school level among the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes are considerably higher than the overall dropout rate.

However, the shrinking gap between the dropout rate of the rest of the population and that of the Scheduled Tribes to six percentage points in 2007-08 from 14 percentage points in 2005-06 is encouraging. Also, the dropout rate in Scheduled Tribes was higher than the Scheduled Castes by eight percentage points in 2004-05, which in 2007-08 drastically dropped to one percentage point.

The geographical isolation of the Scheduled Tribes had been one of the major reasons for the exclusion or early retraction of children in this category from schools. Government programmes aimed at keeping children in schools have, therefore, brought in some positive results in recent years. (Click here for chart)
 

THE DROP ZONE Dropout rate by social groups (Classes I-V)
Period	SC	ST	ALL
2004-05	34.2	42.3	29.0
2005-06	32.8	39.8	25.7
2006-07	35.9	33.1	25.6
2007-08	30.1	31.3	25.1
Source: Selected Education Statistics

However, efforts to enhance the educational level of marginalised groups have yielded diverse results across states — the dropout rate among the Scheduled Castes ranges between 58.2 per cent and negligible, while among the Scheduled Tribes it varies from 66.7 per cent to negligible. The dropout rate in these two groups is the highest in Manipur and is way above the all-India average. According to the Manipur government, “poverty induced child labour, the abysmal condition in schools and the poor quality of teachers” are some of the major reasons for the high dropout rate in the state.

Uttar Pradesh ranks second in terms of the number of children in the scheduled caste category dropping out at the primary level, while Rajasthan and Gujarat have the highest dropout rates among Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled castes at the primary level. This is indicative of the deep-rooted problems in these states.

In all, seven states have a dropout rate exceeding 40 per cent among the Scheduled Castes; the same is true for the Scheduled Tribes in eight states. It is only in Kerala and Lakshadweep that more than 95 per cent of the Scheduled Tribe children stay in schools past fifth standard. States that have dropout rates of less than 10 per cent for Scheduled Caste children are Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.

Failure to complete even the most basic level of schooling not only has a negative impact on the individual, but also widens the existing social and economic inequalities. It is early days to assess the impact of the Right to Education Act that came into force last year, which provides free and compulsory education for all children in the age group of six to 14 years. However, it is critical that the educational planners understand and identify the reasons behind these high dropout rates in certain states and work towards an inclusive system across the country.

Indian States Development Scorecard, a weekly feature by Indicus Analytics, focuses on the progress in India and across the states across various socio-economic parameters.
sumita@indicus.net