Mridusmita Bordoloi: Reservation in education

The latest attempt by our government to reserve seats for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in higher education institutes has sparked off protests all over the country. Before extending reservations for other classes, it is instructive to examine whether the policies followed for the last 50 years for the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes(STs) have yielded any dividends. Unfortunately, various official statistics continue to reflect the poor condition of SC/STs as far as educational achievement is concerned. While enrolment figures have improved over the years, the dropout rate from schools still remains a cause of concern (see table).

This lack of basic educational qualification is then, naturally, carried forward in higher education. According to the latest census, SCs comprise 15.5 per cent of the population in the age group 20-59 years but those who are graduates and above, account for only 6.3 per cent of total graduates. Again, in the 20-59 years age group, 7.8 per cent are STs, but only 2 per cent of the total graduates in the country come from this category.

The situation in the labour market throws up additional issues. An all-India survey sponsored by the ministry of finance during 2004-05 reinforces the presence of a similar underprivileged situation for the socially backward castes. It reveals that SCs and STs tend to have lower education and are more likely to be in non-skilled jobs. Compared to "non-SC/STs", though the "SC/STs" are more likely to be employed (by about 0.8 per cent), their income is likely to be 10.5 per cent lower. This is true after correcting for household, individual and educational differences. This combination of a higher likelihood of being employed but with a lower income suggests the possibility that the SC/STs are working at lower wages than their non-SC/ST counterparts. In an environment where social biases are strong, many SC/STs will have little choice but to accept a job that comes their way even if it is at lower incomes than received by a similar but non-SC/ST person. In other words, not only are SC/STs inadequately prepared for the labour market in terms of poor education, they are also likely to earn significantly less for the same level of education. It is little wonder that their incentive to invest in education is minimal.

Such a scenario, after 50 years of reservation policies in government educational institutions and public sector employment, is deplorable. The current entry-level reservation system in both education and job market has hardly solved the fundamental problem of low educational attainment. Moreover, the spirit of competitiveness that is very essential in successfully completing a degree course as well as earning a higher income is definitely hampered by reservation. Much more than caste, poor economic status of a household has a significantly higher negative impact on an individual's health and ability to access education. Intervention at this point, that is, reservation based on economic status, would be far more meaningful than reserving seats based on caste. Further, a policy of inclusion with more communication between all sections of society is imperative to remove social biases in the labour market. Extending reservations to other backward classes merely exacerbates divisions, without addressing the roots of the problems faced by the underprivileged in the country.

The writer is Principal Analyst, Indicus Analytics