When it comes to total dropouts according to data dropout data presented in the Rajya Sabha in July 2023, 34,035 students dropped out of various educational institutions. Among these, the highest number of dropouts was reported in central universities with 17,454 students leaving their courses.
In the last five years, an alarming revelation has come to light, indicating that more than 13,600 students belonging to the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes have dropped out from prestigious educational institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), and Central Universities.
This disheartening trend translates to an annual dropout rate of nearly 3,000 students, with an average of 7 students discontinuing their education every day.
Responding to a query raised by BSP representative Ritesh Pandey in the Lok Sabha, Subhas Sarkar, the Union Minister of State for Education, presented the concerning statistics in a written response.
Within the realm of Central Universities, Sarkar disclosed that over the past five years, a cumulative total of 4,596 students from the Other Backward Classes (OBC), 2,424 from the Scheduled Castes (SC), and 2,622 from the Scheduled Tribes (ST) have chosen to discontinue their academic pursuits.
IITs followed with 8,139 dropouts and IIMs with 858. It is important to note that while the data for most institutions covers the period of 2019-2023 (4 years), the figures for central universities and Schools of Planning and Architecture (SPAs) encompass four years, from 2019 to 2022.
Notably, according to the July data, 77 students died by suicide in higher education institutions (HEIs) between 2019 and 2023 and the largest chunk of deaths came from IITs, India's education ministry told Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. According to a report published by News18 in February, among students dying by suicide at these institutions, those from reserved categories are the highest. Over 70 percent of seats in IITs are reserved categories, which also include quotas for economically weaker sections (EWS) and minority communities.
According to government data shared in parliament in 2021, a total of 122 students from centrally-funded higher education institutions — IITs, NITs, central universities, IIMs among others – died by suicide from 2014 to 2021. Of these, 58 percent of students were from reserved categories (SC/ST/OBC) as well as from minority communities.
It may be noted that IITs and IIMs have been hitting the headlines for alleged rampant casteism and other discriminatory practices faced by students belonging to these communities on campus leading to cases of suicide.
Why are students from minority communities dropping out?
Sanjeev Upadhyay, a social policy researcher at Barkatullah University, Bhopal told CNBC-TV18 that one of the primary reasons for students dropping out is the poor economic base of families from the SC/ST community.
“The language barrier is another reason for the dropouts at these institutions. Many students from the community are not well versed with the English language and hence take time to adapt to learning in the new language,” he added.
Meanwhile, a student in his 4th year from IIT Madras who comes from the SC community told CNBC-TV18 that a lot of students from minority communities drop out as they face difficulty in adjusting to the environment due to sociocultural stereotypes.
Additionally, the University Grants Commission (UGC) in August said that it is planning to revise its regulations concerning SC, ST and other minority communities enrolled in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) and has set up a panel to suggest remedial measures to ensure a non-discriminatory environment for these students, according to officials. The move comes after the Supreme Court last month called the deaths of students from marginalised communities in institutions of higher learning a "sensitive matter" that requires "out of the box thinking".
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