1

Higher Education a Site for Contestation of Resources

Shantha Sinha

1. Introduction

The demand for affirmative action in higher/tertiary education continues to be a deeply

contentious issue in India, even as the date for the reservation for scheduled castes (SCs) and

scheduled tribes (STs) has been extended well beyond the stipulated period of ten years.1 Over

time the policy of reservation has also been expanded to cover backward classes (BCs) in

various States, with the governments of those States announcing quotas for those classes

depending on the contingencies of caste policies in those respective States.

There is no unanimity on the reservation policy in education. Some who feel that it

compromises the interests of meritorious candidates are fiercely against it. Others, who support

reservations, contend that they enable deprived castes and communities to overcome many

historical disadvantages. The tensions between these two groups cause an avoidable fissure

along caste-based identities. In doing so, the policy of reservation in higher education has

become a deeply political instrument which has proved indispensable to the mollifying of several

contending communities as well as impacting the mobility of leadership in various political

parties.

At the same time the State gets away from addressing two core issues. The first is the

provision of universal access to education from pre-primary school to the university level. The

second is the provision of full support to those from deprived backgrounds, allowing them to

compete with their peers on a level playing field. The State does not invest adequately in

education. Neither has it wholeheartedly introduced a policy of affirmative action, especially for

the deprived sections i.e. those belonging to the SC, ST and BC communities. It does not

provide equal opportunities and enable quality of education to all its citizens. On the other hand

the State becomes an arbitrator for competing demands on its resources.

1 Article 45 of the Directive Principles of State Policy states that ‘The State shall endeavour to provide, within a

period of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years’, Government of India (2007) Constitution of India (as modified up to the 1

st December, 2007), (Part IV.—Directive Principles of State Policy.—Arts. 43—48A.), New Delhi:

Ministry of Law and Justice, pp.23.

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Background

Soon after independence the new Indian State faced a multiplicity of challenges.

82.8% of its population was non-literate, only 32% of children between 6 and14 years of age

were in schools, a paltry 2.3 million children completed secondary schooling totally and the total

enrolment in colleges was only 4,20,000 students. The systemic denial of education reinforced

and exacerbated the generations of caste discrimination and exclusion faced by SCs and

untouchables. Even the STs were excluded for being non - literates and were forced to move

away from mainstream economy and society.

The framers of the Constitution of India recognized that special attention had to be paid to

the education of SCs and STs. The Sub-Committee on Fundamental Rights decided to provide

for education as a Directive Principle of State Policy, making education a non-justiciable right.

They further promised that in ten years time it would become a fundamental right. At the same

time the founding fathers were fully conscious of the enormous inequities in the social and

economic structures in India. To remedy this injustice (among other provisions) the committee

made reservations for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in education and employment in

all public institutions mandatory2. They felt that it would go a long way in bringing justice and

equity to all those lagging behind.

In practice, providing for affirmative action in the investment in the entire spectrum of

education from pre-primary school education to University education was seldom considered

with the seriousness it deserved. For example, the possibility of poor children having to continue

in schools after class 5 was never considered. Thus a fragmented policy of education was

adopted with a focus on primary education (which was also half-hearted) at the cost of neglect

of elementary and secondary school education. This attitude towards education resulted in

generations of students remaining out of school leading to wastage and stagnation. Even now, a

2It accorded to the weaker sections of society protective discrimination in various articles, including Article 15(4). I

which states that "All citizens shall have equal opportunities of receiving education. Nothing herein contained shall preclude the State from providing special facilities for educationally backward sections of the population.” Article 46 also states that “The State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and, in particular, of the scheduled castes and the Scheduled Tribes, , and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation" pp.33. The Article further states that nothing in Article 15(4) will prevent the nation from helping SCs and STs for their betterment’ notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Articles 15(1) and 29(2).

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child only studies in school for an average of 5.12 years.3 Excuses and justifications such as a

lack of resources to provide for education, or that children had to be out of school and at work to

earn an income and support the family, were accepted without any questioning.

Consequently even after 60 years of independence, according to the Twelfth Plan, less

than one-fifth of an estimated 120 million potential students are enrolled in Higher Education

Institutions (HEI) in India, well below the world average of 26 per cent. Wide disparities exist in

enrolment percentages among the States and between urban and rural areas. Disadvantaged

sections of society and women have significantly lower enrolments than the national average4.

Indeed, India’s GER in higher education in the cohort of 18-22 years of students is much lower

than GER for China at 26% and Brazil at 36% in 20105.

2. Higher Education and Increasing Disparities

The emphasis on higher education began with the Second Plan (1956-61) as envisaged in

the Mahalanobis model of development, which focused on science, engineering and technology.

This brought the investments in higher education to 25% of the total budget on education up to

the Fourth Plan (1968-74)6. To encourage enrollment of candidates in colleges and universities,

education was heavily subsidized as minimal fees were charged for many courses, including

professional courses. These, however, were taken advantage of by children from families that

were well endowed and had the necessary social and cultural capital. This led to a phenomenal

increase in enrollment from .20 million in 1950-51 enrollment in higher 10.64 million in 1960-61

and in 1970-71 to 19.54 million7.

The total number of universities has grown more than six times in the last four decades

to 659. There are 33023 colleges, with one third of them having been set up in the last five

3According to the 12

th Plan ‘The country’s mean years of schooling at 5.12 years is well below the other emerging

market economies such as China (8.17 years) and Brazil (7.54 years) and significantly below the average for all developing countries (7.09 years)’, Government of India (2013) Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017) Social Sectors, Volume III, Planning Commission: New Delhi, pp. 48. Available from: http://planningcommission.gov.in/plans/planrel/12thplan/pdf/12fyp_vol3.pdf ( Accessed on 25

th October 2014).

4 Ibid: Point 21.182, pp.90.

5 Ibid. and also Jandhyala B.G, Tilak. (2014) Private Higher Education in India, Economic and Political Weekly,

October 4, Vol XLIX (40), pp.32-38. 6 Jandhyala B.G, Tilak (2012) Higher Education Policy in India in Transition, Economic & Political Weekly, March 31,

XLVII (13), pp.36. 7 Deloitte (2013) ASHE 2013-Annual Status of Higher Education of States and UTs in India, Government of India

and Confederation of Indian Industry: Delhi. Available from: http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-India/Local%20Assets/Documents/Thoughtware/AnnualSstatusofHigherEducationofStatesandUTsinIndia,%202013.pdf. Source: UGC Higher Education at a Glance-June 2013 and RUSA 2013 (Accessed on 21

st October 2014,)

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years. During the Eleventh Plan the expansion of Central Universities was historic with 65 new

institutions. The enrollment in degree colleges is 16.2 million; in post graduate institutions it is

2.2 million and 0.1 million are registered for PhDs. By 2012-13 the Gross Enrollment Ratio

(GER) of the country in higher education in undergraduate, post graduate, technical and

professional courses increased manifold to 18.8% in 2011-12 from 11.55% in 2005-06,

indicating an increase of 6.45 percentage points. Yet it must also be noted that there are many

who have been unable to compete for higher education since only a limited number of students

have completed higher secondary school education8, which is a prerequisite for tertiary

education. Thus ‘a large proportion of seats in higher education reserved for SCs, STs, OBCs,

and persons with disabilities remain unfilled9.

Disparities in access to higher education continue to exist though access to higher

education has improved for all social groups. The national average for the Gross Attendance

Ratio in higher education is 17.2%, yet amongst minorities this number is much less. For SCs

the GAR is 11.6%, for STs 7.7%, for Muslims 9.6%, for OBCs 14.8% and for girls it is 15.2%.

According to the 64th round of the NSS, GAR in the ST category is one fourth that of general

category students. It is less than half for the SC and more than half for the OBC students. When

compared with the 2004–05 data, there is improvement in the educational levels of SC and the

OBC groups, but a worsening of the figures for the ST group10.

It is usually the poorest who attend the government degree colleges at the district level.

They are usually located at the district headquarters and some small towns catering to the

poorest and marginalized students in the country. Often girls are discouraged to pursue higher

education as reaching the college is a big challenge due to lack of transportation facilities and

also stalking and eve teasing en route. Scholarships, text books, libraries, teachers,

infrastructure and lack of funds also make it impossible to maintain the standards of the

government and private colleges in most districts in the country. The discussion on equity in

8Twelfth Plan op.cit point 21.90: GERs at the secondary (Class IX–X) and senior secondary (Class XI– XII) levels are

62.7 per cent and35.9 per cent, respectively, leading to a combined GER for Class IX–XII at a considerably low 49.3 per cent .The current GER for the combined secondary and senior secondary stages (Classes IX–XII) in 2009–10 at about 50 per cent is woefully low. pp. 68. 9 Ibid point 21.224, pp. 102

10Ibid point 21.225, pp. 102.

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education is discussed in the context of State and Central Universities and institutions of higher

learning but such institutions have largely been ignored11.

The issue of inequity in higher education came to the fore three decades after

independence when other backward classes/communities claimed their share in the educational

resources. This came after the announcement of what was popularly known as the Mandal

Commission Report under the then Prime Minister V P Singh’s Janata Dal government in

199012. This was articulated by a new generation of youth from backward classes who ‘had a

first exposure to urbanization, which gives caste identities a fresh lease of life’ and thus ‘outside

such rural confines caste identities get a greater scope to play themselves out’13. They felt a

sense of injustice as they did not have the wherewithal to compete with those who had already

occupied the education spaces and therefore sought reservation in education. Indeed it is at this

juncture that the debates for and against the policy of reservations crystallized and continues in

spurts even today.

Subsequently the central institutions were mandated in 2008-09 to provide 27%

reservation for the OBCs without affecting the number of general seats and to provide merit cum

means scholarship as well as full interest free subsidy loans to students whose annual income

was less than Rs. 0.45 million. Several State Universities had introduced reservation of seats to

OBCs in varying degrees earlier14.

11

Most of the findings are based on the ongoing study of MV Foundation on degree colleges in the State of Telangana. 12

The Mandal Commission was established in India in 1979 by the Janata Party government under Prime Minister Morarji Desai with a mandate to "identify the socially or educationally backward as per the mandate of the under article 340 of the for the purpose of Articles like 15 and 16. The Commission recommended 27% of seats to be reserved for BCS and OBCs. The Mandal Commission has adopted 11 social and economic indicators. It was in the year 2006 that the ‘Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006’ was passed and came into effect since January 2007. Ministry of Law and Justice (2007) The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006, New Delhi: Government of India. Available from: http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/upload_document/CEI-ResAdm-2006.pdf (accessed on 19th October 2014). 13

Gupta, Dipankar. (2004) Introduction: The Certitudes of Caste: When Identity Trumps Hierarchy. In: Gupta, Dipankar (ed.) (2004) Caste in Question: Identity or Hierarchy. New Delhi: SAGE Publications; Also see Basant, Rakesh and Sen, Gitanjali (2014) Parental Education as a Criterion for Affirmative Action in Higher Education, World Development, 64(C) pp 803-814. 14

Karat, Prakash (No Date) OBC Reservations- Protect Unity with Social Justice, states “Reservation for the OBCs has existed in many States for a long time. In the four southern States there has been some form of reservations from the pre-independence period. The other States where reservations exist in varying degrees are: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar, U.P., Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. In West Bengal, Orissa, Assam and most of the north-

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3. Private Sector and Exclusion in Higher Education- Recent Trends

Currently the private sector plays a greater role in the provision of higher education.

Approximately 64% of students enroll in private institutions at professional programmes,

colleges, vocational education and diploma15. 38.5% of enrollment is in State run institutions

and 2.6% of enrollment is in Central institutions.16 About 60% of students enrolled are in private

unaided institutions paying full fees while the remaining 40% are enrolled in public-funded

institutions and usually pay very low fees17. Instead of committing resources to education in

order to make it easy for deprived students to participate in higher education, the 12th Plan

recommends re-examining ‘not-for-profit’ status of private colleges in higher education and

allowing entry of for-profit institutions in select areas where acute shortages persist.18 It is

difficult to gauge how encouraging ‘for profit’ private ventures in higher education can be

reconciled with the 12th Plan’s goal of equity in education and how such institutions would bridge

disparities between social classes and communities.

The 12th Plan also recommends an increase in fees both by the Central and State

institutions of higher education as ‘there has been a raise in household incomes’, and it is felt

that ‘maintaining low levels of fees is not sustainable and in fact regressive since it often tends

to benefit the better-off students’. It cites the fact that students enrolled in institutions such as

IITs and IIMs are willing to pay higher fees19 without looking at how many students from the

SCs, STs, or BCs are actually studying in such courses. The issue of increasing fees ignores

the fact there are always new generations of students who need affordable higher education in

eastern States, such reservations do not exist due to the nature of the historical evolution of the caste pattern, and in West Bengal due to the major socio-economic changes which were brought about through prolonged struggles”.

Available from: http://www.cpim.org/content/obc-reservations (Accessed on 21st October 2014) 15

Twelfth Plan op.cit, Point 21.194, pp.95. Ninety-eight private State universities, 17 private deemed universities, 7,818 private colleges, and 3,581 private diploma institutions were set up during the Eleventh Plan period. Indeed this is true of the participation of private schools and colleges at the secondary level as well. Also See point 21.88: Most of the growth of secondary schools in the private sector in the last two decades has occurred among unaided schools (25 per cent of schools). About 60 per cent of schools are now aided or unaided. 16

Ibid: Point, 21.185. 17

Twelfth Plan also Planning Commission (2013) states that 66% of students in general education and 75-80% of students in technical education are enrolled in private, self-financing institutions. As quoted in Tilak, Jandhyala B. G (2014), pp. 33, 18

A summary of the arguments made by Tilak in Tilak, Jandhyala, B.G. (2013) Higher Education in the BRIC Member-Countries-Comparative Patterns and Policies, Economic & Political Weekly, April 6, XLVIII (14) pp. 41-47. Also see Tilak, Jandhyala B. G. (2014) Private Higher Education in India, Economic and Political Weekly, October 4, Vol XLIX (40), pp.32-38 19

Twelfth Plan-op.cit Point 21.324, pp.120

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the same manner as those generations who had previously accessed higher education with a

subsidized fees structure. Indeed, even for needy students, education loans have replaced

scholarships in the policy discourse on higher education. 20

Such a trend could foster inequities in access to higher education just when there is an

expansion of higher education to include SCs, STs and OBCs, causing poor students to

become more and more marginalized. This would certainly have an impact on the growing

inequality between the rich and the poor, manifesting itself in the angst against the ' upper

castes'. It would also result in a demand to expand reservation in education to the backward

communities/classes along with the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes in the private

sector. As long as there is no genuine process of democratizing education and making it

universally accessible, improvement in quality in education will never be resolved21. Real merit

lies in fostering values of equity and justice, which will only be achieved when demand for

education no longer becomes a site for contestation of power or resources. This requires

wholehearted State investments at all levels of education.

4. Policy of Reservation and Elements of Contestation

There are nuanced responses to the demands of the dalits and the BCs for greater

share in education resources vis a vis those who are against the policy of reservation. On the

one hand arguments against the policy of reservation express indignation at the denial of

opportunities to deserving candidates and their future being sacrificed for no fault of their own.

This is aggravated by the fact that candidates aspiring for higher education especially in

professional colleges and central universities spend huge sums for tuitions and coaching

classes at the secondary school level. They feel cheated as it seems that their space for

competition has shrunk drastically due to the policy of reservation. They question why those

who form the ‘creamy layer’ should continue to take advantage of reservation policy and ask if

they were not denying opportunities to the more deserving first generation of scheduled castes,

scheduled tribes and BCs. They also argue that underqualified candidates dilute the quality of

20

Tilak, Jandhyala (2014) ibid 21

The ranking in terms of quality of our institutions for higher education is woefully low as only 2 institutions (IITs

and University of Delhi) featured in the QS World Rankings 2011-12 of the top 500 global universities that too at

the last of the 500 institutions.

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education in higher education. They further argue that universities are necessarily centres of

excellence and therefore such a compromise on quality of education (especially at institutions of

higher education such as universities) is at the cost of the nation and its development. They

criticize the State for yielding to populist and political pressures at the cost of merit. There is

also an argument that although there is a need for affirmative action, the criterion has to be

based on parental education in higher education as ‘the chances of participation increases

significantly with parental education levels and is the highest with parents having graduate

education’22.

On the other hand, those in support of continuance of affirmative action to the dalits and

even expansion of the policy to the backward classes consider such demands just and politically

correct as the policy of reservation enables many of those from deprived backgrounds to enroll

in higher education. Those students who are the first ones in their families to have reached so

high in education acquire a sense of self-worth and a place of pride, despite the struggles in

their everyday life in the classroom and in the institutions, especially when they also have to be

on par with their better-off peers23. This is true for the ‘creamy layer’ as well, who continue to

take advantage of the affirmative action. In this sense a secular idea of basing affirmative action

on parental education does not take into account the reality of social discrimination. Economic

and educational disparities continue in spite of legitimate spaces due to the policy of

reservations for the SCs, STs, BCs and women representatives in local bodies being adopted

by all States24. These sections need time to acquire social and cultural capital and thus some

confidence in competing with others on a level playing field.

Thus the discourse regarding the provision of reservation in higher education to the dalits, BCs

and OBCs has become steadily more polarised. The debate essentially weighs the principle of

equity and justice against the denial of higher education opportunities for deserving candidates.

22

Basant, Rakesh and Sen, Gitanjali op.cit 23

There are at times news items of institutions like IITs and IIMs being biased against students from deprived

sections. For eg: See Srivastava, Kanchan (2014) Caste Discrimination in India's Elite Institutions: Students. Sunday, 7 September 2014, DNA, Available from : http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-caste-discrimination-in-india-s-elite-institutions-students-2016745 (accessed on 22nd October 2014) 24

Desai, Sonalde and Dubey, Amaresh (2011) Caste in 21st

Century India: Competing Narratives, Economic and Political Weekly, March 12, 46(11) pp.40-49.

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In effect this tension will continue so long as the State’s allocation of resources for education

remains halfhearted.

5. Rethinking Education for Democracy

The issue of affirmative action at all stages of action is vital for providing children from SC,

ST and OBC communities’ access to education. The policy of reservation is indispensable

especially at the level of higher education. Institutions of higher education must expand their

base. The fate of a large section of India’s population is sealed when there is a gross neglect

and denial of equal opportunities. By investing in free text books and notebooks, admission and

examination fees, hostel facilities, scholarship programs, remedial coaching and tuitions, bus

passes and offering institutional support such as free education, the State should reach out to a

diverse section of students, including those who are inherently disadvantaged due to unequal

circumstances, and give them an opportunity to do their best.

Merit should be measured in the context of the candidates’ position in social and economic

hierarchies, and the level to which they have been deprived of access to avenues of

empowerment. It is difficult to understate the importance of looking at merit in terms of the long

term impact a particular policy has on society in terms of inclusiveness, equity and justice. It is

crucial to avoid the trap of weighing that impact against a particular case of benefits that would

accrue to a few ‘high performing students’ even if it is justifiable in the short term. In focusing on

‘merit’ as an absolute value there is every possibility of creating a society that is unequal in all

respects. This raises a normative question about the purpose of education vis-a-vis the students

and their learning.

Further, the principles of equity, merit, and equal and universal access to all levels of

education are interdependent and actually reinforce one another. Thus it is only through

inclusive education policies at all levels and equal, unprejudiced participation of all that the

process of democracy and development is fostered and enhanced. Education has the power to

bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. It can nurture equality while many more join the

middle classes. If values of democracy are to be encouraged and respected, premier institutions

of higher learning must set an example for all other colleges on how to practice and respect an

inclusive and diverse classroom, without considering it as a burden.

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Education has a huge potential for changing the existing socio-economic formation by

creating a multiplicity of opportunities and supporting the markets with much needed educated

and skilled human power. Indeed, conventional economists would agree that education is

indispensable for development of 'Human Capital' and the marginal returns on this may never

diminish when compared to investments on physical capital. This is especially the case in the

context of globalization of economies, which can only be taken advantage of when there is

adequate and sensible investment in a child’s education. This does not occur unless the child

has a senior secondary school education and is equipped to seek multiple paths and

opportunities thereafter, which include education at a tertiary level. However the market does

not operate in a vacuum. It is bound by the cultural context. Free participation in commercial

activities is reliant on breaking the occupational immobility caused by caste and the deprivation,

discrimination and the restrictions on access to land, labour, capital, credit, education and other

inputs and services that it implies.25 However, it is hoped that over time mobility will increase

and public and occupational spaces can be shared on an equal footing. This allows society to

go beyond economic equality and foster social equality, thus providing confidence, self esteem

and dignity of all citizens. This inevitably will bring stability in their lives and consequently in the

society as well.

Education also creates new traditions and cultures that abhor inequality, feudal values, and

patriarchy. It promotes greater tolerance among communities and indeed blurs the existing

divisions between citizens, who are able to come together and appreciate values of humanism

and social democracy. Of course this requires transcending shortsightedness, intolerance and

contention among the groups for resources as it is unproductive in the long run.

There can be no excuse for State deficit in education at any level including higher

education. The impact of investments in inclusive education is always intergenerational; it is not

visible immediately. Inclusive education must be pursued on a sustained basis. The State has

to regard it as indispensable for equal citizenship rights leading to greater harmony and

democratization of society. Investing in education must not be a site for contestation of

resources.

25

Thorat, Sukhadeo and Newman, Katherine S.(2007) Caste and Economic Discrimination: Causes, Consequences and Remedies. Economic and Political Weekly, October 13, XLII(41) pp.4121-4124.

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REFERENCES

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Tilak, Jandhyala B.G. (2013) Higher Education in the BRIC Member-Countries-Comparative Patterns and Policies, Economic & Political Weekly, April 6, XLVIII (14) pp. 41-47. Thorat, Sukhadeo and Newman, Katherine S. (2007) Caste and Economic Discrimination: Causes, Consequences and Remedies. Economic and Political Weekly, October 13, XLII (41) pp. 4121-4124. University Grants Commission (2011) Inclusive and Qualitative Expansion of Higher Education. 12th Five-Year Plan, 2012-17. New Delhi: University Grants Commission. Available from: http://www.ugc.ac.in/ugcpdf/740315_12FYP.pdf (Accessed on 25th October 2014) From Internet: Karat, Prakash (No Date) OBC Reservations- Protect Unity with Social Justice. Available from: http://www.cpim.org/content/obc-reservations (Accessed on 21st October 2014) Srivastava, Kanchan (2014) Caste Discrimination in India's Elite Institutions: Students. Sunday, 7 September 2014, DNA, Available from: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-caste-discrimination-in-india-s-elite-institutions-students-2016745 (Accessed on 22nd October 2014).