BENGALURU: This year, students from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe backgrounds have fared poorly, compared to their general category counterparts and own performance in 2019.
This has widened the educational outcome gap. There is roughly a 20 percentage point difference between the two social groups.
Less than 50% of the 1.21 lakh SC students who wrote the board exam, cleared it this year, while just a little more than 50% of the 42,000-odd ST students passed.
The general category, with 64,000-plus students, saw 71.60% pass percentage. Students from other backward categories clocked a pass percentage of 58% to 69%.
This drop in performance, and the fact that SC/ST pass percentage hovers around 50, is just the culmination of a deep-rooted systemic problem, say experts.
“A major problem is the common notion that dalit students are a burden on the state exchequer, and are intrinsically incapable of learning. This mindset operates at every level of education -- primary school to university,” says Rajendran Prabhakar, executive director of NGO Marga, and convener of Nagara Vanchithara Vedike, a state-level forum of slum dwellers’ organisations.
“First-generation learners are terribly discouraged,” he adds, pointing to cases of Dalit children being made to wash toilets in Vijayapura district.
“They are insulted and face discrimination in schools. Dignity is essential to their future,” he says. These students usually opt out of education. Even in urban slums, teachers are not encouraging. Students are asked questions such as “why can’t you go work in a garage”, says Prabhakar.
A lack of political will has ensured that the community leads a hand-to-mouth existence.While Rs 30,000 crore is allocated for SC/ST upliftment, norms mandate that 40% be spent on education, 40% on employment and 20% on other welfare. In reality, 80% is spent on welfare (infrastructure, construction) work and a fraction on education.
Social activist Cynthia Stephen, who works on issues affecting the marginalised, said numbers show the system is failing those it seeks to serve the most.
On one hand, the well-heeled go to CBSE and ICSE schools, while on the other, SC-ST labour under many disadvantages when it comes to accessing education, she said.
The class bias is clear in our system, she adds, with state board students given last preference for a seat in degree colleges. CBSE and ICSE students are given a better chance.