13000 OBC,SC,ST students dropped out from premier institutions in just 5 years

Over 13000 students from lowered caste groups have dropped out from premier institutions over the last five years according to the Union Government. Subhas Sarkar, Minister of Education state replying to the questions raised by the members in Lok Sabha on Monday, December 4 claimed that the withdrawal rate is majorly due to multiple options for students to choose and migrate across institutions and from one course/programme to another in the same institution. The question was raised by Ristesh Pandey, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) member from Uttar Pradesh. 

According to the data provided by the Ministry, 4596 Other Background Classes (OBC) students have dropped out of Central Universities, 2066 OBC students dropped out of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), and 163 OBC students dropped out of Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). 

Similarly, 2424 students belonging to Scheduled Caste groups have dropped out of Central Universities, 1068 out of IITs,  and 188 out of IIMs. The data also shows that 2622 Scheduled Tribe students dropped out of Central Universities, 408 from IITs and 91 from IIMs. 

“The migration or withdrawal, if any, is mainly on account of securing seats by the students in other departments, institutions of their choice or on any personal ground, “ Subash Sarkar said in his reply. He also added that no record has been maintained by the Union Government regarding the dropout rate in the National Law Universities across the country.

According to the Minister, in order to help students from low-income families continue their education, the government has implemented a number of initiatives, including fee reduction, the creation of new institutions, scholarships, and priority access to national scholarships. “Programs like waiver of tuition fees in IITs, national scholarship assistance by the Union Government, and scholarships by the institutes are also in place for SC/ST students,” he said.  He further added that Equal Opportunity Cells, Student Grievance Cells, Student Grievance Committees, are present to address any issues faced by SC, ST students. 

National average of female enrollment in IITs is 19.73 %

G Ranjith, a member of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) from Telangana, raised questions about female representation in IITs. He sought information on government measures to ensure a 50:50 gender ratio in all IITs and other National Institutions.

In his response, Subhas Sarkar said that while the overall female seat allocation across all 23 IITs stood at 19.73%, the seat allocation in Hyderabad Zone (comprising four IITs in Madras, Hyderabad, Tirupati, and Palakkad) was higher than the national average with 26.26% of seats allocated to female students.

“To support gender diversity, steps are taken by various institutes by providing special scholarships for female students. Targeted outreach programs to inspire female high school students in STEM fields, and counseling activities tailored for JEE (Advanced) qualified female students are also being conducted.” Sarkar said.