No amount of debate over the creamy layer and sub-quota for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes would yield any concrete result till the real issues are not addressed. Seats reserved for all these categories in bureaucracy, academics, police, railways, health sector, and other government jobs may continue to remain vacant even if we raise the quota for them or introduce the concept of sub-categorisation .
How can we imagine about filling these posts when Musahars and Bhuiyans, the weakest of all the Dalit castes of North India, produce only five to six graduates in the population of 10,000?
A cosmetic study may reveal that the Dalits and even many backward castes have climbed up a few rungs in the last few years but a deeper analysis reveals that the gap continues to increase because those in the general categories have gone up the ladder much faster.
Problems At Grassroots
The problem lies at the grassroots level where the situation for Dalits, tribals and even many backward castes has not improved – barring a very small section of them. The deteriorating educational standard in the government schools where the children of weaker section of the society go in overwhelming number is an important reason.
Besides, massive migration, displacement for the so-called developmental works, and geographical
dislocation have wreaked havoc among them. They may have got some less-paying employment in the far off urban centres, but have lost mental peace to think seriously about the future of their next generation.
Since the living cost in the metros are high, they fail to save much from their wages to send money back home. As the male members have witnessed big migration and the female folk are also engaged in back-breaking menial employment in native place there is little scope of next generation getting proper education to fill the quotas or even sub-quotas.
It is true that the enrolment of children from these sections has increased thanks to the mid-day meal scheme, distribution of uniforms, bicycles, scholarships etc but the quality of education imparted to them has not gone up, rather has declined in most states. This is notwithstanding the fact that in many cases the teachers—contractual or permanent, appointed in these schools might have better degrees as compared to the past.
ASER 2023 Figures Indicate decreased share of government schools
According to Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2023. “over the years, there has been shift in
momentum towards private schools. Government data indicates a decrease in the share of government schools in the elementary category from 87 per cent in 2006 to 52 per cent in 2020.”
The Report had further said that “The thrust on schooling in regional languages notwithstanding, nearly 25 per cent of rural youth in the age group of 14-18 cannot read Class-II level text fluently even if it is in their regional language.”
It adds that more than half of them struggle with Division (3-digit by 1-digit ) problems.
Only 43 per cent of this age group is able to solve such problems correctly – this skill is expected in
Standard-III and Standard-IV. Only 57.3 per cent could read sentences in English. And only 75 per cent of them could tell their meaning.
In the last three or four decades, the percentage of students coming from the privileged classes in these
government schools has come down drastically while the scope of social audit at the local level has
diminished.
Government officials, even if they are vigilant and honest (though a rarity), have their own limitations. They can force the teachers to come at 9:00 AM in the morning and leave not before
4:00 PM but cannot compel them to teach.
Caste bias is another reason behind this apathy towards children from marginalised communities who actually need extra attention because of their poor family background.
In comparison, those coming from socially privileged castes have switched to the private educational
institutions even in the remote villages of the country. Those upper caste men who cannot afford this, cut their budget elsewhere to send their children to good schools and colleges. They are more aware of the new vocational courses and employment opportunities both in the government and private sectors.
Though the job scenario is not bright, yet students coming out from these institutions have relatively
better chance to get employment opportunities earlier than that of Dalits, STs and other weaker sections. Since upper caste candidates tend to find jobs much before the downtrodden section they have much better chance of promotion.
The private schools are not honest in filling the quota of 25% fixed under the Right to Education Act
2009 for the economically weaker section of the students. Even if they get admitted they face
discrimination, particularly if they are Dalits or Adivasis.
In several states the enrolment in the government schools have increased after Corona Virus epidemic
of 2020 as the parents economical condition has deteriorated.
Geographical Dislocation
The downtrodden section of the people is paying huge price for the developmental works of the
government, especially in the infrastructure sector.
If the government claims to have built 1,000 houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in any
particular district, the greenfields and brownfield projects might have uprooted 2,000 or more families in the name of development.
Unlike educated and well off people, SCs and STs neither have time nor the resources to run for the
compensation money. Many of them don’t even have documents for their land plots.
Without taking into account the harsh reality at the ground level, it is perhaps futile to discuss the
benefits of sub-quota. If the government has failed to fill the existing quota of SCs and STs with the better off among them, it remains to be seen how the sub-quota be filled as the condition of the lowest sub-castes of Dalits and Adivasis is extremely destitute. The urgent need is to pull them out from this sub-human existence.