Continue Scholarships for Weaker Sections

Context: Scrapping of the Ambedkar’s 75-year-old Post-Matric Scholarship (PMS) scheme will reduce the already low educational attainment of the SCs.

Reason Behind Low Educational Attainment of SCs

• Exclusion of SC’s from education policies: i.e. first education institution for ‘native Indian’ (1813) was reserved exclusively for the ‘higher classes, and excluded the untouchables from its reach till 1882.
• Lack of financial support to the education of SC’s: till 1944, even after the demand made by Ambedkar in a memorandum to the Simon Commission (1928) and Poona Pact (1932).
  • In 1944, on persuasion of Dr BR Ambedkar, the “Overseas and post-matric scholarships” were introduced, which are in practice today as PMS.

Arguments in Favour of Continuation of PMS scheme

• Rising trend of low priority to higher education for the SCs: due to the reduction in the share of the Central government to PMS a bare 10% (leaves entire burden of 90% on the states, which they are unwilling to bear)
  • Share of the Central government to PMS was 53.38% in the 11^th plan and 57.42% in the 12^th
  • Central assistance to PMS declined by 2018-19 to Rs 3,020 crore (It was Rs 7,345 crore during the 11th Plan which increased to Rs 20,191 crore in 12th Plan)
• Rising enrolment of SCs under the PMS: there is a continuous increase in enrolment i.e. from Rs 18.94 lakh (2002-03) to Rs 31.58 lakh (2007-08) and Rs 49.42 lakh (2012-13) to Rs 59.25 lakh (2017-18).
• Wide gap in Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of SC and higher castes: i.e GER for the SCs was half (21%) of that for the higher castes (41.7%) in 2017-18.
  • The GER for poor SCs (7.1%) is about four times less than the country’s average (26%).
  • GER for SCs is four times less in 5 states; 2 to 2.5 times less (in 10 states) and almost half of that for the higher castes (in seven states).
• High dropout rate among SC’s: at various stages in higher education due to financial constraints.
  • About 14% of SC students dropped out, compared with 9.6% for the higher castes.
• Poor access to professional and quality education: due to privatisation of higher education.
  • Privatisation has pushed a bulk of SC’s to public education institutions that impart literacy in regional languages.
• Moral and legal justification: Untouchables right to education has been denied due to high-caste hostility from ancient period or the medieval or British period till 1882.
  • The Hunter Commission in 1882 observed special objections against the educational attainment of low castes.
  • Report for the year 1896-97 quoted that admission of low caste pupils, led to closure of schools.

Conclusion: Redistributive justice, through “reparation and compensation” (by earmarking adequate funds for the education) can reduce the impact, material or psychological, of the legacy of harm and suffering to the untouchables.