ACADEMIC CAPABILITIES AND DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS: A STUDY OF ACADEMIC PROGRESSION AMONG OTHER BACKWARD CLASS STUDENTS IN INDIA

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of the paper is to examine output in terms of the repetition rate, dropout rate and transition rate among Other Backward Classes (OBCs) students at various levels of school education in North-Kashmir, UT of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on a descriptive survey method intended to understand the broad trends of academic progression in terms of GER, NER, dropout rate, transition rate etc among OBC students in India. In order to study the academic capabilities among OBCs the data was collected from secondary sources. In India there are various official departments who maintain the records pertinent to the school education like NIEPA, NCERT & MHRD etc. We have used the data available at U-DISE by exercising the internet survey technique from academic years between 2014 to 2017. Findings – The authors find that output in terms of Dropout rate is significantly very high among the OBCs from grade I to the grade XI, shows drastic increase immediately after VIII grade in the three studied areas of north-Kashmir during the three studied years 2014 to 210. The results in overall revealed that there is an increasing trend in the dropout rate after grade VIII among the OBC students. Implications – The evidence provided in this paper underscores the importance of social interactions and necessary interventions in analysing individual outcomes and is improving the educational pursuits of OBC students. Originality/value - The findings may have significantly shown the overall picture of output at different levels of school education and bearings in reducing dropout rates in India.