Access to School and Higher Education among Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes: Changing Scenario and Policy Issues

This paper presents the levels of household income and material well-being among Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribe and landless wage earners in rural India. Income differentials have been estimated from the NCAER's Human Development Indicator 1994 data set, for landowners, the landless and landless wage earners among Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other category (not including Scheduled Caste and Tribes). Among Scheduled Caste and Tribes, landholding households have a much lower level of household income than the national average. This implies that a large proportion of households among Scheduled Castes and Tribes own a very little amount of land. The household income of landless others is much higher than the household income of landless among Scheduled Castes and Tribes. However, the income differentials are least among landless wage earners irrespective of caste. Among landless others only 42 per cent are wage earners, compared to 63 per cent among Scheduled Castes and Tribes. Agricultural and allied activities contribute 56 per cent of ousehold income among Scheduled Tribes. However, the landless wage earners derive only 2.8 per cent of income from this very important source of income. Landless wage earners receive a total of 92 per cent of their income from wages out of agricultural as well as on agricultural wage work. Work participation rate (an indication of employment stress in the Indian Context) is much higher among landless wage earners or compared to that among Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and all of rural India. It must be reiterated that land is the main asset for a decent living in rural India. But the number of landless households is increasing over time more so among Scheduled Caste. As much as 63 per cent of Scheduled Castes own land less than one hectare, compared to all-India rural average of 46 per cent and 43 per cent among Scheduled Tribes.

This article focusses on the growth of higher education within the framework of preferential treatment and supportive measures for the benefit of different social groups, namely, the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, minorities and women. It also reviews the educational policy discourse which assigns several functions to higher education. Some of these are: equity for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes; mainstreaming for the minorities, and equality for women. It demonstrates that the educational policy fails to integrate these functions which remain sectoral aims even at the conceptual level. Further, in the multi-cultural and multi-ethnic Indian society, the parametres of gender, caste, class and region are crucial in determining access to higher education. Again, gender becomes the all inclusive negative parameter conferring cumulative and competing disadvantages on women. Lastly, the educational policies and programmes are unable to encompass the complex social reality within a single framework and are, therefore, unable to bridge the gap between policy and practice.

The study, based on Nss data, reveals thal the per cent of Total land Owned by the Households Belonging to Non-scheduled Caste and Tribe Declined by varying Degree during the 1980s practically in all the Major States of India. It, Pari Passu Implies an Increase in the Share of Land Owned by the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Households. Nonetheless, the per Cent of total Land, accounted for by Scheduled Caste Households was much less Compared to their Share in Total Population and also Compared to the Land Owned by the remaining Two Social Groups. Likewise, notwithstanding Decline in the Incidence of landlessness among all the Three Social groups in a Majority of the States, the Proportion of Landless Households among Scheduled Castes in about Half the States, was Higher Compared to both Scheduled Tribes and Non-scheduled Castes, and Tribes. The Amount of Total Land accounted for by Scheduled Caste Households was also Highly Unequally Distributed. Tne Extent of Inequaiities in the Distribution of Land, Measured by Gini Coefficient, mthe Proportion of Total Land Accounted for by the Households at the Top 1 Per Cent, 5 per Cent, 10 per Cent and 20 per Cent and the area Owned by Large Holdings, increased further between 1982 and 1992 in a majorily of the States Pointing towards an acceleration in the Process of Polarisation of Landholdings among Scheduled Castes.

Combating undernutrition among children under 5 years is presently an enormous challenge for India. The study aims to determine the prevalence of undernutrition by the Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF) and the time-dependent significant determinants of undernutrition among children under 5 years from four recognized social groups, i.e., Scheduled Tribe (ST), Scheduled Caste (SC), Other Backward Class (OBC), and Others, or General group, between 2005-2006 and 2019-2021 in India. It also explains the transition in the probability of CIAF among ST, SC, OBC, and General children belonging to different socio-demographic, economic backgrounds, and geographic regions from 2005-2006 to 2015-2016, 2015-2016 to 2019-2021, and 2005-2006 to 2019-2021 in India. Time-dependent and time-independent logistic regression models are employed to identify the major determinants and predicted probabilities of CIAF, respectively, among four social groups. The predicted probabilities of CIAF among ST, SC, OBC, and General children belonging to various socio-demographic, economic backgrounds, and geographic regions are extracted from logistic regression models and represented graphically. The study outlines a higher prevalence of CIAF among ST children, followed by SC, OBC, and General children throughout the last 15 years. Since 2005-2006, the magnitude of CIAF risk elimination has been comparatively higher among socially marginalized children (ST, SC, OBC) than in General. The investigation also outlines a significant (p < 0.001), and consistent effect of child age, maternal nutritional level, education status, household economic status, and geographic regions on the prevalence of undernutrition among all four social groups in India from 2005-2006 to 2019-2021. The policymakers must focus much on the ST, SC, and OBC sections for eliminating childhood undernutrition. Specifically, more attention is needed for the ST, SC, and OBC children living with non- or less-educated mothers, belonging to poor families, living in central, western, and eastern Indian states for eliminating the childhood CIAF. This might contribute to lowering intergroup inequality (SDG 10.2) in India in terms of the incidence of hunger (SDG 2.2), undernutrition, and child mortality (SDG 3.2).

The ratio of girls to boys (ie. sex ratios) in India reveals excess girl child deficit in comparison with developed and many other developing countries. Masculinisation in the juvenile sex ratio (i.e. f/m ratios) in Indian population further gets momentum during the last decade (Agnihotri 2001, 2002) in the wake of prosperity (Siddhanta et all 2003). Such lowering in f/m ratios cannot be explained away by the popular escape hatches of yesterdays, like - migration, under counting and biological factors, rather indicate the presence of human factors, which point out the change in behavioral pattern in the presence of socio-economic and cultural contexts. Sex ratio patterns in the Indian population show considerable variations by regions, religions, prosperity classes, social groups e.g. scheduled castes and tribes, location i.e. urban or rural and even by age groups. While some of these variations have been given adequate attention in the received literature e.g. the north south divide, many others e.g. variations in the sex ratio patterns among the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes have not. It is important however, to study these patterns so as to understand the nature and evolution of the gender bias that may exist among these groups. The analysis below looks at the sex ratio patterns among the scheduled castes in the country as revealed by the population census data for 2001 and the previous census. Traditionally, the sex ratio patterns among the scheduled castes have been presumed to be more balanced than among the overall population, but the facts even from the 1991 census reveal otherwise. In fact in certain pockets where sex ratios among the overall populations have been masculine, the f/m ratio (FMR) figures among the scheduled castes are also alarmingly low. A comparison of the data from the 1991 and 2001 census shows a disturbing trend of spread of low female to male sex ratio in the child population among the scheduled castes to newer regions and intensification of such masculinity in the existing pockets. What is even more worrying is this emergence of 'daughter dislike' in pockets hitherto assumed to be free from such biases. This should be a matter of serious concern to policy planners, researchers and activists alike.

This Draft: October 11, 2011 Abstract While substantial literature now exists on poverty and inequality by social groups in India, almost nothing has been known on how the latter have fared as entrepreneurs. Out paper provides a first comprehensive look at entrepreneurship among the socially disadvantaged groups in terms of the shares in the value added, workers employed and the number of enterprises owned in the partnership and proprietary enterprises in services sector. Consistent with the evidence on poverty, wage and education outcomes, the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) are behind other social groups in entrepreneurship but their presence is far from negligible. The SC account for approximately the same proportion of enterprises and worker employment as their share in the total population. Their share in the gross value added is, however, only half. The presence of ST is considerably below their share in the total population. But the share of other backward castes (OBC) in the gross value added is approximately equal to their share in the population. All groups have shared in growth though not to equal extent. In terms of gross value added, the ST enterprises have grown the fastest followed by the OBC, SC and the forward castes. The SC and ST entrepreneurs are concentrated disproportionately in smaller and lower productivity enterprises. The forward castes have been experiencing a decline in their share so that the greatest competition the SC and St enterprises face is from the OBC.

The present study delves into the health inequalities between the two most socially deprived groups namely Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Scheduled Castes (SCs) in rural India. This study used health-specific three rounds of National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) unit-level data for analyses. Probit model has been used to predict the differences in access to maternal healthcare services. Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method is used to explore the inequality in health of rural population in India and assess the estimated relative contribution of socioeconomic and demographic factors to inequalities in maternal health. The study establishes that STs women often perform poorly compared to SCs in terms of maternal health such as antenatal care, postnatal care and institutional delivery. Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method shows that there exist health inequalities between STs and SCs women. Difference in household income contributes 21-34 percent and women's education 19-24 percent in the gap of utilization of maternal healthcare services between SCs and STs women. A substantial part of this difference is contributed by availability of water at home and geographical region. Finally, the study offers some policy suggestions in order to mitigate the health inequalities among socially marginalized groups of SCs and STs women in rural areas. This study measures and explains inequalities in maternal health variables such as antenatal care, postnatal care and institutional delivery in rural India. Research on access to maternal healthcare facilities is needed to improve the health of deprived sections such as STs and SCs in India. The results of this study pinpoint the need for public health decision-makers in India to concentrate on the most deprived and vulnerable sections of the society. This study thus makes a detailed and tangible contribution to the current knowledge of health inequalities between the two most deprived social groups, i.e., SCs and STs.

Body form and nutritional status among adult males of different social groups in Orissa and Bihar States in India

Entrepreneurship is considered as a panacea to socioeconomic problems. Small enterprises not only provide self-employment, but help in correcting regional disparities and more equal distribution of wealth. Entrepreneurship development among weaker sections, that is, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, is the need of the hour in the present context of privatization. The disinvestment policies of the government have adverse effects on generation of employment opportunities in the public sector. Obviously, the most affected people are from scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and other backward castes for which there are reservations in government jobs. The socioeconomic backwardness of scheduled castes and tribes, VJNT/NT, other backward classes and ultra poor from upper classes can be found in their dependence on agriculture, illiteracy, lower awareness levels, incidence of poverty, and underemployment. I attempted to probe into the research question such as whether there is an association between demographic characteristics and entrepreneurship development of people from marginalized groups ? The study inferred that there was an association between gender, social status, marital status, education, occupational background, entrepreneurship development programme except age of the respondents. The study suggested that special EDPs should be framed to train disadvantaged group entrepreneurs. In addition, necessary support of finance, infrastructure, and marketing should be extended to the entrepreneurs adequately and timely.

"Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) are officially recognised by the Indian Constitution and given a separate status and protection, distinct from groups officially designated as minorities. Although the Constitution classifies SCs and STs in its Articles 341 and 342 and provides for special policies in the form of affirmative action/reservations for these categories in higher education, employment and political representation through its Articles 330, 332 and 334. The list of SCs and STs in each individual state varies across India and is also reflected in the recognition of tribes and castes designated as ‘poor’."

Education is crucial for crossing the socio-economic ladder as higher education provides opportunities to acquire skills and knowledge, which broadens the scope and opportunities to access resources and equal space in society. The article aims to assess the educational status and trends of scheduled caste (SCs)/scheduled tribes (STs) in higher education, the major challenges faced in accessing higher education and the government initiative for the development of higher education for SC/ST. A majority of SC/ST have enrolled in undergraduate courses, beyond which the enrolment of SC/ST is unsatisfactory. The arts stream is the most preferred course among SC/ST; many are enrolled in public universities. The presence of SC/ST students and teachers in central universities is less than allocated, impacting the quality of education imparted to students. Improving the state of higher education for SC/ST is essential. Their representation in higher education is most urgent for speedy socio-economic development and an inclusive and equitable society.

Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) women in India have relatively lower usage of period products than women of the General category. This paper attempts to understand and uncover the social factors explaining inequalities in the period product usage among these groups. This paper uses data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), conducted in 2019–21, for this study, with a sample of 49,136 SC, 44,392 ST, and 41,045 General caste women in the age group of 15 to 24 years. Using the Fairlie decomposition method, we explain the inequalities in the period product usage between SC, ST, and general categories. Differences in wealth index (SC-Gen: 49.54%; ST-Gen: 46.6%), respondent’s education level (SC-Gen: 22.85%; ST-Gen: 17.3%), watching television (SC-Gen: 09.44%; ST-Gen: 10.1%), reading newspaper (SC-Gen: 08.71%; ST-Gen: 05.09%), and toilet facility (SC-Gen: 06.36%; ST-Gen: 03.05%) account for a large portion of the gap in the period product usage among these groups. Government, policymakers, and NGOs should focus on creating comprehensive menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) programmes, including educational programmes and mass media campaigns, while increasing focus on disadvantaged communities, viz. SCs and STs to make the necessary nudge for girls and women to adopt hygienic menstrual practices.

Using nationally representative education survey, we explore caste differences in private school attendance in India. We find lower private school attendance among the disadvantaged castes -- Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Castes (OBCs) -- when compared to the non-disadvantaged group (non-SC/ST/OBC). Controlling for geographical location, household and individual level factors reduces the gaps in private school attendance considerably, however the gaps remain quite large. We find that variation in parental education and household consumption expenditure explains a significant proportion of the observed gaps. For ST students, geographical location remains important in explaining the gap in private school attendance.

Caste in modern India is no longer just a social phenomenon but an indivisible part of the political process. This chapter summarises the recent literature on health inequities in India by Dalit or Scheduled Caste (SC) and Adivasi or Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Through a synthesis across the various papers, the chapter also attempts to discern the possible mechanisms and processes underlying the observed health inequities, and changes in these over time. All studies consistently reported that the Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste populations had worse health as compared to other sections of the population. The poor health of this disadvantaged group is evident in the higher levels of morbidity and undernutrition, higher rates of mortality and early onset of death. They also have relatively lower utilisation of both preventive and curative services, and receive poor quality of services when they do access services. In many instances, Dalit and Adivasi status-based health inequities are found even after adjusting for education and income. These health inequities have persisted over the time period under review (2000–2014). A reading across the studies suggests that three possible sets of mechanisms may underlie Dalit/Adivasi status-based inequities in health. The first set consists of disadvantages experienced by members of these population groups because of their historical social exclusion or isolation and their marginalisation. The second includes intermediary factors such as education, occupation and income, access to which is limited or constrained by the social location of SC and ST populations; and the third mechanism consists of differences in the way the institutions such as health and education and social welfare systems behave towards them. From the synthesis, it is evident that the current body of evidence affords only a superficial understanding on how Dalit and Adivasi status leads to health inequities. We need to ask the why and how questions, and explore the hypotheses emerging about possible mechanisms if we are to make meaningful contribution to policy and social action.

The Jogini, or Devadasi, system sees young girls “married” to a deity after which she is seen as the property of the village and required to perform religious duties and often sexual favours, typically without payment or freedom of choice. There is a paucity of published research on the factors which make women vulnerable to this exploitation and the factors which increase the likelihood that they are able to extricate themselves from it. This is a population study of 657 women who had previously been dedicated as Joginis living in 10 villages in Mahabubnagar district of Telangana, South India. The primary outcome of interest was whether the women were practicing as a Jogini at the time of the survey. Data was analyzed using a mixed effect logistic regression test to determine possible determinants of practicing status. Four factors were found to be significantly associated with continued Jogini practice: 1) being a person with a disability, 2) reason for dedication given as family tradition of other Joginis in the family, 3) poverty in the family of origin, and 4) living in a village with more than ten percent of the population belonging to a scheduled tribe. One factor significantly negatively associated with continued practice was having one or more male children. Analysis of the demographic data for these women confirmed the previously known fact that the exploitation in the form of the Jogini system disproportionately affects those who are already vulnerable in society — those from scheduled castes (SC) and tribes (ST), other backward castes (OBC), the disabled, the uneducated, and the poor. Between them, SCs, STs, and OBCs make up the non-forward castes, i.e., those who are socially disadvantaged. The scheduled castes, formally known as untouchables, are the lowest of the Indian castes. Scheduled tribes are tribal people, not part of any organized religion. Other backward castes are those between the forward castes and the scheduled castes in terms of social order.