Abysmal representation of students from marginalised classes in private higher education institutions: Parliament panel

A report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, headed by senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, citing government data, said representation of Other Backward Class (OBC), Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students in private higher educational institutions in the country was 40%, 14.9% and 5% respectively.

“However, as per the data furnished by Private Universities/HEIs [Higher Education Institutions] mentioned above, the numbers of OBC students admitted therein are considerably low while the numbers of SC and ST students in above mentioned Universities are abysmally low,” said the report by the panel on “Implementation of Article 15(5) of Indian Constitution regarding Special Provision for Reservation to SCs/STs and OBCs in Educational Institutions including Private Educational Institutions”. 

Commenting on the report, the Congress said the Centre should bring a new law to allow 15% reservation for SCs, 7.5% for STs and 27% for OBCs in private higher educational institutes. Congress general secretary (communication) Jairam Ramesh said in a statement that the ball was now in the government’s court. “The bipartisan Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education led by Digvijaya Singh has presented a report to Parliament today which advocates for reservations for SC, ST and OBC communities in private higher educational institutions (HEIs),” he said.

The report said in the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, during 2024-25, out of the total 5,137 students, 514 students were from OBCs, 29 from SCs and four from STs, which was around 10% in case of OBCs, 0.5% in case of SCs and just about 0.08% in case of STs, though some students had not declared their category.

“Similarly, in O.P. Jindal Global University, out of total 3,181 students, 28 are SCs, 29 are STs which is less than one per cent. Moreover, in case of Shiv Nadar University, out of a grand total of 3,359, SCs are 48 and STs are 29 which is 1.5 per cent and approximately 0.5 per cent, respectively. The Committee therefore, recommends the Department of Higher Education to implement reservation quotas in educational institutions, including private ones, proportional to the population of SCs, STs and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Also, the Department should ensure its compliance through a central oversight/monitoring body like UGC, National Commission for Backward Classes and SC/ST Commissions to monitoring implementation of Article 15(5) of Indian Constitution, ensuring these institutions report admission data annually,” the panel recommended.

It said the introduction of 25% quota in private schools under Section 12(1)C of the Right to Education Act is fully reimbursable by the schools from the Government and government must follow this model in private higher education institutions as well.