Page 177 - CURAJ Information Handbook for SC ST Cell

17.0 Provisions under National Education Policy-2020 for SC/ST

 Education is the single greatest tool for achieving social justice and equality. While the
Indian education system and successive government policies have made steady
progress towards bridging gender and social category gaps in all levels of school
education, large disparities still remain - especially at the secondary level - particularly
for socio-economically disadvantaged groups that have been historically
underrepresented in education. Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs) can
be broadly categorized based on gender identities (particularly female and transgender
individuals), socio-cultural identities (such as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes,
OBCs, and minorities), geographical identities (such as students from villages, small
towns, and aspirational districts), disabilities (including learning disabilities), and socio-

economic conditions (such as migrant communities, low income households, children in
vulnerable situations, victims of or children of victims of trafficking, orphans including
child beggars in urban areas, and the urban poor).

 According to U-DISE 2016-17 data, about 19.6% of students belong to Scheduled Castes
at the primary level, but this fraction falls to 17.3% at the higher secondary level. These
enrolment dropoffs are more severe for Scheduled Tribes students (10.6% to 6.8%),
and differently-abled children (1.1% to 0.25%), with even greater declines for female
students within each of these categories. The decline in enrolment in higher education is
even steeper.

 A multiplicity of factors, including lack of access to quality schools, poverty, social mores
& customs, and language have had a detrimental effect on rates of enrolment and
retention among the Scheduled Castes. Bridging these gaps in access, participation, and
learning outcomes of children belonging to Scheduled Castes will continue to be one of

the major goals.
 Tribal communities and children from Scheduled Tribes also face disadvantages at
multiple levels due to various historical and geographical factors. Children from tribal

communities often find their school education irrelevant and foreign to their lives, both
culturally and academically. While several programmatic interventions to uplift
children from tribal communities are currently in place, and will continue to be
pursued, special mechanisms need to be made to ensure that children belonging to
tribal communities receive the benefits of these interventions.

 Within SEDGs, and with respect to all the above policy points, special attention will be
given to reduce the disparities in the educational development of Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes. As a part of the efforts to enhance participation in school education,
special hostels in dedicated regions, bridge courses, and financial assistance through fee
waivers and scholarships will be offered to talented and meritorious students from all
SEDGs on a larger scale, especially at the secondary stage of education, to facilitate their
entry into higher education.

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