Abstract

The Indian higher education system is one among the largest system in the world, after the United States and China. In the largest educational system, many students are unable to reach higher educational institutions. Many students drop out while pursuing higher education in institutions for several reasons. Hence, this paper deals with the impact of policies and practices of higher education in India and challenges for the marginalized students to pursue higher education from subaltern perspectives. This paper argues that despite several education policies and substantial economic growth, higher education in India is still scores low in performance in the world ranking system. The reasons behind India’s low performance in the world ranking system have been explained in the present paper. The problems which are associated with the higher education raises the many questions in the age of development millennium goal. Indian society is divided on the basis of caste, class, language, religion etc. In such a situation, the rapid privatization of education kills the spirit of the marginalized students to pursue higher education. This paper is purely theoretical on secondary data, such as books, journals, magazines, reports, etc.

Key Words: Higher Education, Development, Marginalised, Caste, Subaltern

Introduction:

The inclusive growth in higher education is an important parameter to define a nation’s development. Higher educational not only plays a vital role in self and social development but also largely for national development. It develops the criticality to examine reality, unravel the truth and rationality among the students and questions the very existence of inequality and injustice in the society. Higher education in the Indian context has a monopoly of certain elite sections of the society. Due to the reservation and affirmative policies, the weaker sections of the society is getting admission to higher educational institutions. After getting admission in the institutions, students raise the questions of inequality and injustice in classrooms and inside and outside the campuses. As a result, many students get suspended from the dominant elite hegemonic institutions.

Higher Education in India and Discrimination:

Higher education is primarily linked to primary education. The enrollment ratio in the primary education may lead to higher education, but many students from the marginalized groups cannot complete their primary education. Hence their participation in higher education is low compared to ‘general’ category students. Many premier higher educational institutions teach the courses in the English language which proves difficult for vernacular background students. Higher education in India is not an inclusive one for all sections of society.

There are disparities in accessing higher education on the basis of poverty, caste, ethnic, gender and rural dimensions whereas urban upper castes dominate higher educational spaces. Indian universities became the place for the discrimination on the basis of caste; hence, many lower caste/class students have been pushed to leave the university or commit suicide. It has been seen in recent decades largely. The very idea of higher education is to transform and reconstruct the society on the basis of morality and fraternity which pave the way to enlighten the human mind. But we could see in the recent times, educational institutions have become a tool to oppress the marginalized communities by using the different means like show-cause notice, exclusion, expel etc. This type of attitude of the institutes creating frustration and turmoil among the students and it leads to the suicide of the students.

Indian universities belong to all the students of the country. The very idea of educational intuitions is to include all sections of society. Indian society has been divided on the basis of various parameters. The idea of purity and pollution on the basis of caste kills the very existence of human beings. To pursue the higher education, lower caste students and rural background students face various problems in higher educational institutions. The higher education has the ambition to make students enlightened and create a society on equality, liberty, fraternity, and justice. “In reality, the Indian university is a space where injustice continues, on a number of axes of discrimination. Language, caste, class, gender, urban/rural, and physiological disability all of these provide the sources of discrimination” (Chowdhury, 2017).

Challenges for Marginalised Students and Adverse Effects of Policies:

Indian students face the many challenges to pursue higher education. Mainly they face discrimination on the basis of caste and language. In the Indian context, society has been fragmented on caste hierarchy; caste creates hatred towards other caste fellow beings. According to Dr. Ambedkar Caste creates antipathy and jealousy which does not understand the human being equal. Hence, it has lots of repercussions in socio-economic and political life and especially in educational life. The person one who enters in educational institutions with caste remains in caste consciousness. The educational institutions should have been for the eradication of caste but in reality, it became a hub of discrimination on the basis of caste. Caste kills the consciousness of oneness.

The dominant policy prescriptions which are framed in complex English language which subjugated lower caste students in higher educational institutions. Lower caste students generally come from the rural and urban-slum area. Many of the students have pursued the primary education in the local vernacular medium. Hence, it becomes difficult to grasp the complex English language in the initial stage. Language has played a very dominant role in higher educational institutions in India. Language is a power which creates the hegemony and reproduces the inequality. In India, English is a dominant language. In higher educational spaces the English language has been accepted as a teaching language. As a result of this, many students from the vernacular background unable to pursue an education in English. There are ample examples which show that due to jargon oriented English language, many students’ dropouts from the educational institutions. Students from the weaker section of the society are first generation learners in higher educational institutions. In the highly sophisticated environment, weaker section of the society takes some time to adjust to the environment. University campuses are failed to maintain the harmony and equality among the students.

The very fundamental question arises who are the policymakers? The policymakers belong to the ‘dominant caste’, a class group in India and the world. Ideas move with the power. Dominant sections of the society have always been in the power. In order to be always in power, dominant society perpetuates the economic, social and educational inequality in the respective countries. Developed countries are exceptional who have adopted the human rights and human values in the priority. In India, policies are not taken into consideration societal needs. Caste superiority mentality people’s ideologies are impacted in the Indian higher education system. The policies, which are prescribed since independence seems to be irrelevant and could, not create the egalitarian society on the basis of equality, liberty, fraternity and justice. Indian higher education system has always seen the dominant patterns on Indian thoughts, ideas, and structures that govern India. The higher education policy work is to lead for social transformation. But the Indian government and educational institutions do not make efforts for a just society. The policies, which are framed, do not take into consideration all the needs of students. The forward Caste/Class students who studied in English medium schools surge ahead and those marginalized students from the vernacular education medium lag behind. In order to compete with each other, the same higher education policies would not work. The remedial coaching, communication skills and public forums would develop the confidence among the marginalized students.

With the implementation of reservation for OBCs in higher education, the participation of the Other Backward Class (OBC) students increased. It challenged the supremacy of the dominant caste in the higher educational spaces. Since then privatizations of schools started. Upper caste elites pursued a primary and secondary education in English medium schools whereas a large number of students studied in local vernacular medium and it became challenging for marginalized students to compete with upper caste/class students. The biggest challenge is that Indian Universities could not uphold human rights widely. The violation of human rights is rampantly increasing day by day. Indian universities could not produce talented intellectuals for changing the society. Policies play a vital role in shaping the ideas of the mind. The policymakers are failed in India to develop a humanitarian pedagogy to solve the existing social problems and discriminatory practices in society. On the contrary, everything has been seen from the top. Experiences of oppressed groups have not been heard in the Indian academia. Their experiences have been distorted differently by the dominant group.

Politics and Policies in Higher Education:

Politics plays a very important role in the higher education. Indian education system is not free from the politics. Politics can be done in two ways; to solve the problems of any community or deteriorate the same. Prime Minister V. P. Singh in 1990 understood the need of reservation to the OBC community and accepted the suggestion of the Mandal Commission. The suggestions were to get a reservation to the OBC communities in higher education and in government jobs. There was a big tussle between lower caste and upper caste students and community. In the 1990s, there was resistance by the upper caste against the reservation to the OBC community. Reservation is a representation. Reservation is based on various socio-economic and educational backwardness of any community. OBC community was identified on the basis of its backwardness. Hence, the reservation was availed to OBC community in order to be a part of the decision-making process and participation in national development at large. The policymakers of the county seemed to forget that the nation does not belong to one particular section of the society. Excluding other sections of the society from representation and decision-making process would lead to turmoil and unrest in society. In order to become a nation, the participation of youths from all the categories of the society is required.

Educational campuses could not create a humanitarian student community. It has reinforced the notion of caste rampantly. Due to the failure of the higher education authorities, many students from marginalized sections of society committed suicides. Dalit student Rohith Vemula became a victim of the oppressive educational system. As a result of discriminatory practices in the university, he committed suicide in January 2016. Because of this incidence, the very nature of university has exposed to the society. There are many more incidences of discriminatory practices in the higher educational spaces but due to non-political affiliation and lack of social network, students from the marginalized communities don’t register their complaints.

When the subaltern learns to speak out in English and acquires dominant discourse; their voices are curtailed and precluded. This has been proven in Indian higher educational institutions and Rohith Vemula was not an exception. With this particular incident, more questions have been raised about the identity and integrity of the higher education in India. ‘Rohith’ is a reminder that ‘subalterns’ cannot speak the truth, either for themselves or for others (Seethi, The Hindu, January 27, 2016). Higher educational spaces should have been the spaces for the annihilation of caste and should have contributed to the nation-building process. But many institutions could not produce the idea of just society. According to Seethi, there are many challenges in higher education campuses. Mainly, policies are framed to curtail the educational expenses, cutting down the seats which lead to less representation of the students in higher educational institutions. It has a wider impact on producing intellectual minds in the country. If the country would not produce intellectual minds, the county would become a slave of the developed countries.

The Privatization of Higher Education:

The Mandal Commission recommendations were accepted in 1990 by the Government of India. It became a threat to the dominant sections of society. The upper caste community was realized that their participation will be curtailed in some high official posts. Hence, very systematically upper castes (ruler in the government) were initiated the economic liberalization in 1991. Henceforth, private educational institutions were set-up in the country. Elite upper caste students got an admission in the private institutes and neglected the very idea of the unitary education system in India. As a result, it has created the disparities in education and less opportunity to all. Privatisation and liberalization is a systematic discriminatory policy against the reserved categories. The Reservation policy is constitutionally applicable only in government sectors whereas reservation is not applicable in private sectors. Hence, privatization of the institutions started very systematically.

It is ironical that when large sections of the marginalized groups started pursuing higher education after the implementations of Mandal Commissions 2006, privatization of schools, colleges and higher educational institutions started. Due to reservations policies, many students from the marginalized groups started pursuing higher education. The participation from the same groups increased in the educational institutions. The very moment privatization of higher education started, the tuitions fees were raised. Marginalised communities students were unable to pay high fees in private institutions. The government has liberalized the entry of the private sector in higher education, which has lots of implications in accessing the higher education for poorer sections of society.

India’s Position in Global Community:

Despite having the substantial economic growth of the country, gross enrollment ratio is 12 percent, which is very low as compared to other developing and developed countries (UNESCO, 2009, World Conference on Higher Education). According to All India Higher Education Survey (AIHES), in 2016-17, India’s gross enrollment ratio is 25.2 percent which is low as compared to other developed countries. In order to improve the social status of the county in the world market, youth participation should be greater in higher education. There are various reasons for low enrollment ratio in higher education. They are mainly, disparities between the rich and poor, higher caste and lower caste, social exclusion and inclusion, urban and rural, English medium and vernacular medium etc. There is no unitary educational system in India. Since 3 years of the age, students are divided into a convent or other schools (Private) and Anganwadi schools (Government). After the 1^st standard, some students study in English medium private schools and some study in the vernacular medium government schools. We find these disparities in higher education too. Hence, many students from the low economic, social background and vernacular background cannot reach the higher educational institutions. Therefore, India’s gross enrollment ratio is less compared to other developed countries. It can also be said that a low level of enrollment in primary and secondary education leads to the low level of gross enrollment ratio in higher education

As of now, none of the single Indian university is in the top 100 ranking. Indian universities ranking status in the world has not improved yet due to a syllabus that is unable to equip students to compete in world competition. Indian universities lag behind in innovation and imaginations. Indian education system is much emphasized in history and some mythological texts. It could not produce the intellectuals as European enlightened produced. European enlightened minds challenged the supremacy and orthodoxy of the Church. It gave the birth to the revolution and liberty, equality and fraternity concept came into existence. The idea of educational institutions has to be producing the intellectual minds to transform the unjust society and to make it just on the basis of liberty, equality and fraternity. It can be analyzed that there are no proper motivations from the University Grants Commission (UGC) and self-motivation to write the articles and be a part of the knowledge production hub. Lack of proper guideline, reluctance and lack of scientific thought, India is unable to achieve its place in global position.

Higher Education and National Development:

In ancient times, Takshashila, Nalanda, and Vikramshila were the key higher educational institutions for developing higher minds. After a long time, in the British period, higher educational institutions were established. Brahmins were the first ones who benefited from the English medium schools. Teaching and pursuing the education was the right of Brahmins according to the Varnashrama system. After establishments, key premier higher educational institutions and other constitutional institutions were dominated by Brahmins. Institutions could not become a representative place for all the masses of the country.

India has the largest number of illiterate in the world. To become a superpower to any county, literacy to all citizen of the county is needed. Any county may become an economic superpower through bypassing the social and human development indicators. The real development of any county without social and human development is impossible. The higher educational syllabus is unable to understand the real problems of society. It also failed to produce compassionate intellectuals to understand and solve the problems. On the contrary, it could be observed that inequality has been systematically perpetuated through educational institutions by having a power of some elite section of society. As long as educational disparities exist for the rich and poor, lower caste and upper caste, the idea of new India never can come into reality.

Development is a multidimensional phenomenon. It is not only an economic growth but also consists of social, political and human development. Higher education is one of the parameters to develop the nation. Higher education magnificently improves the cognitive levels of the students to perform in their respective fields. Higher education provides an opportunity to critically look at the social, political, economic and cultural issues which humanity faces. It also advocates for and solves issues through policy and planning. The very pertinent questions arise that what kind of higher education is provided to the students? The knowledge, which is not based on epistemology, creates turmoil among the students. Despite pursuing higher education many students are unemployed. This shows the failure of the higher education policies. For posts of a peon, Ph.D. holders had applied. It is disgraceful for any country. The work of Ph.D. holders is to produce knowledge and give the solutions to the existing problems in the county and to the world. Graduates, postgraduates, and Ph.D. holder students were among the 23 lakh people who had applied for the 368 posts of peons in the Uttar Pradesh Government secretariat. There were more than 1, 50,000 graduates’ applicants, 24,969 applicants from postgraduates and almost more than 250 applicants from the Ph.D. holders (Hindustan Times, September 17, 2015). Higher educated students applying for the post of peon shows unemployment among the higher educated students and the quality of higher education in India. The education which does not create creativity and innovation and does not provide wisdom to start the entrepreneur’s activities is worthless.

Gross enrollment ratio is an indicator to find out the number of students enrolled in the higher educational institutions. Gross enrollment ratio in the developed countries mainly, in the UK 59 percent and US 82 percent and India is aspiring 30 percent enrollment by 2020. It seems that India will take several decades to compete with the developed countries in regards to the gross enrollment ratio (Sharma, 2015). India is considered to be a youth country in the world. Accommodating a large number of students for higher educations seems difficult. But it is ironical where other developed countries are spending their Gross domestic product (GDPs) share in higher education is more as compared to India. Any nation’s development can be measured through the participation of youths in higher education.

Recommendations:

1. Innovations and imagination are required in Indian universities.

2. Public policy reforms are required.

3. Programmes in the higher education should be relevant to societal needs.

4. Education institutions should have the aim of eradication of caste and create a just society on moral social order.

5. Higher educational institutions should be the hub of knowledge, which will unravel the reality of the society and will provide possible solutions to the problems.

6. Policymakers should make such policies where all the sections of society will be included despite caste barriers; urban, rural, gender etc.

7. Remedial coaching should be widely used in each and every university.

Conclusion:

Higher education is supposed to be for emancipating the marginalized communities from the sufferings. Indian higher education should have a concrete plan to access the higher education for all. It should be relevant to the present nature of the problems of India and should work as a driving force for solving problems. Indians did not reach to the premier level of its higher education and could not perform well in world ranking system, hence, there is not a single university in the top 100 universities ranking.

The syllabus, which has been adopted by the Indian universities, is from the western countries. The Indian social system has not been taught widely in Indian universities, which is based on hierarchy on the basis of caste, class, gender, ethnicity etc. Problems of Indian social system can be solved through enlightened higher education, which reveals the reality of caste and gender and creates the egalitarian society. In such a heterogeneous society educational policies should be in favour to create a scientific thinking, humanitarian values and participation of all. It is the responsibility of the state to make the citizens aware of their rights. Hence, education and especially higher education has a very important role to teach the rights of the citizens and prepare policies in favour of the rights of the citizens. Politicization of the campus kills the spirit of scientific temper among the students. The psychological and emotional game is played with students and it has impacted negatively on all the students in understanding the very idea of higher education.

References:

• Chowdhury, S. R. 2017. Politics, Policy and Higher Education in India. Singapore: Springer Nature Publications.
• Sharma, S. 2015. Development and its Discontents. Jaipur: Rawat Publications.
• UNESCO (UNESCO 2009 World Conference on Higher Education), Trends in Global Higher Education: Tracking an Academic Revolution. Retrieved from <http://www.uis.unesco.org/Library/Documents/trends-global-higher-education- 2009-world-conference-en.pdf>
• <http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/Can-the-subaltern-speak-for himself/article14021582.ece>
• http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/phd-holders-among-23-lakh-applicants-for-peon-jobs-in-up/story-OqHzHbvo16gUN2DfTkfYlI.html

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