The high dropout rate of marginalized students in Indian higher education institutions has been a persistent issue, and the latest figures provided by the government indicate that the problem is far from being resolved. As per Sarkar's response, a total of 6901 OBC candidates, 3596 SC and 3949 ST students dropped out of Central Universities from 2018 to 2023. The numbers for IITs were 2544 OBC candidates, 1362 SC and 538 ST students, while 133 OBC, 143 SC and 90 ST candidates dropped out of IIMs during the same period.
Tiruchi Siva, the MP who posed the question in the parliament, also wanted to know if the government had conducted any study to understand the reasons for this high dropout rate.
In response to a question about the high dropout rate of marginalized students in IITs, IIMs, and other central universities, the Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar stated that there were no reported cases of caste discrimination in IITs over the last five years. This very statement outrightly contradicts the tragic suicide of Darshan Solanki, a Scheduled Caste (SC) student at IIT Mumbai in February 2023. Solanki had reportedly faced caste discrimination from his classmates which has recently been found by SIT probe through a suicide note.
The lack of reported cases of discrimination in IITs may not necessarily reflect the reality on the ground. Instances of discrimination and harassment may go unreported due to a variety of reasons, including fear of reprisal or lack of trust in institutional mechanisms for addressing such issues. Additionally, the absence of reported cases does not necessarily imply the absence of discrimination.
