Govt to open educational institutes for SC and ST

 The move is being contemplated by the Union ministry of human resource development to address the issue of lack of access and quality in education among the Schedule castes (SC), Schedule Tribes (ST) and other disadvantaged sections.

Human resource development Minister Kapil Sibal has asked the officials of his ministry to examine whether such schools and institutions could be opened in public-private-partnership framework.

In this context, the minister has also asked the officials to set up a task force to prepare a public-private-partnership model, sources in the ministry said.

Although, there has been a substantial rise in the enrollment of students belonging to SC and ST in primary and upper primary schools since 1981, their percentage still remains low compared to those belonging to other categories.

In higher education too, the number of enrollment of SCs and STs have gone up in last one decade but their percentage remains very low compared to those belonging to other categories.

The lack of accessibility to schools and higher educational institutions are one of the reasons that has kept them far behind in education, an HRD ministry official said.

As per MHRD figures, the percentage of enrollment of scheduled caste children in primary level (class I – V), upper primary level (class VI –VIII) and senior secondary stood at 26.5, 10.5 and 6.6 respectively during 2008-09, while it reached 92.8, 39.9 and 36.3 respectively in the case of students belonging to other categories.