SC/ST Creamy Layer Debate: Huge Disparity in Higher Education

There are significant ramifications of the recent Supreme Court decision in State of Punjab v. Davinder Singh (August 1, 2024), which inter alia upheld the exclusion of the ‘creamy layer’ from reservation benefits for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in education and government employment in India.

The judgment has sparked widespread debate and raised concerns about the effectiveness of reservation policies in addressing the historical and ongoing inequalities faced by these marginalised communities. This article analyses the Supreme Court's decision using data from the University Grants Commission (UGC) Annual Report, focusing on SC/ST enrolment in higher education and their representation as faculty members in higher education institutions.

Higher education is a powerful catalyst for socioeconomic advancement, and analysing the representation of these communities within this sphere will provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of reservation policies.

This analysis will also help determine whether the ‘creamy layer’ is unfairly monopolising the benefits of reservation quotas.

The following section examines the enrolment of SC and ST individuals in higher education in India and their representation in academia as teachers in higher education. The analysis is based on the category-wise data on enrolment and faculty position given in latest UGC Annual Report of 2022-23.

Enrolment of SCs/STs in Higher Education

According to the Central Education Institutions Act, 2006, 15% and 7.5% reservation in admission is reserved for SCs and STs, respectively. This analysis will focus on the representation of SCs and STs in Central, state, and deemed to be universities, which are regulated by UGC. It's important to note that this analysis doesn't encompass some other important higher education institutions, like Institutes of National Importance which inter alia constitute IITs, IIMs, AIIMS, NIT, etc.

Table 1: Category Wise proportion of Students enrolled in Higher Education in 2022-23 (%)

The data reveals a significant disparity in SC/ST enrolment across different types of universities in India. Central universities have the highest representation of SC/ST students, followed by state universities, while deemed universities have the lowest. This trend persists across all academic levels, from under-graduate to post-graduate and research programmes.

In Central universities, SCs and STs constitute 11% and 10%, respectively, at overall higher education level. It is noteworthy to see that proportion of STs significantly increases at PG and Ph.D. level of studies, which is 18.48% and 22.80%, respectively, and is more than their quota reserved. This means that some of them are qualified in general category for admission in PG and Ph.D.

State universities have a lower overall representation of SC and ST students, at around 11% and 7%, respectively. Deemed universities have the lowest representation, with only 10% and 4% of SC and ST students, respectively.

This suggests that Central universities might be more accessible or attractive to SC/ST students due to factors such as reservation policies, financial aid, or outreach programmes.

State universities, despite having a slightly lower overall enrolment than Central universities, still show a reasonable level of SC/ST representation. However, deemed universities have the lowest overall enrolment of SC/ST.

Representation of SCs/STs as Faculty

The following section discusses the representation of SCs and STs in academia, a crucial indicator of their access to higher education and their ability to achieve higher social positions. This data reflects the extent to which these groups have overcome historical and social disadvantages to pursue advanced studies and break free from the constraints imposed by their caste backgrounds.

While the UGC Report provides data for Central, state, and Deemed to be Universities, it does not include data for other types of universities, such as Institutes of National Importance (like IITs, IIMS, NITs etc), open universities, and private universities. The distribution of filled posts in these Universities in India for the year 2022-23 is presented below:

Table 2: Social Group wise filled posts in Central Universities 2022-23 (%)

The data on faculty positions in Central, state, and deemed universities for the academic year 2022-23 shows a notable imbalance in SC/ST representation across different academic ranks, namely, assistant professor, associate professor, and professor.

Across all academic roles, SC candidates hold 10.25% of filled positions in Central universities, 12.85% in state universities, and 8.3% in deemed universities, while ST candidates occupy 4.52%, 4.45%, and 1.14% of these positions, respectively.

The above data indicates that state universities have the highest representation of SC and ST candidates, particularly at the assistant professor level, whereas deemed universities exhibit the lowest representation across all positions.

Reservation policies primarily target the entry-level position of assistant professor. At this level, SC candidates account for 11.96% of filled posts in Central universities, 14.38% in state universities, and 9.6% in deemed universities, while ST candidates represent 5.81%, 5.23%, and 1.27% of these positions, respectively.

However, as one moves up the academic hierarchy to associate professor and professor levels, the representation of SC/ST candidates diminishes. At the professor level, SC representation falls to 5.42% in Central universities, 7.59% in state universities, and 4.7% in deemed universities, while ST representation stands at 1.38%, 1.87%, and 0.62%, respectively.

This trend suggests that Central universities may have more effective policies for selecting qualified SC/ST candidates. However, even in Central Universities, SC/ST representation falls short of the reserved quota in certain categories, indicating the need for continued efforts to enhance inclusivity.

The challenges are more pronounced in state and deemed universities, where attracting and retaining SC/ST faculty members remains difficult, underscoring the importance of targeted strategies to address these disparities.

Conclusion

This analysis presents a snapshot of the representation of SCs and STs in access to higher education as well as representation among teachers in various types of higher education institutions in India during the academic year 2022-23. The table clearly highlights a significant disparity in the representation of SCs and STs students and teachers across different types of higher educational institutions. The situation of access to higher education by SCs and STs are slightly better than that of their representation as faculty positions in academia. It means that their access to higher education is not resulting in success to secure faculty positions in higher education.

At the entry-level position of assistant professor, where reservation policies are implemented, SCs and STs constitute only 11.96% and 5.81%, respectively, in Central universities. While this proportion slightly increases for SCs (14.38%) in state universities, it remains relatively constant for STs. In deemed to be universities, which enjoy certain autonomy and privileges, the situation for SCs and STs is even more challenging, with only 9.60% and 1.27% representation, respectively.

Representation of SCs and STs further decreases as we move up to higher levels such as associate professors and professors. Approximately 90% of professors belong to the general category, while only about 5.4% are SCs and 1.38% are STs in Central universities of India.

Despite the implementation of reservation policies for SC and ST categories for 74 years, their representation in academia still falls short of the minimum quotas allocated to them. This discrepancy highlights the ongoing challenges faced by these groups in accessing quality higher education, which can be attributed to factors such as historical and social disadvantages and lack of effective implementation of reservation policies.

Addressing these issues requires stronger enforcement of reservation policies, providing adequate support and resources to SC and ST students, promoting awareness and inclusivity, and tackling systemic issues that contribute to their marginalisation.

Given this context, introducing the concept of a "creamy layer" in reservations for SCs and STs could exacerbate the problem of social equity, potentially leading to a further decline in their representation.

The writer is an Assistant Professor, B.R.A. Bihar University, Muzaffarpur, Bihar. The views are personal.