INTRODUCTION This study is based on students belongs to ‘scheduled caste’ and ‘scheduled tribe’ categories generally called SCs/STs and role of reservation policy to see the impact of its implementation in higher education in India, about caste action and the very survival of caste as an institution to participate in higher education for bright career of SCs/STs students – even as it takes on, in a specific socio-temporal context, the dynamics of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) individuality in contemporary Uttar Pradesh particularly in the major district like Agra. In many ways, this is not surprising because studies of SCs/STs about in sociology and political science, it has held a central axis for sociology and political science in India. Caste studies have been a ground that political science has claimed to be its own, and the other disciplines have not greatly contested the claim. This has led to the people of various perspectives on scheduled caste/tribes, even as efforts to undermine the centrality of SCs/STs for a political issue of India have proceeded briskly. Education is recognized as one of the critical elements of the national development effort and higher education in particular, is of vital importance for the nation, as it is a powerful tool to build knowledge-based society of the 21st century. The conflict over reservations in India is not simply a conflict about the reservation policy meant for higher education itself. There are of course, angry debates over whether such a policy should exist, what the criteria should be, and how exactly it should be implemented, but the strictness of the violence is bound up with longer-term caste conflict, exacerbated by a recent rise in ‘identity politics’ and general social changes. Upper caste Indians feel disadvantaged and discriminated against by the policy, outlined in the Indian constitution, of assign places in government and higher education to those from SCs and STs. This disapproval is intensified when those from OBCs push for reservations policies in their favour as well. This is also called for in the constitution equivalent, but in such a vague way as to allow different governments to define their constitutional responsibility in markedly different ways in the context of Indian higher education system. However, India has been a major seat of learning for thousands of years. The present format of higher education in India was started in way back 1857 with the inception of universities in the three presidency towns. 3 Now, India possesses a highly developed higher education system which offers facility of education and training in almost all aspects of human’s creative and intellectual endeavors such as arts and humanities, natural, mathematical and social sciences, engineering; medicine, dentistry, agriculture, education, law, commerce and management , music and performing arts, national and foreign languages, communications, culture etc. Provision of reservation was implemented for the SC/ST and OBC (Other Backward Caste) after the enforcement of Constitution of India. In the beginning, it was 15% and 7.5% for the SC and ST respectively. But in 1991 after the Mandal Commission, 27% reservation was provided to the OBCs. In 1995, 3% of reservation was allocated to the other weaker section i.e. physically disabled in jobs and the same scenario also exits in higher education framework. Concept of Education and Higher Education Education is difficult to define because the concept entails varied aspects of knowledge, which can be passed on in various forms, including oral, written or behavioural. It also includes various forms of passing on information. However, education has been defined as, “training and instruction designed to give knowledge and develop skills.” United Nations Economic Social and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) have given a comprehensive definition of the term ‘higher education’. UNESCO notes that higher education includes, “all types of studies, training, and training for research at the post-secondary level, provided by universities or other educational establishments that are approved as institutions of higher education by the competent State Authorities.” Higher education is considered throughout the world to be the key to both individual and societal development. For individuals, education beyond the secondary level is assumed to be the way to social esteem, better paying jobs, expanded life options, intellectual stimulation and frequently a good time in the pursuit of any or all of the above. For societies, higher education is assumed to be the key of technology, productivity and other ingredients of international competitiveness and economic growth. It is believed to be a major engine of social justice, equal opportunity and democracy. 4 Historical Background of Reservation in India “Reservation”, also sometimes denoted as “affirmative action” or “positive discrimination”, it refers to a policy or program, or giving certain preferences to certain groups (usually under-represented groups) over the others. The policy of reservation, it must be kept in mind, was not a post-constitutional phenomenon but had its antecedents in the colonial times. Caste or communal quotas were in vogue well before the Constitution came into force. “Reservations in favour of the backward classed (BCs) were introduced long before independence in a large area, comprising the presidency areas and the princely states in the south of the Vindhyas. Chatrapati Sahuji Maharaj, Maharaja of Kohlapur in Maharashtra, introduced reservation in favour of backward classes in as early as 1902 to eradicate poverty from amongst them and to give them their due share in the state administration. The notification of 1902 created 50% reservation in services for different communities in the State. This notification was the first government order providing for reservation for the welfare of depressed classes in India (Resham, 2012)”. In the year 1942, Dr. B.R Ambedkar established the all India depressed classes’ federation to support the advancement of the scheduled castes. He demanded reservations for the Scheduled castes in government services as well as other sectors. However, in the year 1947, India obtained independence and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was appointed chairman of the drafting committee for Indian Constitution. The India Constitution prohibits discrimination on the grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex and place of birth. While providing equality of opportunity for all citizens, the Constitution contains special clauses “for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes”. Separate constituencies allocated to scheduled castes and tribes to ensure their political representation for 10 years. It is significant to note that according to “the article 15(4) of constitution of India, which provides a constitutional basis for reservation in education, did not form part or the Constitution as it originally stood in 1950, although there was provision for reservation of appointments or posts in favour of any backward class of citizens under article 16(4). However, an equivalent of the current article 15(4) was the subject matter of considerable debate amongst the founding fathers of the constitution (Singh, S.N, 1996)”. 5 Reservation Policy in Education Sector The Indian Government’s approach towards the SC/ST population has primarily been shaped by the provisions in its Constitution which basically guarantees equality before the law and empowers the State to make special provisions to promote the educational and economic interest of the SC/ST and to provide legal and other safeguards against discrimination. The role of reservation in the education sector is mixed for the students of SC community. Article 15(4) empowers the State to make special provisions for the advancement of the SCs/STs. Under this provision, the State has reserved seats for SC/ST students in educational institutions namely in colleges and universities, diversified courses including technical, engineering and medical colleges run by the central and state governments and government aided educational institutions. These provisions are supported by a number of financial schemes which include scholarships, special hostels for SC/ST students, concession in fees, grants for books, remedial coaching etc. Policy Implementation and Monitoring The Central Government has developed administrative mechanisms for regulating, monitoring and implementing the reservation policy and other affiliated programmes. These institutions can be divided into: a) Ones that are directly involved in regulation (i.e. preparing rules relating to reservation from time to time) and monitoring the fulfillment of the required quotas in the central government services, b) Those acting as investigative agencies in the event of violation of reservation rules, and c) Those that are concerned with policymaking and overseeing the overall development of the SC/STs. Reservation in Higher Education – Present Scenario According to the State of Maharashtra, the Supreme Court abolished state quotas in private unaided professional colleges and specifically held that the state could not impose reservations in unaided institutions. This led to the passing of the Constitution (Ninety-third 6 Amendment) Act, 2005 by the Parliament in December, 2005 inserting the following clause (5) in article 15 of the Constitution: “Nothing in this article or in sub-clause (g) of clause (1) of article 19 shall prevent the state from making any special provision by law, for the advancement of socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the scheduled castes or scheduled tribes in so far as such special provisions relate to their admissions to educational institutions including private educational institutions; whether aided or un-aided by the state, other than the minority educational institutions referred to in clause (1) of article 30 (Thorat Sukhadeo, 2007)”. It is to be noted that article 15(5) - does not specifically provide for “reservation” as such. It is only an enabling provision which empowers the state to lay down by law “special provisions” in the matter of admission to “educational institutions”. There is no particular mention of institutions of higher learning, universities or professional institutions as such. Educational institutions could also mean primary and secondary schools. Also, the “special measures” could mean several measures other than reservation (Thorat Sukhadeo, 2007). However, taking the advantage of this constitutional amendment, the union government brought forth legislation namely, the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 (the Act) under which the following scheme of reservation has been provided: Table – 1: Classification of Reservation Category Serial No. Reservation Category Weight age (%) 1 Scheduled Caste (SC) 15% 2 Scheduled Tribe (ST) 7.5% 3 Other Backward Caste (OBC) 27% (Source: Annual Report, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India, New Delhi, 2002-2003, Chapter5, Paragraph 5.2) As a result of this, about 50% of the seats have now come under reservation in all central educational institutions including institutions of higher learning and professional institutes like IITs, IIMs and government medical and engineering colleges. However, under the Act, the following institutions are excluded from the purview of reservation- institutions in tribal areas, research institutions as specified in the schedule to the Act, minority institutions and super- specialty courses as may be specified by the Central Government. It may be noted that the Supreme Court, in its various decisions, has held that there can be no reservation in super- 7 specialty courses. But the Act does not specify the super-specialty courses and it has been left to the discretion of the government to determine the super-specialty courses which are to be excluded from the purview of reservation. In fact, after six decades of the commencement of the Constitution, the time has come to impartially review the entire reservation system and ensure that only the best talents get place in educational institutions, irrespective of his caste or class. Apart from reservation provided to SC/ST/OBC, there are also various other kinds of reservation which prevail in higher education in India, such as- i) Reservation in favour of girl students. ii) Reservation in favour of children of government employees. iii) Reservation in favour of resident of particular territories. iv) Reservation in favour of children of defence personnel. v) Reservation in favour of candidates from union territories or the state of J&K. vi)Reservation in favour of candidates who have passed through the qualifying examination of the same university as distinguished from those coming from other universities, etc. Although there are various kinds of reservations that have crept into higher education, present study mainly focused on the issue of SC reservation in higher education which has created much controversy and debate during the last three decades or so. SCs/STs and Fair Access to Higher Education In the context of the proposal for reservation of 15 percent and 7.5 percent of seats in higher education for the SCs and STs respectively, the key question is whether the SCs/STs of college going age with the qualifying level of education are underrepresented in enrollments to higher education to the extent of 15 percent and/or 7.5 percent or more of the total enrollments. In seeking an answer to these question three issues embedded within this question need to be sorted out. These are: age cut-off, the distinction between enrollments and completed level of education and crucially, the caste composition of the population with the qualifying level of education for entry into a given (next higher) level of education in the state of Uttar Pradesh. 8 Finally, and even more importantly, assessments of fairness of access to higher education need to bear in mind that entry at each step in the educational pyramid is conditional on the successful completion of the preceding stage of education. Thus, holding a graduate degree is a must for entry into a post-graduate programme and a higher secondary or equivalent qualification is necessary for entry into an under-graduate programme, and so on down the line. It is only at the elementary or primary school stage that we are free of this consideration. The current situation of SC/ST students are interested for higher education and the role of reservation policy as presented in the preceding part clarifies that Agra district need to work to achieve twin objectives of implementation of announced reservation policy for SC/ST students by the government and the mismatch in young generations of SCs/STs for the educated in terms of higher education and occupation. The gap analysis presented in section of literature review, clearly exhibits the needs for awareness of reservation policies between the communities of SC/ST meant for higher education. For impact of reservation policy for SCs/STs of Indian higher education we must take into consideration all factors associated to awareness, offered courses, availability in specialized courses, universities, national institutes, Indian institute’s advertisements from time to time. The present study is an attempt to monitor the impact of reservation policy for SCs/STs in Indian higher education system and its proper implementation considering all the issues as given above. Higher education in India is in a miserable condition. Even after 60 years of independence higher education is not accessible to the SC/ST groups of the population. Hardly 7-8 percent of the population in the age group of 17-23 years is enrolled in the institutions of higher education. It is a matter of serious concern that higher education system in the country is facing deep financial crises. The government should fulfill its responsibility of re-examining reservation policy, recent decisions and the problems of higher education in the country. Statement of the Problem The study attempts to examine the education status/situation among the SCs/STs in the higher education sector in India and also ascertains the measures taken by the Government of Uttar Pradesh through the various promulgations in the Constitution, namely, the reservation policy and its socio-economic and political impacts on the marginalized social groups towards higher education in Agra District. 9 Chapter Scheme The study will be organized tentatively into six to seven chapters. The first chapter introduces the topics, provides a brief conceptual overview of reservation policy in higher education. The second chapter provides critical reviews of the literatures based on the main concept of reservation policy and its current scenario applicable to higher education for SCs/STs. It will also assess the political dimensions and issues involved in reservation policy. The third chapter will indicate the objectives and methodology of the study. The fourth chapter traces the different variables required for data collection, data presentation and analysis through primary research. The fifth chapter understands results and discussions. The sixth chapter and concluding chapter summarizes the main points of the study and suggests various steps involved to streamline the reservation policy for SCs/STs in higher education followed by limitations and future research. LITERATURE REVIEW AND GAP ANALYSIS Before beginning to work on any particular concept it is always advisable to review the existing literature pertaining to the proposed concept directly or indirectly. In this regard an attempt was made to find out whether any literature exists on reservation policy for SCs/STs in Indian higher education system or not. A brief account of literature review and gap analysis as presented in the following part testifies that nothing as such has not been done in the past which, may be termed as evolution of reservation policy for SCs/STs in higher education pertaining to education sector in India and the socio- economic condition. Diverse issues relating to higher education sector as a whole were touched upon by different researchers to serve the different objectives. Brij Raj Chauhan (1975) “Scheduled Caste and Education”, has examined the spread of education among Scheduled Castes and has presented a good account of the problems faced by Scheduled Castes in getting them educated. However, not given importance to the standards of higher education on the development of Scheduled Castes by adopting a mechanism called scientific methodology. C. Parvathamma (1982) “Housing in Rural Karnataka”, has studied the condition of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in her important work Scheduled Castes and 10 Scheduled Tribes. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar in untouchable has given a good description of the condition of the depressed classes. This study shows useful information and has been widely referred to for its analytical superiority in higher education. Anirudh Prasad (1991) “Reservation Policy and Practice in India”, has studied Reservation Policy in the modern context and has discussed its various facets and implications in Indian society. Haroobhai Mehta and Hasmukh Patel (1991)”Dynamics of Reservation Policy”, examined the background of agitations in Gujarat during 1984-85. They also highlighted the major issues related to reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other backward classes. Analyzed the historical need for urgent implementation of reservation policy and evaluated the work and recommendations of all major central and state commissions constituted by the Government for upliftment of backward classes. Unemotionally and scientifically analyzed the report of the Mandal Commission and also presented a major sociological treatment of the problem. S.N. Singh (1996) “Reservation Policy for Backward Classes”, highlighted the reports of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Commission and other backward classes Commissions of Government of India and some judgments of the Supreme Court and High Courts on reservation issues and examined the role of judiciary in protective discrimination in India. B.K. Roy Burman (1992) “Beyond Mandal and After”, holds and examined the social and political processes during the colonial period, which resulted including in the Constitution, the provisions for positive discrimination in favour of the disadvantaged sections of the Indian population. Analyzed the imperatives and constraints underlying the establishment for the first and second communities at different points of time and the responses of the political elites of diverse huge to the recommendations of the Commission. Hirmanmay Karlekar (1992) “In the Mirror of Mandal: Social Justice, Caste, Class and the Individual”, examined what constitutes social justice, the furtherance of which was claimed to have been the purpose of the decision as well as the principles of distributive justice without which social justice becomes meaningless rhetoric. Analyzed the concepts of caste and class and whatever the two can be equated and also explained why neither caste nor class but the individual has to be the unit for dispensing social justice and why the latter can b fully realized only in a society informed by the spirit of humanism. 11 Anirudh Prasad (1991) “Reservation Policy and Practice in India”, expressed the view that the society is divided between reservationists and anti-reservationists and infighting has encouraged casteism to emerge as the biggest political party rising like a phoenix from its ashes. Protective discrimination in the form of quota-system is hanging at the altar of communal politics and casteistic pressures. The decision of V.P. Singh Government to implement, Mandal Commission Report has ignited the issue and made in-depth study of multi-dimensional problems relating to quota-system and exposes problems and demerits of reservationists and anti-reservationists slogans. The high ideals of the framers of the Constitution got frustrated in post-Constitutional period under the influence of pressure politics. The courts have also followed zig-zag track in asserting the rational objective and scientific criterion of determining the socially and educationally backward classes. A.K. Vakil (1975) “Reservation Policy and Scheduled Castes in India”, elaborated the various aspects of reservation policy with constitutional ideological perspective and further with its details of implementation. Found out and traced the fact whether the policy is honestly operated and also covered other issues like violence on Scheduled Castes, the riots that rocked the country and the conversion of the SCs as a result of their oppression by the Sawarna Hindus. Further, suggested certain devices to make the reservation policy more meaningful and more acceptable to the reservation policy by observing its impact on education, employment and economic conditions of the SCs. R.G. Misra and Gurvinder Kaur (1990) “Reservation Policy and Personnel Selection”, presented an objective analysis of reservation policy in personnel selection which is of grave concern to policy makers and administrators. Beginning with the implication of Varna Vyavastha in ancient India, they have briefly traced the history of discrimination against the hierarchically lower castes in the Hindu society and the efforts made by various social reformers to get rid of this evil. They concluded various efforts made by the Constitution framers, central and state governments for providing reservations to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. They have also discussed the roster system, carry forward rule; special development measures to facilitate entry of these classes in the services and made an attempt to determine their impact. S.N. Singh (1996) “Reservation Policy for Backward Classes”, provided a complete review on Social Justice and Reservation Policy in Uttar Pradesh concluded that the state has been a nerve centre for Indian political but the segment of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes 12