But the central point is that the main reasons for the continued poor representation of OBCs, SCs/ STs and Muslims in higher education is the poor enrolment of these groups in primary, secondary and higher secondary education. For instance, Hindu OBCs are adequately represented at the middle and secondary school level, at 34.6 per cent; remember, they are 34.7 per cent of the population. But disparities begin at the higher secondary level, where many drop out from school. There, the OBC representation comes down to 24.6 per cent. For most other groups like SCs, STs and Muslims, there is a gap from the start, at the elementary level.

The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, undertook a study to access the OBC reservations in higher education that have been in existence in almost 15 Indian states since varying points in time — like Tamil Nadu since 1951 and Karnataka and Maharashtra since the ’60s. It was an attempt to draw the direct implications for the 27 per cent OBC reservation policy in Centrally-funded institutions implemented since 2008.

Data from a set of universities from Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra — both states with a long history of reservations — are revealing. OBC students perform better than the General category students in medical entrance exams, while their performance is at par with the General category students at graduation-level exams. In Tamil Nadu, students from Backward Class (BC) and Most Backward Class (MBC) are as competitive as the General category students at both the entry and exit levels in higher education. However, the enrolment rates and performance indices of SC and ST students in these states remain poor. What the data show is that the BC and MBC students in Tamil Nadu have the desired marks as well as paying capacity while enrolling in majority of the self-financing colleges and are adequately represented among students. It is clear that BCs should be de-listed from the OBC lists in Tamil Nadu.

... contd.