More than 19,000 students from OBC, SC, and ST categories dropped out of central universities, IITs, and IIMs during 2018-2023, according to the Ministry of Education.
The data was shared by Union Minister of State for Education, Subhas Sarkar, in response to a written question in the Rajya Sabha. According to available records, the number of dropout students from 2018 to 2023 in Central Universities (CUs), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) in various courses is 19,256.
While 14,446 students from the three categories dropped out of central universities during the period, 4,444 dropped out of IITs, and 366 dropped out of IIMs, the minister said.
“In the higher education sector, students have multiple options, and they choose to migrate across institutions and from one course or programme to another within the same institution. The migration or withdrawal, if any, is mainly on account of the students securing seats in other departments or institutions of their choice or on any personal grounds,” Sarkar said.
“The government has taken various steps like fee reduction, the establishment of more institutes, scholarships, and priority access to national level scholarships to aid the students with poor financial backgrounds in pursuing their education. For the welfare of SC and ST students, schemes like ‘waiver of tuition fees in IITs’, grant of national scholarships under the Central Sector Scheme, scholarships in institutes, etc. are also there,” he added.