Tamil Nadu Congress Committee Scheduled Caste department head M.P. Ranjan Kumar has slammed the BJP-led Central government after Union Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar said, 13,626 students belonging to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Castes had discontinued the courses they were pursuing in central higher education institutes, including in IITs, IIMs in India in the last five years.
Mr. Kumar claimed the erstwhile Congress government until 2014 didn’t create obstacles for marginalised students pursuing higher education but the BJP government has unleashed oppressive measures against marginalised students and women, destroying their futures.
“The discrimination against SC/ST students in the BJP government is very apparent and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been highlighting it. The Minister, who has accepted that students from marginalised communities are dropping out of their education, must hang his head in shame. He is trying to create a perception that students are dropping out on their own volition. The fact is that OBC, SC and ST students are being mentally harassed,” he said.
Mr. Kumar said the Minister must explain why students are dropping out and what steps are being taken to ensure there is no discrimination.
