Over 13,600 students from marginalized communities dropped out of India’s premier institutions: Report
NTF report highlights caste-based disparities in Indian higher education
New Delhi: The interim report of the National Task Force (NTF) on ‘Mental Health of Students and Prevention of Suicides in Higher Educational Institutes’, set up by the Indian Supreme Court in March 2025, has raised serious concerns over treatment of students from marginalised communities in higher education institutions.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Indian English language business-focused daily newspaper The Economic Times reported findings from the NTF’s 211-page interim report, which, citing data provided in parliamentary questions, found that more than 13,600 students from disadvantaged communities dropped out of premier institutions between 2018 and 2023.
The NTF report revealed that during the period, 4,596 Other Backward Classes (OBC), 2,424 Scheduled Caste (SC) and 2,622 Scheduled Tribe (ST) students dropped out of central universities. In the IITs, 2,066 OBC, 1,068 SC and 408 ST students dropped out, while 163 OBC, 188 SC and 91 ST students left in the IIMs.
The Indian top court constituted the NTF while hearing a case concerning the suicides of two student suicides at IIT Delhi in 2023, in which police had reportedly refused to register an FIR.
The report also noted that 56% of faculty members in higher education belong to socially advantaged groups, with this disparity being most prominent in elite institutions.
Institutes of National Importance (INIs), like the IITs and NITs, have only 7.57% SC faculty and 1.91% ST faculty, while 67.71% come from “privileged” backgrounds, the NTF said, reported The Economic Times.
The NTF also cited reports about how the dominant “campus culture”, often requires students to pass the so-called “vibe check”, which students from marginalised sections mostly fail, leading to exclusion and isolation.
