From 173 to 378, UGC’s 5-year data shows surge in caste discrimination complaints on campuses

As per UGC data, of the 173 complaints received by institutions in 2019-20, 155 were resolved, while 341 of the 378 complaints received in 2023-24 were reported as resolved. The data was based on details collected from 2,256 higher education institutions, comprising 704 universities and 1,553 colleges.

This, however, is only a fraction of the total number of higher education institutions in the country –the Education Ministry’s All India Survey on Higher Education 2021-22 records 1,168 universities and 45,473 colleges.

Over the five years, the total number of reported caste-based discrimination complaints stood at 1,160. Of these, 1,052 were “resolved’, going by the UGC’s data.

The UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations will replace the UGC’s 2012 regulations on promoting equity in higher education institutions. Under the 2012 norms, all institutions were required to have ‘equal opportunity cells’, and a professor who would be appointed as an ‘anti-discrimination officer’, to ensure that grievances on discrimination are addressed.

UGC data submitted in its affidavit before the Supreme Court last year shows that details collected from 3,522 higher education institutions indicate that 3,067 of them had established equal opportunity cells.

Under the 2012 regulations, which sought to deal with discrimination on grounds including those of caste, religion, language, ethnicity, gender, and disability, UGC data submitted to the Supreme Court last year showed that 1,314 complaints were received, with the majority of them (611) being at the 45 central institutions in the country. This was followed by 331 at state institutions, and 18 at private universities.

The UGC had submitted the data after a directive from the Supreme Court in a petition filed by the mothers of Payal Tadvi and Rohit Vemula, who allegedly died by suicide over alleged caste-based discrimination in Mumbai and Hyderabad, respectively.