Who participates in higher education in India? Rethinking the role of affirmative action

Type Working Paper - Observer Research Foundation Working Paper Series
Title Who participates in higher education in India? Rethinking the role of affirmative action
Author(s)
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2010
URL http://www.orfonline.com/cms/sites/orfonline/modules/occasionalpaper/attachments/Working_Paper_12658​85458367.pdf
Abstract
This paper explores how an individual's participation in higher education (HE) is dependent on his religious affiliations, socio-economic status and demographic characteristics. It argues that an appropriate measure of 'deficits' in participation should inform the nature and scope of affirmative action. The study emphasises the relevance, both for analytical examination and in policy formulation, of distinguishing between stock and flow measures of participation and of recognizing the differences (or imbalances) in the eligibility for HE across groups. On isolating the effect of socio-religious affiliation from other factors that may influence participation in HE, what emerges is a suggestion that the deficits faced by some marginalized groups are not substantial enough to justify reservation for these groups just on the basis of low participation.

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