The All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2020-21 by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, has thrown open some disturbing data concerning the situation of Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir in higher education. The recently released survey shows that enrolment of Muslim students in the higher education in J&K has dropped by 47,334 since 2019-2020. This “level of absolute decline has never happened in the recent past for any group” in the region.
The data shows that Jammu and Kashmir has an estimated enrolment of 3, 98,854 in the higher education institutes, including Universities, Management Institutes, Engineering Institutes, Medical, Law, Architecture, Planning, Agriculture and other professional and general line Colleges and Research Institutes. Given the point that within Hindu dominated Indian State, Jammu and Kashmir has still a Muslim majority demographic value at 68.31 %, a disturbing fact is that the percentage in enrolment of this community in institutes of higher learning is contrarily 32.92 percent.
Hinduism is second most popular religion in the former state with approximately 28.44 % following this religion. Interestingly their enrolment percentage in the different levels of higher education like Ph D, M Phil, Post Graduate, Undergraduate and Diploma courses through regular and distance education mode is 67.07 percent. The upper caste communities of this cultural group according to the report have registered a strong growth rate over the past few years.
In 2019-20, out of a total enrolment of 3,95, 416 the number of Muslim boys and girls registered for different academic and professional courses of higher education was 1,78,676, which is slightly above 45%. AISHE statistics reveal that the number of Muslim youth has steeply declined to 1, 31,342, to be exact it is 32.92 % of the total enrolment estimated for 2020-21.
The survey has broken some stereotypical imaging of Kashmiri Muslims as being misogynic. The number of Muslim girls in the higher education is almost same as that of the boys of their religion. It was 89,608 for both the genders in 2019-20. The gender parity within other religions is quite higher, says the data.
At the pan India level the fall of Muslim students in higher education has been experienced highest in Uttar Pradesh at 36 %. Jammu and Kashmir accounts for 26 % which followed by Maharashtra. At the state/Union Territory level, the largest Muslim populated geographical unit, J&K, has lost 36 percent of Muslim students over the previous year of 2019-20.
Has government of India any stated discriminatory policy against Kashmiri Muslims in the higher education which has led to this exponential fall. No, there is no such policy at all. Education in the public sector is free from primary to university level. The budgetary allocations for this sector is on a steady rise over the years. The government under its National Education Policy 2020 is trying to build on traditional and emerging strengths, leveraging the digital initiatives and optimising the opportunities to address the skill deficiencies. Admissions are strictly based on the competitive examinations where only the merit matters.
But there is a fundamental evil in the process of admissions. An affirmative action “reservations” grants representation in education, scholarships, employment etc to backward castes and classes. This positive discrimination predominantly benefits the communities other than the Muslims. There are n number of instances where Muslim students from poor families could not make it to the admissions despite fetching higher merits in the entrance tests, for they lacked bad pocket certification. Almost 35 to 50 % seats have been reserved for Schedule Castes, Schedule Tribes, Social Castes and even financially weaker Upper Caste groups including Brahmins and others. The state has extended its arc of generosity to the children of paramilitary forces and police in addition to the already existing category for defence personnel.
Contrarily scholarships like the Maulana Azad fellowships that mostly benefitted the Muslim community has been done away with by the Ministry of minority affairs.
One of the important realities behind this absolute educational decay of Kashmir is also that Kashmir is a conflict society. Persistent physical, psychological and economic insecurity has resulted in a fall at social, political and economic metrics of the society. Thus has led to a state of despair and consequent dejection among Muslim youth with an educational system which they see unrewarding in the existing scenario. The absolute fall in their educational enrolments may help the upward socio economic and political mobility of other identities but its long term results will be unimaginable. The imbalance will take violence to unprecedented levels. Education can contribute equally to peace as well as conflict.
