Three and a half years ago, while standing in a visa application queue, I found myself observing a very elite international school nearby. The stark contrast between the children attending this prestigious institution and those in tribal hamlets attending school for midday meals struck me deeply. It was a visual metaphor of the vast divide in education, a disparity that reveals itself at every stage of life. Yet, it’s astonishing how marginalized students continue to dream of education, despite these overwhelming odds.
Almost a century ago, global scholars like Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and Jaipal Singh Munda defied the odds to pursue higher education abroad, leaving behind a legacy that continues to inspire millions of students today. Many dream of studying at world-class institutions, but the system often doesn’t make it easy for them to realize these aspirations.
One such student is Eknath Wagh, a 28-year-old from the Buldhana district in Maharashtra. Over the past 24 months, Eknath has received more than 25 offer letters from universities around the world, almost all from QS Top 100 rankings, including prestigious institutions like the London School of Economics (LSE), Edinburgh and Harvard University, where he was admitted to pursue a Master’s in Education Policy.
Nothing short of extraordinary
Eknath’s story is nothing short of extraordinary – he was born to a small-scale nomadic farmer in a family where formal schooling was unheard of. As the first-generation learner in his entire family, Eknath’s achievement stands as a testament to perseverance, as he overcame enormous odds to reach this point. Coming from a vernacular medium and socio-economically disadvantaged background, securing an education at Harvard should have been the pinnacle of his success.
For many students from historically marginalized communities, securing a place in an esteemed institution like Harvard feels almost impossible. Eknath, however, was determined to change his fate. He navigated the arduous selection process, secured a visa, and even took out a loan to cover initial costs. His term was set to begin in August 2024, but fate had a cruel twist waiting for him – his future now rests in the hands of an unpredictable bureaucratic machine responsible for releasing scholarship funds.
Eknath’s journey highlights the struggles faced by students from Nomadic and Denotified Tribes (NT/DNT), who have very little to aspire to in terms of government support. The National Overseas Scholarship (NOS), offered by the Ministry of Social Justice, provides a meager six scholarships nationwide for Nomadic, Semi-nomadic, and De-notified tribes. Given that these communities comprise roughly 10% of India’s population, the allocation of just six scholarships feels shockingly inadequate.
Eknath, relying on a state scholarship from Maharashtra, found that even this option was more about luck than any reliable system. The timing of the application portal’s opening was erratic, with no fixed schedule, and the entire process was offline.
In his case, the portal opened just one month before he was scheduled to join Harvard. The application process itself was a gruelling test of patience, involving numerous district-level verifications, division-level approvals, notarized attestations, and countless undertakings. By the end of it, Eknath had submitted 60-70 documents about his family’s history, a process marked by a lack of transparency and accountability.
Moreover, in order to apply for scholarships, the entire family’s annual income must be under ₹ 8 lakh a figure that remains arbitrary and poorly justified. When the cost of a one-year Master’s program in the UK or USA ranges from ₹ 30 to ₹ 40 lakh, how can a family earning ₹ 10 – ₹15 lakh annually afford the education? The redundancy of these rules offers no relief. For instance, even children of farmers, like Eknath, must provide an Income Tax Return (ITR), despite exemptions that may apply to their status.
Eknath’s struggle is not unique; it reflects a broader systemic issue where the Indian government’s scholarship system fails to support students from marginalized communities adequately. Despite the immense talent and potential these students possess, the bureaucratic hurdles they face seem insurmountable, reinforcing the elitist, meritocratic nature of India’s education system that often overlooks the needs of the disadvantaged.
Scholarships, patience and failure
For students from marginalized communities, applying for government scholarships in India to study abroad can often feel more like a punishment than an opportunity. The bureaucratic hurdles, delayed responses, and ever-changing rules seem designed to make the process as difficult as possible. Eknath Wagh, whose dream of attending Harvard University was thwarted by delays in receiving his scholarship award letter, is just one example of how the system fails to support its most promising students.
Eknath’s scholarship results came far too late – his award letter only arrived in December, four months after the application deadline, making it impossible for him to begin his studies in August. Despite his tireless efforts to expedite the process, the system’s inefficiency and delay meant that his dreams were dashed by bureaucratic red tape. The realization that he couldn’t attend Harvard simply because of these administrative delays was a devastating blow.
The handling of scholarships in India often appears feudalistic, as if the government is doing students a favor rather than providing support to help them succeed. Students are required to give a sort of guarantee to the government through bonds that can cost lakhs. This mirrors the Dronacharya model, where individuals like Eklavya, despite their immense talent, must prove their worth through excessive means that only serve to perpetuate inequality.
Eknath Wagh’s story is a microcosm of the larger issue – the failures of the system to support marginalized students. Despite the setbacks, he refuses to give up on his dreams. “I have gathered my strength once again and re-applied to Harvard, hoping that this time, the world will be a little kinder to my dreams,” he says.
The Indian government must take concrete steps to make higher education accessible to students from marginalized backgrounds. There is a growing need for global academia, civil society, and developmental organizations to create funding pools that would enable universities worldwide to offer dedicated scholarships for students from underrepresented communities in India. Within the next few years, at least 1,000-2000 scholarships should be made available to ensure that dreams like Eknath’s are not left to wither in bureaucratic limbo.
Only then can we make the vision of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar a reality, where no student, regardless of their background, has to wait in line for a visa and where the doors of opportunity are truly open to all.
(Raju Kendre is the founder of Eklavya India Foundation which works to democratize education and leadership opportunities for marginalized communities. He is currently a researcher at University of Göttingen, Germany)
Published – February 11, 2025 09:05 pm IST