Telangana survey shows caste still shapes education opportunities
Survey reveals deep gaps between privileged and marginalised communities
Telangana’s Hidden Divide: A Brahmin Kid’s English Dream vs. a Kolam Child’s Struggle
Hyderabad—Imagine two kids in Telangana: one, a Brahmin boy gliding through English-medium gates; the other, a Kolam girl from the hills, lucky to finish primary school. The state’s 2024 SEEEPC Survey lays bare this gut-wrenching gap, analyzing 3.55 crore lives across 242 castes. Independent experts crunched it in 2025—revealing caste as education’s cruel gatekeeper.
Statewide, 36.3% of under-30s hold diplomas or degrees. General Castes (OC) soar to 59%; Scheduled Tribes (ST) limp at 28.4%. SCs hit 34.4%, BCs near average at 36.5%. Among 56 big castes (90% population), OC Brahmins, Komatis, Velamas clock 37% higher ed—double the norm. ST Kolams? A heartbreaking 4.4%. SC Beda, ST Gond, BC-D Mali hover low too.
Meet Lakshmi, 22, a Kolam from Adilabad. “School was 5 km away; no bus, no English,” she sighs, weaving baskets for pennies. Her dropout rate? 5.4%—five times OC Brahmins’ 1.1% (state avg 2.2%). Gonds drop out thrice Lambadis’ rate—blame remote hamlets, poverty, culture.
Private schools amplify inequality. 19.3% statewide attended non-govt; OCs 30%, Brahmins 38.3%. SCs? 9.6%. STs 7.8%, Kolams 1.1%. Govt schools trap 49% SC kids, 44% STs—OCs just 32%. Jains dodge at 9.7%.
English-medium? 47% youth overall. Brahmins 72.4%; Kolams 10.7%—nearly sevenfold gap. Goldsmiths/Padmasalis near 75%; Mudiraj/Valmiki under 30%. Same BC bucket, worlds apart.
Intermediate (Class 12) bottlenecks SCs (57% stop), STs (53%), BCs (54%)—OCs 44%, pushing further. Illiteracy nips 4.1% kids; Kolams 9.3%, Perikas 2.3%.
Women bear the brunt. 65.5% statewide below Class 10; Kolam women 82.9%, Brahmin 36.2%. Girl marriages peak at BC-A Gangiredlavaru (8.1%), dip at OC Kapu (2.1%).
Reddys, rural landowners (62%), match BC Christians/Goldsmiths in higher ed—unlike urban Komatis (30% rural). It’s not just money; it’s networks, expectations.
For families like Raju’s, a Mudiraj fisherman, it’s survival. “English opens IT jobs; we fish ponds,” he says, kids in govt school. Survey screams reform: targeted scholarships, tribal hostels, English for all. But data’s a wake-up—caste chains dreams. Break them, or watch generations sink.