Shimla: Students in Himachal Pradesh government schools will no longer be identified by caste in their admission forms from the academic session 2027-28, with the state government deciding to remove the caste column from the forms.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu issued the direction while chairing a meeting of the Himachal Pradesh Scheduled Caste Welfare Board in Shimla on Wednesday. He said the move was aimed at promoting equality and reducing caste-based discrimination from the school level.
“The government is committed to eliminating caste-based discrimination in society and promoting fraternity and equality and the removal of the caste column would be a step in this direction. The new system will be implemented from the academic session 2027-28. We are looking to curb casteism from the grassroots level up. No child should be identified by his or her caste in schools,” Sukhu said.
The decision will not affect students’ access to government welfare schemes. Students from Scheduled Castes and other socially and educationally backward sections will continue to be able to provide caste details through their parents or guardians wherever such information is required to claim benefits.
Secretary (Education) Rakesh Kanwar said the education department would soon formulate a detailed policy and mechanism to implement the decision, while ensuring that no eligible student is denied government-sponsored welfare schemes.
The change will require modifications to the admission process and related school records. Caste-related information will continue to remain accessible through an appropriate mechanism wherever it is legally or administratively necessary for extending welfare benefits.
Sukhu also highlighted several initiatives for the welfare of Scheduled Castes, including loans of up to Rs 20 lakh for meritorious students pursuing higher education at an interest rate of one per cent.
He said subsidies were also being provided under the Rajiv Gandhi Start-up Swarozgar Saur Yojana for projects ranging from 100 KW to 2 MW. The subsidy stands at 5 per cent for projects in tribal areas and 4 per cent in other areas.
The government will also implement the Apna Parivar Sukhi Parivar Yojana for extremely poor families, under which eligible families will receive 300 units of free electricity and women from these families will receive a monthly pension of Rs 1,500.
Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Dhani Ram Shandil said nearly Rs 315 crore had been allocated in the current financial year for schemes covering Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, women, children and senior citizens.
A further corpus of Rs 1,105 crore has been allocated under the Scheduled Caste Development Programme, he said.
BI Bureau
