Economic Barriers to Higher Education in India: Challenges Faced by Economically Disadvantaged Groups

Economic barriers continue to pose a significant threat to the democratization of higher education in India, particularly for students from economically disadvantaged groups, including Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), rural communities, and first-generation learners. This paper critically examines the layered dimensions of these barriers, ranging from direct and indirect costs to opportunity costs and structural inefficiencies in financial aid systems. Anchored in Human Capital Theory and Social Reproduction Theory, the study draws on a wide spectrum of secondary data to reveal how financial constraints intersect with caste, gender, geography, and policy implementation gaps to restrict access, continuity, and success in higher education. While government initiatives such as NEP 2020, RUSA, UGC scholarships, and various state-level schemes aim to bridge the gap, the reality on the ground reflects persistent inequalities and exclusion. The research underscores the limitations of merit-based financial aid, the digital divide, and bureaucratic bottlenecks that disproportionately affect marginalized students. Comparative international models from Germany and the United States offer valuable insights into inclusive practices like tuition-free education, centralized aid systems, and integrated vocational pathways. The paper concludes with policy recommendations focused on expanding public investment, universalizing need-based aid, strengthening digital infrastructure, and promoting community-based open learning to ensure that higher education becomes a true vehicle for social mobility and inclusive national development, in alignment with SDG-4 and Vision Viksit Bharat @2047.