CHENNAI: When it comes to pursuing Masters of Philosophy programmes in Tamil Nadu, women are way ahead of their male counterparts. According to a survey released by the All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) 2017-18, of the 17,179 students across the state, 12,755 are females and 4424 are males.
A total of 34,34,781 students are enrolled in various higher education programmes including PhD, M Phil Post Graduate Under Graduate, PG Diploma, Diploma, Certificate and Integrated courses in Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile, more than half of all students pursuing Masters of Philosophy in India and a third of all students enrolled for PhD are from Tamil Nadu.
More than half the students pursuing Masters of Philosophy in India and a third of all students enrolled for PhD are from TN, according to All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) 2017-18, which was released recently.
Contrary to the nation-wide data that shows lesser women pursue higher education, there is a greater female enrolment for most high education programmes. The survey reveals that the number of women pursuing MPhil in Tamil Nadu is thrice as much as men, and in case of PhD, the number of enrolled male and female students are almost equal.
A total of 34,34,781 students are enrolled in various higher education programmes including PhD, MPhil, Under Graduate, PG Diploma, Diploma, Certificate and Integrated courses in Tamil Nadu. Of the 17,179 students enrolled in various M Phil programmes across the State, 12,755 are female and 4,424 are males.
There are multiple reasons for why M Phil is on high demand in the State explain experts. TN allows colleges to conduct M Phil programmes, as opposed to many states that allow only the course only on university campuses.
“We have a large number of liberal arts and science colleges that offer MPhil programmes. This one year course offers a cushion period for students to decide whether they want to get employed or dive into research,” said P Duraisamy, the Vice Chancellor of University of Madras.
Enrolment of women in government aided MPhil is much higher in aided colleges, in particular, said Alexander Jesudasan, principal of Madras Christian College. Commenting on significantly lower enrolment of men, he said, “Males are often under pressure to take up employment after Masters. So they do not take up one year courses that do not drastically improve their chance of getting a job.” He added that female students use the one year programme to prepare for competitive exams.
The gender ratio is however inverted when it comes to enrolment in diploma courses. Only about 17 per cent of the 3,87,706 candidates enrolled in diploma courses are women.
Duraisamy said that this data shows the role of welfare schemes in promoting female enrolment. “Most diploma colleges are run by private institutions where government aid is lesser. Further diploma courses are cut out for employment rather than education for knowledge propagation alone. Incentives for women are lesser therefore,” he said.
When it comes to PhD programmes, of nearly 30,000 students pursuing PhD in the State, 16,200 are males and 13,500 are female. Tamil Nadu has the second highest enrolment after Delhi, the data shows. About 32,000 students are pursuing PhD in Delhi. At the post graduate level, there are twice as many students as male students. Out of the 4.4 lakh students pursuing masters 2.6 lakh (60 per cent) are women.
Though TN has a good enrolment rate for higher education, providing employment for students is becoming more and more tedious, observed MK Surappa, Vice Chancellor of Anna University. “Women should get involved more in long-term research and indulge in start-ups,” he said.