THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Kerala fared better than the national average in parameters such as Gross Enrolment Ratio and Gender Parity Index, as per the findings of the All Kerala Higher Education Survey 2021-22 (AKHES) released by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday.
Notably, female students far outnumbered their male counterparts and accounted for nearly 60% of the total enrolment in colleges and universities in the state, the survey prepared by the Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC) said. As per the findings of the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2021-22 released by the Centre in January, female students constituted 47.8% of the total enrolment at the national level.
The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) is a key indicator of the level of participation in higher education among a specified age group. In 2021-22, the overall GER in Kerala was estimated at 41.3%, which is higher than the national average of 28.4%. The state’s GER for female students was 49%, while at the national level, the GER for female students stood at 28.5%. In terms of inclusiveness too, the state fared well with higher GER for SC/ST students.
A Gender Parity Index (GPI) that varies between 0 and 1 typically shows disparity in favour of males, whereas a GPI greater than 1 indicates a disparity in favour of females. In 2021-22, GPI at all India level was 1.01 and for SC and ST categories, the GPI was 1.01 and 0.98 respectively.
However, Kerala recorded a higher GPI in the country than the national level with the overall GPI at 1.44 and 1.80 for the SC category and 1.41 for the ST category.
Of the 10,99,113 students enrolled in the state in 2021-2022, 3,31,244 (30.1%) were in universities and 7,67,869 (69.9%) were in colleges. The survey also found that there were 114 transgender students in the state. In 2021-2022, the overall Pupil-Teacher Ratio stood at 17.76. In regular enrolment, the Pupil Teacher Ratio across universities and colleges was 40 and 15.17, respectively.
While the overall pass percentage in universities was 70%, the pass rate across affiliated colleges was 70.26% in 2021-22, the survey found. The KSHEC has admitted that the presence of newly added institutions that have not yet submitted data and older institutions that have yet to obtain the AISHE survey code could pose “challenges and gaps” in the comprehensiveness and accuracy of the survey results.
KEY FINDINGS
Female student enrollment
Kerala - 59.47%
All India - 47.8%
GER
State Overall - 41.3%
All-India Overall - 28.4%
Female students (state) - 49%
Female students (All-India) 28.5 %
GENDER PARITY
State Overall - 1.44
All India Overall - 1.01