NEW DELHI: The gap between girls and boys in higher education institutes seems to be narrowing as 49% of the students in colleges are now girls, according to the latest All India Survey on Higher Education.
The survey for 2019-20, released on Thursday, showed that during the five-year period from 2015-16 to 2019-20, there has been a 11.4% growth in student enrolment. The rise in female enrolment during the period was 18.2%.
The higher education survey estimates the total enrolment in higher education at 38.5 million – 19.6 million boys and 18.9 million girls. Uttar Pradesh has shown the highest student enrolment, followed by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
The gross enrolment ratio (GER) for the age group of 18-23 years in higher education institutes in India is 27.1. The ratio for male population is 26.9 and 27.3 for females. For the scheduled caste category, it is 23.4 and for scheduled tribes, it is 18.0 compared to the national GER of 27.1.
“The continuous rise in the enrolment, number of institutions and gender parity is a part of our country’s major move towards improving access, equity and quality in light of National Education Policy,” said higher education secretary Amit Khare while releasing the report.
The GER increased by minuscule 0.8% in 2019-20. The percentage of students belonging to the eligible age group enrolled in higher education in 2019-20 was 27.1% against 26.3% in 2018-19 and 24.3% in 2014-2015. Total enrolment in higher education stands at 3.85 crore in 2019-20 compared to 3.74 crore in 2018-19.
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