NEW DELHI: Kerala, Telangana, Haryana and Assam are the top four states that have more female enrolment in the country compared to others, according to the Centre’s All India Survey for Higher Education (AISHE) 2021-22 report. Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya and Chhattisgarh follow the four states.
The total female enrolment is 2,06,91,792, as per the report, which is the primary source of comprehensive statistics on the Higher Education scenario in the country.
According to the report, the total estimated enrolment in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in 2021-22 was 4,32,68,181, of which 96,38,345 was in Universities and its Constituent Units, 3,14,59,092 was in colleges, and 21,70,744 in stand-alone institutions.
However, the six states that saw maximum student enrolment are Uttar Pradesh (69.73 lakh), Maharashtra (45.78 lakh), Tamil Nadu (33.09 lakh), Madhya Pradesh (28 lakh), West Bengal (27.22 lakh), and Rajasthan (26.89 lakh). “These states account for 53.32% of total student enrolment,” the report said, adding that these states also house 51.4% of the total population of the 18-23 years age group.
Uttar Pradesh also has a maximum number of colleges (8,375). It is followed by Maharashtra (4,692), Karnataka (4,430), Rajasthan (3,934), Tamil Nadu (2,829), Madhya Pradesh (2,742), Andhra Pradesh (2,602), Gujarat (2,395), Telangana (2,083) and West Bengal (1,514).
The report highlighted that female enrolment in higher education, compared to men, has surged since 2014-15. “The share of women enrolment is 55% of the increase in overall enrolment (91 lakh) since 2014-15. There has been a higher increase in women enrolment than men,” the report said.
While the Bachelor of Arts (BA) course attracts the maximum number 1.13 crore students - 51% female and 49% male, the science discipline follows it. In the science stream, 49.18 lakh students are enrolled, of which 50.8% are female and 49.2% are male. There are 44.08 lakh students enrolled in the Commerce discipline, of which 47.2% are female and 52.8% are male students.
For Engineering and Technology, overall enrolment in all UG, PG, MPhil and PhD levels is 41,31,303. “Of these, the highest enrolment is in computer engineering followed by mechanical engineering, electronics engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, et cetera,” the report added.
The Ministry of Education has been conducting AISHE since 2011, covering all higher educational institutions in India and imparting higher education in the country.