TIRUPATI: The latest All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) report published by the Ministry of Education for the 2020-21 edition highlights a minuscule number of students in Andhra Pradesh enrolling in undergraduate courses or qualifying for their three-year graduate degree courses.
However, contradictory to the report, the AISHE report shows a rise in the overall female enrolment in higher education courses from 1.8 crores in 2019-20 to 2 crore in 2020-21.
According to the report, around 8.4 lakh male and 7.5 lakh female students in the State enrolled in undergraduate courses in 2020-21. Of which, only 1.67 lakh male and 1.59 female students passed out.
Also, the number of students enrolled in postgraduate and research degrees was on the lower side with just 98,570 male and 97,244 female students taking admission in masters’ courses in the state.
The report underlines a portend regarding the progression and advancement being made by the students at university, higher and research education levels in the State.
Academicians, Educationists and experts pointed out a wide range of issues about the huge gap in student enrolment and student passing out rate, which are gender disparity, family and financial constraints, students opting for diploma courses after enrolling in undergraduate courses while some students taking up menial jobs based on their 10th and 12th qualifications.
Retired SPMVV VC Professor D Jamuna pointed out that gender disparity is the elephant in the room for female students that prevent girls from completing their graduation.
“In AP, most families come under either middle class or lower middle-class and girls coming from the lower socio-economic background are bound to heed the decisions taken up by their parents. After admitting their daughters to university education, most parents forcibly get them married resulting in an increase in dropout level,” Jamuna told TNIE. She elaborated that most parents want to invest money in their son’s education rather than educating their daughters and getting them employed.
“When a girl who is particularly an adult underperforms at her academics, the immediate intention of her parents is to get her married. On the other hand, when boys underdo their academics, they are given a push and more opportunities by their parents, which is one bottleneck for many girls’ higher education,” Jamuna pointed out.
“Incentivizing education by the AP government in the form of welfare initiatives to the underprivileged has helped to check the dropout rate to an extent at the primary school education level. I hope the narrative at the higher education level will take a positive shift in the next decade,” she elaborated.
Another Academician G Ananda Reddy, said it is wrong to state all the students are unable to qualify their degree courses. “Students looking for job opportunities based on their 10th and 12th qualification is the major issue.”