AISHE-2019 | 30 Sep 2019

According to the All-India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) report 2018-19, the gender gap in the country narrowed as compared to the previous year, i.e. 2017-18.

• The female students constituted almost half (approx. 48.6%) of the total enrolment in higher education.
• In U.P and Karnataka, more girls were enrolled than their male counterparts in the higher education of the state.
• The number of female students per 100 male students has gone up from 90 (2017-18) to 95 in 2018-19.

Key Findings

• For the survey, 944 out of 993 universities listed on the AISHE portal, uploaded the information during the 2018-19 survey.
• According to the findings, the total enrolment in higher education has been estimated at around 37.4 million, with a marginal increase in the gross enrolment ratio.
• The highest number of students are enrolled at the undergraduate level (at around 79.8 %), followed by post-graduation (10.8 %). But a surge was observed in integrated degree programmes.
  
  • Integrated programmes are becoming more popular as they provide a better foundation for the subject knowledge and practice.
  • At the undergraduate level, the highest number of students were enrolled in Arts/Humanities/Social Sciences courses (approx. 35.9%), followed by Science (16.5%), Commerce (14.1%) and Engineering and Technology (13.5 %).
• Only 2.5% of the total number of colleges were running Doctorate programmes and 35% had Post-graduate level courses.
• Out of the total number of colleges in India, only 11.04% are exclusively there for female students.
  
  • According to the report, the percentage of women saw a steady rise in language courses, while on the other hand, men are opting for courses which can fetch them immediate employment, like that of courses in the field of Science and Technology.
  • The share of female students was the lowest in the Institutions of National Importance.

Higher Education Initiatives in India

• The Department of Higher Education, under the Ministry of Human Resource Development, has taken several measures to improve the overall development of the Higher Education sector, both in terms of policy and planning. Some of the taken initiatives are as follows:
• National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT), to leverage the potential of ICT to make the best quality content accessible to all learners in the country free of cost.
• Rashtriya Ucchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) aims at providing strategic funding to higher educational institutions throughout the country.
• Project Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme (EQUIP) to put together an action plan to give a multi-pronged boost to the higher education system in India.
• Prime Minister's Research Fellowship (PMRF) to attract the talent pool of the country to doctoral (Ph.D) programmes for carrying out research in cutting edge science and technology domains, with focus on national priorities.
• Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC) aims at improving the research ecosystem of India’s higher educational institutions by facilitating academic and research collaborations between Indian institutions and the best institutions in the world.
• Global Initiative for Academic Network (GIAN) launched by MHRD, seeks to tap the talent pool of scientists and entrepreneurs from abroad, including those of Indian origin to augment the country’s existing academic resources.
• Formation of Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) to finance the creation of capital assets in premier educational institutions in India.

Source: BL