New Delhi: Female participation ratio in education continued to outpace male even as Gross Enrolment Ratio recorded a new high in 2023-24, findings of the latest All India Survey on Higher Education reveal.
The Ministry of Education on Wednesday released the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) reports for 2022-23 and 2023-24, showing that India’s Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education has reached a record 30% in 2023-24, up from 29.5% in 2022-23 and 23.7% in 2014-15.
Female participation continued to outpace that of males, with the female GER rising to 31.2% in 2023-24. The Gender Parity Index stood at 1.08, remaining above 1.0 for the seventh consecutive year, indicating higher female participation in higher education.
The survey showed that total enrolment increased to 4.50 crore in 2023-24 from 4.46 crore in 2022-23 and 3.42 crore in 2014-15, reflecting a 31.5% rise over the past decade. Female enrolment rose to 2.24 crore, marking a 42.2% increase since 2014-15.
Enrolment among Scheduled Castes reached 69.72 lakh, Scheduled Tribes 28.83 lakh and Other Backward Classes 1.80 crore. The GER for SC students increased to 27.8%, while that for ST students rose to 22.8%.
STEM enrolment crossed 1.02 crore, with women accounting for 44% of students in these disciplines. The survey also reported that faculty strength rose to 17.32 lakh in 2023-24, including 7.78 lakh women. More than 90% of registered higher education institutions participated in both surveys.
