Enrolment in higher studies up 7.4%: All India Survey on Higher Education

Tribune News Service

Karam Prakash

New Delhi, January 30

Student enrolment in higher education went up by 7.4 per cent across the country, while the proportion of students from diverse groups such as Muslims, SCs, OBCs and those with disabilities dipped.

These are some of the key findings of an All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2020-21 released by the Ministry of Education on Sunday.

According to the survey report, total enrolment in higher education increased to nearly 4.13 crore in 2020-21 from 3.85 crore in 2019-20, when the survey was last conducted.

An addition of 28.8 lakh students in higher studies means an increase of 7.4 per cent from the 2019-20 level. Since 2014-15, total enrolment has increased by 20.9 per cent.

However, the proportion of SC students in higher education dropped from 14.7 per cent in 2019-20 to 14.2 per cent in 2020-21, while enrolment of OBCs dipped from 37 per cent to 35.8 per cent.

Enrolment of Muslim students in higher education also decreased from 5.5 per cent in 2019-20 to 4.6 per cent in 2020-21, with the proportion of “other minority” students dropping from 2.3 per cent to 2 per cent in the same period.

Among all undergraduate courses, the most popular stream remained Bachelor of Arts, which saw 104 lakh enrolments followed by Bachelor of Science. The next on the list was Bachelor of Commerce. Women accounted for less than 30 per cent of all enrolments in B Tech and Bachelor of Engineering.

At the postgraduate level, the most popular courses were related to social sciences for women, who accounted for 56 per cent of enrolments in 2020-21, followed by science. At the PhD level, most of the opted for engineering and technology, followed by science.

The survey has found that SC and ST communities continue to be underrepresented in the faculty.

Preferred courses

• Among all undergraduate courses, the most popular stream remained Bachelor of Arts followed by Bachelor of Science
• Women accounted for less than 30 per cent of all enrolments in B Tech and Bachelor of Engineering
• At the postgraduate level, the most popular courses were related to social sciences for women followed by science

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