According to All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2021-22, over the past eight years, more women have enrolled in higher education than men. Women in India accounted for 55% of the increase in total enrolment in higher education (91 lakh) since 2014-15.
Recent survey report suggests that women account for 48 percent, or 2.07 crore, of the total enrolment of 4.33 crore. Women’s enrolment increased marginally to 2.01 crore from 1.88 crore in 2019-20. Back in 2014-15, women accounted for 46 percent of the total 3.42 crore enrolments in higher education across India.
Since 2014-15, there has been a constant rise in women’s enrolment, stated the AISHE report. Women’s Enrolment grew by 18.7 percent between five years, from 2.01 crore in 2020-21 and from 1.74 crore in 2017-18 to 2.07 crore in 2021-22.
“The share of female enrolment in the increase in total enrolment (91 lakh) since 2014-15 is 55 per cent. There has been more increase in the enrolment of women as compared to men,” stated the AISHE report.
This trend is a welcome change that indicates the narrowing gender gap in higher education. Women in science stream have made great progress, where they account for 52.1% of the total 57.18 lakh undergraduate, postgraduate, MPhil, and PhD students. 51% of all students enrolled in undergraduate science programmes are women.
