B.Tech, M.Tech enrolment falls over last five years
The Ministry of Human Resource Development on Saturday published the annual All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) report. According to the report, B.Tech and M.Tech programs have recorded a huge dip in enrolment. In fact, the popularity of professional courses altogether has been waning even though student enrolment in higher education is at an all-time high. Here are more details.
B.Tech enrolment falls 11%; M.Tech by 46% since 2014-15
According to the AISHE report, B.Tech enrolment fell by 11% from 42.5 lakh in 2014-15 to 37.7 lakh in 2018-19. Similarly, student enrolment in M.Tech programs almost halved, falling drastically from 2.89 lakh to 1.35 lakh in the same period. Furthermore, enrolment in BA, which has the highest enrolment, also fell from 98.6 lakh to 91.9 lakh in the five years.
Some professional courses witnessed rise in enrolment
However, for some professional programs, such as MBA, MBBS, B.Ed, and LLB, enrolment numbers witnessed a rise. MBA enrolment rose from 4.09 lakh in 2014-15 to 4.62 lakh in 2018-19, while, for B.Ed, enrolment jumped from 6.57 lakh to 11.75 lakh, an 80% rise.
Total 3.74 crore enrolled in higher education
Interestingly, even as professional courses saw a dip in enrolment, academic courses grew popular and enrolment in higher education increased overall. Total enrolment for higher education has been estimated at 3.74 crore, the survey stated, which includes 10.62% of distant enrolment. Additionally, the undergraduate level program amounts to 79.8% of student enrolment, while Ph.D. courses only amount to less than 0.5%.
Gross Enrolment Ratio also rose from last year
Further, the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for higher education is currently 26.3%, up from 25.8% in 2017-18. It's calculated by mapping students in the age group 18-23 who are enrolled in undergraduate, postgraduate and research-level studies. GER for SC is 23% and 17.2% for ST.
Gender gap grows slimmer in higher education
Meanwhile, the Gender Parity Index (GPI) has increased over the last five years, from 0.92 in 2014-15 to 1 in 2018-19. GPI is the female to male ratio in higher education. Out of the 3.74 crore students enrolled, 1.92 crore were men (51.34%) and 1.82 crore were women (48.67%). This rise has been observed largely in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.
Survey collected responses from 962 universities
The AISHE survey was released by HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' on Saturday during the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) meeting. The survey report noted that there are 993 universities, 39,931 colleges and 10,725 standalone institutions in India. Reportedly, the number of universities has grown from 903 in 2017-18. The survey is based on responses collected from 962 universities.
