CENTRE SEES STEADY RISE IN HIGHER EDUCATION ENROLMENT

More youngsters in the age group of 18-23 years opted for higher education during 2014-15 as the gross enrolment ratio (GER) in higher education for that year recorded an increase and touched 23.6%, the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE- provisional) has revealed.

The GER is the ratio of individuals who are actually enrolled in educational institutes to those who are of the corresponding enrollment age. During the year 2010-11, the gross enrolment ratio was found to be 19.4%.

Giving the details of the survey, human resource development (HRD) minister Smriti Irani said the jump in the gross enrolment ratio indicated that the 12th Five Year Plan target of 30% GER could be achieved.

The minister, however, noted that a gender disparity prevailed in the teaching staff as only 64 female teachers were found to be employed in institutes of higher education per 100 male teachers. The minister said that she has directed officials from her ministry to formulate schemes to ensure that the number of women teachers in higher education institutes could be increased. The other key findings of the AISHE 2014-15 (provisional) revealed that the total enrollment in higher education is estimated to be 33.3 million with 17.9 million of them being boys and 15.4 million girls. The gross enrolment ratio for the male population is 24.5% while for girls it is slightly lower at 22.7%. However, for the scheduled castes the gross enrolment ratio is found to be 18.5% while for scheduled tribes it is 13.3%, which is lower than the national average.