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The All India Survey of Higher Education has revealed a similar report to last year with the continuous decline in Engineering and Arts programmes. However, the rise in female enrolment has been consistent.
As per the All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) report 2018-19, a negligible difference has been witnessed from previous years' report. Like last year’s report, the enrollment in Engineering and Arts programmes in India has been declining. Nonetheless, the number of female enrollments per 100 male enrollments has increased from last year’s 90 to 95 this year, sources state. As per the AISHE Report 2018-19, the gross student enrollment or GSR has also overall increased by 2% as well.
Demand for Integrated Degrees Increase
Over the past decade, the number of students opting for integrated courses has been on the rise. For comparison, the number of students who opted for integrated courses as per the AISHE 2011 report was 74,122 students. This number has jumped to 2,41,126 in the AISHE report 2018-19 for integrated courses enrollments.
The report has revealed that the postgraduate and M.Phil degrees have been witnessing a decline in the number of enrollments as well. However, there has been a rise in the number of students pursuing integrated courses.
Regarding the rise in the enrollment under integrated courses, the Secretary of Higher Education at MHRD, R Subrahmanyam stated that there is one major reason for the surge in enrollments under integrated courses. He stated that the students opt for the courses due to the offering of a better foundation with relevant subject knowledge and practice. He added that the rate of growth in the integrated courses adds to the overall growth of the undergraduate education.
Even though the survey has revealed that the number of enrollments under the B.Tech and M.Tech programmes in India have been declining over the years, it is witnessed that students have been opting for PhDs in the field of Science, Technology and Engineering. Subrahmanyam stated that among the institutes that have been offering PhDs include the different IITs and NITs in India. He added that the Government of India has been focusing on improving the overall growth of research in these areas, which has led to an increase in PhDs.
Also Read:Enrolment in UG and PG Engineering Courses at an All-Time Low
Hike in Female enrolment
Another major improvement that has taken place in the education sector is that the number of female enrollments has gone up. Many female students have opted for foreign and Indian Languages at the postgraduate level. Although the overall number of enrollments in these subjects have been declining as well.
As per the AISHE report 2018-19, the overall number of enrollments in the Foreign and Indian Languages this year had been 2.98 lakhs, out of which, 68% or 1.97 lakh students were female. Last year, the overall enrollment had been 3.28 lakhs, out of which 63% had been women.
AISHE Report Year | Number of Total enrolments Approx | Number of Female enrolments Approx |
|---|---|---|
2017-18 | 3,28,000 | 2,06,640 |
2018-19 | 2.98,000 | 1,97,000 |
Also Read:Here are the Highlights of the All India Survey of Higher Education
The Director of the Central Institute of Indian Languages, DG Rao stated that the reason why the number of enrollments has been subsiding over the years is due to the need to find a good job after the completion of the programme. Currently, it is witnessed that male students opt for courses in science and technology, which has resulted in more women joining courses in Indian languages, he added.
The CIIL Director further stated that the English language continues to be one of the popular choices for Foreign language courses. There have been 194,702 students enrolled under foreign language courses, English had seen 1,88,250 students enrolled under its course with a whopping 70% female enrolment.
With regards to the availability of jobs after the completion of Indian Languages, DG Rao claimed that there are many Tech giants that hire students for their skills and knowledge in Indian languages to promote their products.
