India's higher education enrollment hits 45 million, women gain ground in STEM

India's higher education sector has seen a record enrollment of 45 million students in the 2023-24 academic year, according to the latest All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) reports. This figure represents a significant increase from 44.6 million in the previous year and 34.2 million in 2014-15, marking a 31.5% growth over the decade.

A key highlight of the survey is the continued rise in women's participation, particularly in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs. Female enrollment climbed to 22.4 million in 2023-24, an increase of 42.2% since 2014-15. The proportion of women in STEM fields has also improved steadily, growing from 38.4% to 44% over the past decade. In 2023-24, women constituted 4.48 million of the 10.19 million students enrolled in STEM programs.

The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER), which measures the proportion of individuals aged 18-23 enrolled in higher education, reached 30 in 2023-24, up from 29.5 in the prior year and 23.7 in 2014-15. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 aims to raise the GER to 50% by 2035. The female GER saw a substantial increase, rising from 22.9 in 2014-15 to 31.2 in 2023-24. The Gender Parity Index, indicating the ratio of female to male GERs, stood at 1.08 in 2023-24, continuing a trend of women outnumbering men in higher education for seven consecutive years.

The survey also highlighted steady gains for historically underrepresented communities. Scheduled Caste (SC) enrollment increased to 6.97 million in 2023-24, Scheduled Tribe (ST) enrollment rose to 2.88 million, and Other Backward Classes (OBC) enrollment reached 18 million. The GER for SC students improved to 27.8 and for ST students to 22.8 in 2023-24, reflecting progress in educational access for these groups.