Student enrollment in higher education crosses 4 crore: AISHE Report 2020-2021

NEW DELHI: The enrollment of students in higher education has crossed the 4 crore mark for the first time according to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2020-2021. The report has been prepared by the Ministry of Education, Government of India considering detailed information on different parameters such as student enrollment, teacher’s data, infrastructural information, and financial information, among others.

As per the AISHE report 2020-21, the students enrollment in higher education increased to 4.14 crore from 3.85 crore in 2019-20, marking an increase of 7.5 percent from 2019-20 and 21 percent from 2014-15. The enrollment of female students has also reached 2 crore mark with an increase of 13 lakh from 2019-20.

The category-wise students' enrollment has also increased for Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) students as compared to the 2014-15 data. Moreover, the reports claim a notable increase of 29 percent in student enrollment and 34 percent in female student enrollment in the North Eastern region in 2020-21 compared to 2014-15.

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Here are the few outcomes as reported by AISHE 2020-21 survey.

Student Enrollment

• The total enrollment in higher education has increased to nearly 4.14 crore in 2020-21 from 3.85 crore in 2019-20. Since 2014-15, there has been an increase of around 72 lakh in enrollment (21 percent).
• The female enrolment has increased to 2.01 crore from 1.88 crore in 2019-20. There has been an increase of around 44 lakh (28 percent) since 2014-15.
• The percentage of female enrolment to total enrolment has increased from 45 percent in 2014-15 to around 49 percent in 2020-21.
• As per 2011 population projections for 18-23 years age group, GER has increased to 27.3 from 25.6 in 2019-20.
• A notable increase of 1.9 points is observed in GER of ST students in 2020-21, as compared to 2019-20.
• Female GER has overtaken Male GER since 2017-18. Gender Parity Index (GPI), the ratio of female GER to male GER, has increased from 1 in 2017-18 to 1.05 in 2020-21.
• The enrolment of SC students is 58.95 lakh as compared to 56.57 lakh in 2019-20 and 46.06 lakh in 2014-15.
• The enrolment of ST students has increased to 24.1 lakh in 2020-21 from 21.6 lakh in 2019-20 and 16.41 lakh in 2014-15.
• The average annual enrolment of ST students has increased to around 1 lakh during the period 2014- 15 to 2020-21, from around 75,000 during the period 2007-08 to 2014-15.
• Enrolment of OBC students has also increased by 6 lakh to 1.48 crore in 2020-21, from 1.42 crore in 2019-20. There is a notable increase in OBC student enrolment since 2014-15 of around 36 lakh (32 percent).
• The total student enrolment in North East states is 12.06 lakh in 2020-21 as compared to 9.36 lakh in 2014-15.
• The female enrolment in North East states is 6.14 lakh in 2020-21, higher than the male enrolment of 5.92 lakh (for every 100 male students, there are 104 female students in NER). Female enrolment outnumbered male enrolment for first time in 2018-19, and the trend continues.
• The enrolment in distance education is 45.71 lakh (with 20.9 lakh female), an increase of around 7 percent since 2019-20 and 20 percent since 2014-15.
• Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan are the top 6 States in terms of number of student enrolled.
• As per response in AISHE 2020-21, about 79.06 percent of the total students are enrolled in UG level courses and 11.5 percentare enrolled in PG level courses.
• Among Disciplines at UG level, enrollment is highest in Arts (33.5 percent), followed by Science (15.5 percent), Commerce (13.9 percent) and Engineering and Technology (11.9 percent).
• Among streams at PG level, maximum students are enrolled in Social Science (20.56 percent) followed by science (14.83 percent).
• Of the total enrolment, 55.5 lakh students are enrolled in Science Stream, with female students (29.5 lakh) out numbering male students (26 Lakh).
• Government Universities (59 percent of total) contribute towards 73.1 percent of the enrolment. Government Colleges (21.4 percent of total) contribute towards 34.5 percent of the enrolment.
• The enrolment in the Institute of National Importance (INIs) has increased by nearly 61 percent during the period 2014-15 to 2020-21.
• Enrolment has increased in 2020-21 compared to 2014-15 in the Specialized Universities relating to Defence, Sanskrit, Biotechnology, Forensics, Design, Sports etc.
• The total number of pass-outs has increased to 95.4 lakh in 2020-21 as against 94 lakh in 2019-20.

Availability of different infrastructural facilities in universities in 2020-21:

• Libraries (97 percent)
• Laboratories (88)
• Computer centres (91 percent, 86 percent in 2019-20)
• Skill development centre (61 percent, 58 percent in 2019-20)
• Connectivity to national knowledge network (56 percent, from 34 percent in 2019-20)

Number of Institutions

• The total number of universities/university like institutions registered is 1,113, colleges 43,796 and standalone institutions 11,296.
• During 2020-21, the number of universities has increased by 70, and the number of colleges has increased by 1,453.
• Since 2014-15, there has been increase of 353 universities (46.4 percent).
• The Institutes of National Importance (INIs) have almost doubled from 75 in 2014-15 to 149 in 2020-21.
• 191 new higher education institutions have been established in North Eastern states since 2014-15.
• The highest number of universities is in Rajasthan (92), Uttar Pradesh (84) and Gujarat (83).
• During 2014-15 to 2020-21, on average, 59 universities have been added annually. This was about 50 during 2007-08 to 2014-15.
• 17 universities (of which 14 are state public) and 4,375 colleges are exclusively for women.
• The college density, the number of colleges per lakh eligible population (population in the age-group 18-23 years) has been 31. This was 27 in 2014-15.
• States with the highest college density: Karnataka (62), Telangana (53), Kerala (50), Himachal Pradesh (50), Andhra Pradesh (49), Uttarakhand (40), Rajasthan (40), Tamilnadu (40).
• Top 8 districts with the highest number of colleges: Bangalore Urban (1058), Jaipur (671), Hyderabad (488), Pune (466), Prayagraj (374), Rangareddy (345), Bhopal (327) and Nagpur (318).
• Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat are the top 8 states in terms of the number of colleges.
• 43 percent of universities and 61.4 percent of colleges are located in rural areas.