Over and above: On the All India Survey on Higher Education data

With more Indian women entering university campuses, the gender gap in college classrooms has narrowed. The latest All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) data for 2023-24 reveal that absolute female enrolment rose by 42% over the past decade, climbing from 1.57 crore in 2014-15 to 2.24 crore. In comparison, male enrolment grew from 1.85 crore to 2.26 crore during the same period. Women have comfortably surpassed the male growth rate of 22.16%, pushing total higher education enrolment to a record 4.5 crore . They now account for nearly half (49.7%) of all students in Indian universities and colleges. With a Gender Parity Index of 1.08, 108 young women now enter higher education for every 100 men. This marks a hard-won victory, especially for marginalised communities, where female enrolment among Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes rose by 51.4% and 75.7%, respectively. Yet, a deeper look at the data demands caution. High enrolment numbers are a superficial veneer if the pipeline of employment opportunities beyond the college gate remains broken. While women make up 44% of STEM students, this number is heavily skewed toward the “S” (general sciences such as biology and chemistry), where they hold a 54.6% majority. In contrast, engineering and technology remain male-dominated, with women making up just 31.1% of enrolment. By clustering in traditional sciences, women are isolated from the future-proof economic drivers of artificial intelligence and software engineering.