The Minister of State for Education, Dr Subhas Sarkar recently shared positive news in the Rajya Sabha stating that there has been a rise in the enrollment of girls in the Indian Institutes of Technologies (IITs).
In 2016 the percentage of female enrollment in the IITs was 8% in 2016 which increased to 20% in 2021-22. This was a direct result of creating supernumerary seats, the minister said.
In addition to this, the enrollment of female students in the NITs also increased to nearly 22.1% in 2021-22.
The Ministry of Education, in a statement, also said, “There has been consistent improvement in the enrolment of female students in STEM Courses. As per AISHE Report, the number of female students enrolled in STEM Courses has increased from 41,97,186 in 2016-17 to 43,87,248 in 2020-21.”
The main reasons behind the rise in these percentages are government schemes and the scholarships offered under these schemes to female students in our country.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) is offering special postgraduate scholarships.
Further, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is also providing 10,000 scholarships (PRAGATI) to girls applying for technical education.
In order to encourage girls in India to take up higher education, the UGC has also put in place several schemes under which setting up of women hostels for colleges and universities, capacity building of women managers in higher education, and the establishment of daycare centres in central and state universities in ensured.
This positive rise in the percentage of girl enrollment in technical institutes is a result of the government’s robust efforts. With such continuous efforts, it will be possible to encourage more and more girls in our country to pursue higher education and build a better future for themselves.
