Lok Sabha Question No. 27 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-11-25
Subject: Encouragement of  Women for STEM Courses
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Shashank Mani

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-27

ANSWERED ON-25/11/2024

## ENCOURAGEMENT OF WOMEN FOR STEM COURSES

27 Shri Shashank Mani:

Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has data on gender-wise enrollment and completion rates in STEM courses at secondary and tertiary levels across various States, if so, the details thereof;
- (b)  whether  there  are  any  scholarships  and  support  programmes  specifically  designed  to encourage women in STEM courses; and
- (c) whether there is district-level data available on STEM education facilities and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

(DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR )

- (a) As per Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2021-22 and All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2022-23(Provisional) the gender-wise enrolment at Higher secondary and tertiary levels in STEM courses is as under:

| Education Level                                                | Male      | Female    | Total       |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-------------|
| Higher Secondary (2021-22) (11 th and 12 th Standards)         | 56,78,265 | 47,19,128 | 1,03,97,393 |
| Tertiary (2022-23) (Total UG, PG, MPhil, Phd for STEM courses) | 56,45,364 | 43,30,477 | 99,75,841   |

As per the publication of Results of secondary and Higher Secondary Examination2022 and All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2022-23 (Provisional) the genderwise passed out students data in STEM Courses is as under:

|                                                              | Passed Out Students   | Passed Out Students   | Passed Out Students   |
|--------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|
| Education Level                                              | Male                  | Female                | Total                 |
| Higher Secondary Examination (12 th Standard Science Stream) | 29,11,944             | 23,25,805             | 52,37,749             |
| Tertiary (Final Year Examination of UG, PG, MPhil, Phd )     | 12,30,932             | 10,40,352             | 22,71,284             |

(b)    Education  being  in  the  Concurrent  List,  enhancing  the  quality  of  education  is  the responsibility  of  both  the  Central  and  State  Governments.  Various  schemes/  projects/ programmes run by the Ministry have been aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. NEP 2020 aims to ensure that no child loses opportunity to learn and excel because of the circumstances of birth or background. This policy aims at bridging the social category gaps in access, participation, and learning outcomes, including providing greater access to women. The Central Government has taken various measures to promote higher education among the students across the nation including women, such as fee reductions, establishment of more institutes, scholarships, priority access to national level scholarships to aid students with poor financial backgrounds to pursue their education.

University Grants Commission (UGC) is implementing scholarship scheme 'National Scholarship for Post Graduate Studies (NSPG)' to provide scholarship to students pursuing Post Graduate Programs.  UGC is also providing fellowships to pursue Ph.D. in all disciplines including STEM education, under UGC NET-Junior Research Fellowship and Savitribai Jyoti Rao Phule Single Girl Child Fellowship.

Similarly,  All  India  Council  for  Technical  Education  (AICTE)  also  offers  various scholarships like AICTE Pragati Scholarship Scheme for Women (Degree & Diploma), AICTE PG scholarship Scheme, AICTE Doctoral Fellowship (ADF), AICTE Saksham Scholarship Scheme (Degree & Diploma) and AICTE Swanath Scholarship Scheme (Degree & Diploma). AICTE has also launched the AICTE Post-Doctoral Fellowship (PDF) scheme in June 2024 from the academic year 2024-25 for girls and boys of AICTE approved Institutions.

With a view to improve female enrolment in the Undergraduate Programmes in Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs), supernumerary seats were created which increased the female enrolment from less than 10% to more than 20%. Women constitute 43% of enrolment in STEM education, one of the highest in the world.

Further, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs) also provide 100% tuition fee waiver for SC/ST/PwD undergraduate students. Besides, the most economically backward students (whose family income is less than Rs.1.00 lakh per annum) gets full remission of the fee and the other economically backward students with family income between Rs.1.00 lakh to Rs.5.00 lakh get 2/3rd fee remission.

Apart  from  this,  UGC  is  implementing  the  scheme  of  'Development  of  Women's Studies  in  Indian  Universities  and  Colleges'.  This  scheme  provides  funds  for  setting  up Women Studies Centers (WSCs) in universities and colleges, focusing on teaching, research, curriculum development, training and outreach activities. The objectives of the scheme are to provide  financial  support  in  advancing  Women's  Studies  through  teaching,  research  and practical work.

Synergising the School  Education  and  Higher  Education, the IIT-Madras  has undertaken  'Vidya  Shakti'  scheme  which  aims  at  enhancing  conceptual  and  foundational learning skills of children from rural areas to enhance enrolment (including women) in STEM branches in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs).

The  Department  of  Science  and  Technology  (DST)  offers  fellowships  to  promote research  in  basic  and  applied  sciences  among  women  through  programs  under  Women  in Science and Engineering- KIRAN (WISE-KIRAN) and SERB- Promoting Opportunities for Women in Exploratory Research (SERB-POWER) Fellowship scheme to identify and reward outstanding  women  researchers  and  innovators  working  in  various  Science  &  Technology program in Indian academic institutions and R&D laboratories.

The  Department  of  Biotechnology  (DBT)  has  been  supporting  several  programs  to promote science education & research and offers various scholarship for the higher education and provides opportunities to female researchers for participation in schemes of the Department such as DBT- Junior Research Fellowship Program and DBT- Research Associateship Program in which female candidates are given an age relaxation of 05 years. The Biotechnology Career Advancement and Re- orientation Programme (BioCARe) is a special programme of the DBT with a vision to promote and support women in science.

(c)  Yes, data of higher education is collected from all Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) for all courses including STEM courses for all district in All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE).

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