Lok Sabha Question No. 93 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-04
Subject: Gross Enrollment Ratio in Higher Education
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Omprakash Bhupalsinh alias Pawan Rajenimbalkar, Vinayak Bhaurao Raut, Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-93

ANSWERED ON-04/12/2023

## GROSS ENROLLMENT RATIO IN HIGHER EDUCATION

†93. SHRI OMPRAKASH BHUPALSINH ALIAS PAWAN RAJENIMBALKAR: SHRI VINAYAK RAUT: SHRI SANJAY JADHAV:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  details  of  the  Gross  Enrollment  Ratio  in  Higher  Education  within  the  country including the details of rural areas of Maharashtra in this regard, State-wise;
- (b) whether the Government has set any target in this regard, if so, the current status along with details thereof;
- (c) whether the greater inclusion of minorities in Higher Education is also one of the major objectives of the Government;
- (d)  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  steps  taken  so  far  by  the  Government  to  increase  the percentage of minorities in Higher Education in Maharashtra;
- (e) the target set for the said purpose and the details of achievements made so far;
- (f)  whether  the  Government  has  formulated  any  scheme  for  establishing  Minority  Women Colleges  in  various  States  including  Maharashtra  to  move  forward  towards  achieving  its objectives; and
- (g) the time by when the said colleges are likely to be set up?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

(DR. SUBHAS SARKAR)

- (a)  &  (b)  As  per  the  All  India  Survey  on  Higher  Education (AISHE) the  Gross Enrolment Ratio  (GER)  of  Higher  Education  at  the  national  level,  for  2021-22  (Provisional)  is  28.4 (based on 2011 Census).   The details of the State/UT-wise GER, including Maharashtra, is available  at  https://www.education.gov.in/parl\_ques  .  National  Education  Policy  (NEP), 2020, aims at increasing the higher education GER to 50% by 2035.
- (c)  to  (g)  The  National  Education  Policy  (NEP)  2020  also  aims  to  promote  education  of children belonging to all minority communities, and particularly those communities that are educationally underrepresented.

The  various  initiatives  of  the  Government  in  encouraging  students  from  the  Minority community  has  resulted  in  higher  growth  in  enrolment  of  Minority  communities  over  the years.  As  per  the  AISHE,  enrolment  of  students  of  Minority  communities  in  Higher Educational  Institutions  (HEIs)  has  increased  to  30,13,192  in  2021-22(Provisional)  from 21,83,184 in 2014-15 (an increase of 38.02%), which is higher than the growth (of 26.5%) in overall Student enrolment in Higher Education since 2014-15.

The various initiatives of the Government in this regard inter-alia include :-

I Ministry of Minority Affairs implements the Post Metric and Merit-cum-Means based Scholarship  Schemes  for  educational  empowerment  of  students  belonging  to  6  notified Minority  communities,  namely,  Buddhist,  Christian,  Jain,  Muslim,  Sikh  and  Zoroastrian (Parsi).  These are implemented with the objective to uplift the socio-economic conditions of the minority communities, increase their rate of attainment in higher education and enhance their employability and to enable the poor and meritorious students pursue professional and technical courses.

II The Department of Higher Education is implementing the 'Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Protsahan [PM-USP] Yojana', with three component schemes namely: -

· Central Sector Scheme of Scholarship for College and University Students;

· Special Scholarship Scheme for Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh aimed specifically at youth  of  Jammu  &  Kashmir  and  Ladakh  to  take  advantage  of  the  educational  institutions outside these UTs and interact with their counterparts from rest of country];

· Central Sector Interest Subsidy Scheme.

All  categories  of  students  in  the  country  are  eligible  to  get  financial  assistance  as  per  the schematic  norms.  [The  details  of  these  schemes  are  available  in  the  Ministry's  website: https://www.education.gov.in/en/pm-usp-scholarships-education-loan].

III The  University  Grants  Commission  is  implementing  the  following  Schemes  for weaker sections, including minorities:

i. Remedial  Coaching  for  SC/ST/OBC  (non-creamy  layer),  and  Minority  Community Students ii. Coaching Classes for Entry into Services for SC/ST/OBC (Non Creamy Layer) and Minority Community Students

iii. Coaching For National Eligibility Test or State Eligibility Test for SC/ST/OBC (NonCreams Layer), and Minority Community Students.

iv. Certain relaxations in eligibility conditions in UGC-Junior Research Fellowship    for SC/ST students are provided.

*****