Chalk up higher school enrolment to girl power

NEW DELHI: It's underprivileged sections that powered the rise in higher education enrolment, with the growth fastest among females, says the Survey.

"In higher education, the female gross enrolment ratio (GER) has been greater than male GER for five consecutive years. While this implies the rising importance of girls' education, its translation to economic empowerment will require better learning outcomes, employability, labour force participation and conducive infrastructure," it said.

Girl enrolment in higher education increased to 2.1 crore in FY 22 from 1.6 crore in FY 15 - a 31.6% jump. This implies better employment opportunities for backward sections.

However, central, state and local govts need to work together to improve quality of education, particularly in primary schooling, says the Survey.

Well-designed programmes should be implemented in a mission-mode and cost-effective manner to improve academic outcomes, it says, highlighting National Education Policy's goal of achieving foundational literacy and numeracy for every child passing the third standard. It also stressed the need for spending on pedagogy and governance to increase cost-effectiveness of public spending on education.

Govt spending on social services, including education, increased 9.4% to Rs 23.5 lakh crore in FY24, with Rs 8.3 lakh crore spent on education alone.


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