Higher edu enrolment on decline in Punjab, reveals Centre’s report

While on the one hand, the national enrolment in higher education is on the rise, Punjab’s Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education, age group 18-23, is on the decline. This has come to light in the latest report of the All-India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE), for the academic year 2021-22. The report highlights that Punjab’s GER in higher education was the lowest in the region.

When compared to neighbouring states, Punjab’s GER is the lowest. The report revealed that Haryana’s GER was 33.3%; Himachal Pradesh at 43.1%; and Rajasthan at 28.6%. The survey released by the Union Ministry of Education for AISHE 2021-22, was held between November 18, 2022 and March 2023. (File)

As per the report, released on Thursday, Punjab’s GER stood at 27.4%, below the national average of 28.3%. The report pointed out that Punjab’s GER was 29.2% in the 2017-18 academic session, and it has been declining since then.

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The GER is a key indicator of the level of participation in higher education within a given population, and Higher GER values therefore indicate greater enrolment in tertiary education among the specified age group. It is the Population Projection derived from the 2011 Census, on which GER for AISHE 21-22 has been calculated.

When compared to neighbouring states, Punjab’s GER is the lowest. The report revealed that Haryana’s GER was 33.3%; Himachal Pradesh at 43.1%; and Rajasthan at 28.6%. The survey released by the Union Ministry of Education for AISHE 2021-22, was held between November 18, 2022 and March 2023.

Overall, Punjab student enrolment (regular mode) in higher education institutions (HEIs) has come down to 7.69 lakh in 2021-22 academic from 9.34 lakh in 2017-18.

Students pursuing PhD’s on the rise

The report has also revealed an interesting trend in Punjab over the past five years wherein the number of students pursuing a PhD (Doctorate of Philosophy) is on the rise while students taking admission in Undergraduate Courses (UG) have declined since 2017-18. Apart from UG courses, Punjab also saw a decline in students pursuing post-graduation, PG diplomas and diplomas.

The report revealed that the number of students admitted to PhD rose from 6,877 in 2017-18 to 10,325 in the 2021-22 academic session. Contrary to this, the number of UG students (regular mode) in Punjab declined from 6.7 lakh in the 2017-18 academic session to 5.68 lakh in 2021-22.

As to the number of universities, Punjab saw a rise in number of universities from 32 in 2017-18 to 40 in 2021-22. Three state universities and equal number of private universities have come up between 2017 and 2022. When it comes to colleges, Punjab saw a slight decline in the number of colleges during 2017-22. The number came down to 1,044 in 2021-22 from 1,053 in 2017-18, while average enrolment in the colleges has declined from 576 in 2017-18 to 494 in 2021-22.