Women At Par With Men For Enrollment In BCom Course: Survey

According to the latest findings of the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE), women are at par with men in terms of enrollment in the commerce stream at the undergraduate level. This has been recorded for the Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com) programme two years after the gender gap closed in undergraduate science.

According to The Indian Express, as many as 90 female students enrolled in B.Com for every 100 men until five years ago. In 2019-20, however, the course recorded 100 female students for every 100 male students. In absolute terms, 41.6 lakh students enrolled in B.Com in the 2019-20 academic year, with 20.3 lakh women and 21.3 lakh men.

After closing the gender gap in enrolment in B.Sc and MBBS programmes in 2017-18, this is the third major programme to have achieved this feat in the last five years. Women have dominated enrolment in undergraduate science and medical programmes since then.

With more women entering higher education, the gender composition of student enrolment in male-dominated programmes is gradually shifting. Overall, the ratio of female students per 100 male students has risen from 86 in 2015-16 to 96 in 2019-20. Female participation at the MA, MSc, and MCom levels has also increased significantly in the last five years.

Gross Enrolment Ratio

India's Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) has risen from 24.5 per cent in 2015-16 to 27.1 percent in 2019-20, the female side of the equation accounts for a considerable percentage of the increase. Over the last five years, men's GER has risen from 25.4 percent to 26.9 per cent, while women's GER has risen from 23.5 percent to 27.3 percent in 2019-20, reported The Indian Express.

GER is to determine the number of students enrolled in undergraduate, postgraduate, and research-level education across the country, given as a percentage of the population aged 18 to 23.

Even if there are hopeful signs are hinting at an increase in female participation in some programmes, many more are still lagging. For example, only 42 women are enrolling in B.Tech courses for every 100 men, and 53 female students for every 100 men in undergraduate law.

The results of the AISHE survey are based on data from 1,019 universities, 39,955 colleges, and 9,599 independent institutions. In India, there are 1,043 universities, 42,343 colleges, and 11,779 standalone institutions.

It is important to note that the findings of 2019-20 pertain to the period before the pandemic. The COVID-induced restrictions have forced classes to move to the virtual platforms

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