India's total enrolment in higher education reached nearly 4.5 crore in 2023-24, but the pace of growth has been slow, with 3.7 lakh additional students enrolling over the previous year, according to the latest All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) released by the Ministry of Education.
The report shows total enrolment increased by 0.8 per cent over 2022-23. Despite the modest year-on-year growth, student enrolment has increased by 31.5 per cent since 2014-15, when around 3.4 crore students were enrolled in higher education. The report also notes that enrolment has grown by 17 per cent since the 2019-20 academic year.
The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER), which measures the proportion of the 18 to 23 age group enrolled in higher education, increased to 30.0 per cent in 2023-24 from 29.5 per cent a year earlier. In 2014-15, the GER stood at 23.7 per cent.
The figures indicate that around seven in every 10 young Indians in the college-going age group are still outside the higher education system.
The survey also highlighted disparities across social groups. The GER for Scheduled Caste (SC) students rose to 27.8 per cent from 27.3 per cent in 2022-23. However, the GER for Scheduled Tribe (ST) students declined to 22.8 per cent from 23.5 per cent, making it one of the few indicators in the report to register a year-on-year decline.
Undergraduate programmes continued to account for the largest share of enrolment. According to the report, 76.8 per cent of students were enrolled in undergraduate courses, while 12.9 per cent were pursuing postgraduate programmes. The remaining students were enrolled in diploma, certificate and PhD programmes.
