Number of female students in undergraduate courses in IITs jumped to 20% in 2021

According to the data from the Ministry of Education, the enrollment of female students at the Indian Institute of Technology in the country for undergraduate courses has increased from 8% in 2016 to 20% in 2021. The information was shared in the Rajya Sabha in a response to a question. Subhas Sarkar the Union Minister of State for Education said there has been an improvement that is consistent in the enrolment of female students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) courses, stated a PTI report. 

The Union Minister of State for Education said, “To improve female enrolment in undergraduate programmes in IITs, supernumerary seats were created which increased female enrolment from 8 per cent in 2016 to 20 in 2021-22. Similarly, the enrolment of girls in NITs has increased to nearly 22.1 per cent in 2021-22.” The University Grants Commission (UGC) provides scholarships for girls across the county for special post-graduate courses to give support and confidence to them to pursue their higher education in STEM courses and research. The All India Council for Technical Education ((AICTE)) is also providing 10,000 scholarships for girl students to aid them to pursue technical education, as reported by PTI. 

A report by the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE), stated that the number of female students enrolled and pursuing STEM courses has increased from 41.97 lakh in 2016-17 to 43.87 lakh in 2020-21.