Muslims in Higher Education

Enrollment of Muslims in higher education improves by 37%, that of women by 45%.
New Delhi: The number of Muslims who are enrolled in higher education institutes has increased by 37% over the past five years whereas women’s enrolment has shown an increase of 45%, from 12 million in 2010-11 to 17.4 million in 2017-18, according to the All India Survey of Higher Education 2016-17. In 2013-14, there were around 12.80 lakh Muslim students in India’s higher education system, accounting for 4 per cent of the overall strength. Since then, there has been a steady rise every year. Gender parity has also improved across the board, both in general and among Muslims. In the last five years, enrolment of Muslim women has increased 46 per cent, while the overall figure for all categories rose by 24 per cent, the survey report says. In each of the last five years, the ratio of Muslim women to overall Muslim enrolment has been 1 point higher than the general ratio. According to the latest report, 49 per cent of Muslims enrolled in higher education are women, while the number overall stands at 48 per cent, The Print reported.
The percentage increase in the enrolment of Muslim men has also been more than double the overall figure from 2013-14, the report said. In 2001, as per the Sachar report, while Muslims constituted just 6.3% of all graduates across the country, lower than the 8.2% share for SCs/STs, amongst the 20-year-plus population of Muslims, the community’s graduates accounted for just 3.6%. Their gross enrolment ratio in higher education in 2001 was 5.2%, also the least amongst all socio-religious categories. The recent upsurge in higher education enrolment statistics, for both Muslim men and women holds great promise for the community’s future. However, in states like Rajasthan, Muslims are struggling with its enrollment in higher education. The share of Muslims in higher education is only 2.65% against their share of more than 9% in the total population of Rajasthan. Though failing to match other communities in the state, Muslims have made a substantial gain in the last one year from 33,794 enrolments in 2016-17 to 38,556 in 2017-18, The Times of India reported citing the All India Survey of Higher Education 2016-17.
(ummid.com)