GENDER EQUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION AND INDIAN GOVERNMENT MEASUREMENTS: A REFERENCE FOR PAKISTAN TO PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY

Abstract

In India's higher education, denotative and connotative gender inequality live together, more evident among vulnerable groups like lower Social Castes, Social Tribes, Muslims, and other minorities. The educational administrative framework with deep segmentation and various levels of government and the hierarchical class system with strong male preference has promoted to a certain degree, gender equality in higher education has been achieved via the formulation and implementation of a number of formal systems comprised of laws and regulations. However, these formal systems form institutional shackles, which hinder the implementation of further realization, affecting the higher education system. The present study aims to understand how India improved its gender equality in recent years and what measurements the government of India took so that we can fetch some experiences and lessons from India to promote gender equality in Pakistan's higher education. With this background, we use the All India Survey of Higher Education (2015-16 to 2019-20), Ministry of Education of India to calculate the gender equality status in Indian higher education by using Gender-Equality Index (GEI) method. The results show an improvement towards gender equality at all higher education levels. The Indian government has established a number of classifications, as well as associated laws and policies, and taken required actions to ensure compliance with applicable rules and policies. These systems have played a specific role in promoting gender equality in higher education.