Women participation in higher education of India: the enrolment scenario

Abstract

The role of education in development of the economy is well established. Since independence, the contribution of investments made by the government in higher education has been substantial however post 1980s there has been a decline in the same. Access, equity, women participation and empowerment have been an issue of deliberations all around the world. Higher education provided to women would mean independence in decision making and economic independence. It would develop capabilities to discharge duties and responsibilities in the fields of social, economic, political and cultural arenas. The objective of the study is to highlight the trend of women enrolment in different faculties of higher education and understand its contribution towards women empowerment. This study is based on secondary data available from Census of India, Selected Educational Statistics, UGC annual reports and research articles. The limitations to the study are inadequacy of the data and variance in the data available from different sources. At the end, conclusions and suggestions are presented.