Goa enrolment in higher edu 33.8%, govt eyes 50% by 2035

PANAJI: Even as the gross enrolment ratio (GER) in institutes of higher education has touched 33.8%, the state government has set out to take it to 50% by 2035.
From 2016 to 2021, the male student's average GER was around 28.8, while for girls, it was 34.2.
Education secretary Prasad Lolayekar told TOI that the state's target is in line with the National Education Policy (NEP), which mandates that enrolment in higher education should touch 50% by 2035.
Unesco defines GER as the "total enrolment in a specific level of education, regardless of age, expressed as a percentage of the eligible official school-age population corresponding to the same level of education in a given school year".
He said that BITS-Pilani's Goa campus in Zuarinagar has 4,200 students, and if these are added to Goa's GER, it would be 36.2%. "As of date, BITS-Pilani shows their enrolment in Rajasthan, which is not correct. As per the rules, it should be shown in the state (Goa) number," he said. The education secretary said that the directorate of higher education has written to the all-India higher education survey authority to include BITS-Pilani's enrolment in the state GER.
Meanwhile, the gender parity index for Goa stands at 1.2% in higher educational institutes. Explaining this, Lolayekar said 1.2% means that for every 100 males enrolled in higher education institutes, there are 120 females.
He said that gender parity is a good sign from a gender perspective, but it is also concerning that the male GER is low. "It is a proud moment that female students' enrollment ratios are high, but there should be an equal number of male students enrolled," he said.
The directorate of higher education is conducting a study to get to the bottom of this, Lolayekar said. "We want to find out if boys take up culinary education after their SSC to go abroad, if they get employment, or if they are dropouts," he said.
Lolayekar also said that the directorate is monitoring colleges to see if they are "properly" uploading the enrolment ratio in their institutions.