State’s free education scheme for females sees rise in admissions to professional courses

Mumbai's free education scheme boosts female admissions by 25,136 in professional courses, with girls now making up 41.55% of enrollments.

Mumbai: The state government’s push to encourage female education by introducing a free education scheme through their higher and technical department has resulted in a notable increase of 25,136 admissions among female students this year across professional courses. According to the CET Cell data, 334,908 students across the state have enrolled in various vocational courses this year, with 139,163 of them being girls, representing 41.55% of the total students admitted.

State’s free education scheme for females sees rise in admissions to professional courses

Data shows that in the current academic year, 1,39,163 female students enrolled in 26 courses under higher and technical education, as compared to 1,14,027 (39.9%) in the academic year 2023-24. The data also showed that courses like Bachelor of Engineering (BE), MBA, B.Ed and M.Ed have seen a particularly sharp rise in female enrolment compared to the previous year.

As part of the National Education Policy 2020, the higher and technical education department, along with medical education, agriculture, and animal husbandry departments, implemented this free education scheme for courses conducted in institutions under their jurisdiction to increase female participation in vocational education, providing girls with equal educational opportunities and ensuring they are not left behind due to financial constraints.

Among the professional courses, engineering (B.E/B.Tech) has attracted many female students. While 38,000 (32.72%) girls enrolled in this course last year, the number has increased to 52,669 (35.35%) this year. MBA programs have also increased, with 19,334 (45.94%) female students enrolling this year, up from 14,532 (39.14%) last year.

Additionally, the number of girls opting for direct second-year engineering admissions has also increased. Specifically, 13,575 girls have been admitted to direct second-year engineering, and 6,818 have enrolled in the direct second-year pharmacy course.

Professor Suresh Ukarande, principal of KJ Somaiya College of Engineering, Vidyavihar, said it is heartening to see the increased participation of girls in professional education. “We have observed high female enrolment before 2005 after which the number of female students especially from rural parts of the state decreased due to the inability to pay fees,” said Ukrande. “It is good to see the situation changed after the implementation of the free education scheme.”