New Delhi: The number of Muslim students (18-23 years) enrolled in higher education fell by more than 8.5 % according to a new report titled, “The state of Muslim education in India”. The report is authored by Arun C. Mehta, former professor at the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration.
The report is based on data from Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) and the All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE).
While 21 lakh Muslim students had enrolled for higher education in 2019-20, the number fell to 19.21 lakh in 2020-21.
“From 17,39,218 Muslim students enrolled in higher education in 2016-17, the number increased to 19,21,713 in 2020-21. However, in 2020-21, the Muslim enrolment in higher education declined to 19,21,713 students from 21,00,860 students in 2019-20, thus showing a decline of 1,79,147 students in absolute terms,” the report says.
A significant trend observed across states and Union territories is the drop in enrolment percentage of Muslim students in grades 11 and 12. The representation of Muslim students drops grade 6 onwards and is the lowest in grade 11 and 12, the Hindu reported.
“While Muslims make up around 14.42% of total enrolment of 6.67 crore [students] at the upper primary level [Class 6-8], it slightly decreases to 12.62% at the secondary level [Class 9-10] and declines to 10.76% at the higher secondary level [Class 11-12],” the report states.
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