Question : Access to Higher Education

(a) the percentage of students having access to higher education in the country;
(b) the number of states which have better access to higher education than the national average, State-wise including Tamilnadu;
(c) whether the Government is aware that country''s entire education system— both at the level of school education and higher education is required to be revamped on a holistic and systematic basis; and
(d) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government to reduce Gross Enrolment Ratio gap between the country and developed world and to improve students enrolling in higher education?

MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
( SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI )
(a) & (b): Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) is a measure of students having access to education. For higher education, it is the ratio in a given year of the total enrolment to the total estimated population in the age group 18 -23 years.
As per the All India Survey on Higher Education – 2013-14, 20 States/UTs have a better GER as compared to national average of 23.0%. These are Chandigarh (55.8%), Puducherry (47.7%), Delhi (43.1%), Tamil Nadu (43%), Manipur (37.7%), Telangana (35.5%), Uttrakhand (33.8%), Andhra Pradesh (30.8%), Himachal Pradesh (29.3%), Sikkim (27.8%), Haryana (27.5%), Goa (26.4%), Maharashtra (26.3%), Karnataka (26.2%), Arunachal Pradesh (26.1%), Jammu and Kashmir (25.6%), Andaman & Nicobar Islands (25.6%), Punjab (25.4%), Kerala (24.9%) and Mizoram (23.2%).
(c) & (d): The Central Government is implementing several schemes in collaboration with State Governments to ensure educational development in the education sector. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is being implemented in accordance with the norms and standards of the RTE Act to enhance enrolment and retention of children, with context- specific interventions for SC/ ST students and a multi–pronged approach for reducing dropout rates. This includes inter-alia strengthening of school infrastructure and facilities, residential hostel buildings for children in habitations not covered by regular schools, provisioning for additional teachers, regular training of teachers, provision for free text books and uniforms to children. The Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya Scheme provides for setting up of residential upper primary schools for girls from SC, ST, OBC and Minority communities. The Mid Day Meal Scheme is also being implemented with a view to enhance enrolment and retention of children in schools.

The Twelfth Five Year Plan aims to raise the country’s GER to 25.2% by 2017–18 and to reach the target of 30% by 2020–21. During 11th Five Year Plan, several new Central Universities, Indian Institutes of Management, Indian Institutes of Technology, National Institutes of Technology, Polytechnics and other Institutions of Higher learning have been established. During the Twelfth Five Year Plan, a new scheme called the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) has been launched which aims to achieve equity, access and excellence in higher education through assistance to State universities

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