Improved access to educational resources, including online study materials and coaching, initiatives taken by Central and state government towards increasing gender diversity in engineering colleges, and the mandatory 20% quota in colleges, including the National Institutes of Technology (NIT) have led to a steady rise in female registrations in Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main examinations over the years.
Female registrations increased to 33% for JEE Main 2024 January session, up from 30.8% in 2023. A total of 4,06,486 females registered for the 2024 January session, while the total number of female registrations in 2023 was 3,57,545. In 2021, at least 2,29736 females registered for the JEE Main exams. Around 2.90 lakh female candidates registered for the JEE Main 2020 January session, and in 2019, over 2.8 lakh registered for the January session.
Speaking to Education Times about the factors that have led to an increase in the number of female registrations , Chandrashekar Ramanathan, dean, Academics, IIIT-Bangalore, says, "One of the factors is growing awareness on the importance of higher education, especially in technical fields among girls.
Additionally, improvements in access to educational resources such as online preparation materials and coaching, have attracted more students to attempt the JEE Main. Efforts to promote gender diversity in STEM fields have gained momentum in recent years and have also influenced more women to pursue Engineering and related disciplines. Additionally, initiatives and campaigns by various agencies have encouraged female students to participate in competitive exams such as JEE Main. Improved access to education and changing social attitudes toward gender roles are also contributing to more girls pursuing careers in science and technology."
The availability of online coaching has made a major difference to females in remote areas who earlier did not have access to quality coaching. "earlier, students had to travel long distances. This was a major barrier for females as parents were reluctant to send them to distant places. However, access to affordable online coaching classes has provided a level playing field for girls to compete with boys. We also see many corporate organisations support inclusivity and diversity through CSR initiatives for promoting women in Engineering education, encouraging females," says Ramanathan.
The engineering institutions such as IITs and NIT's have to maintain 20% of seats for female candidates in every discipline, this has led to an increase in the number of female students in these institutions, subsequently leading to an increase in the number of female registrations. "Just like the ITs, we have been maintaining the 20% ratio and this has helped in improving the number of registrations by girls , " says Professor K Umamaheshwar Rao, director, NIT Rourkela.
Gross Enrolment Ratio(GER) for female students at the higher secondary level has increased to 58.2% in2021-22 from 50.8% in 2018-19 and this increase is leading to more female students registering for Engineering entrance exams. "The improved quality of education in engineering colleges in smaller cities and a strong perception that engineering and IT roles offer better salaries are also contributing to the increase in registrations in JEE Main," says Karun Tadepalli, CEO and co-founder, ByteXL.
Published on - Times of India
Date - 25/12/2023
