21,000 more males enroll in PhD courses than females: HRD Ministry data

More than 21,000 more males pursue PhDs in the country than females, contrary to the popular perception, according to HRD Ministry data.

According to the data accessed by PTI for the last three years, the student enrolment in the PhD programmes has also increased.

While 100,792 students enrolled for the PhD programmes in universities across the country in 2014-15, the number of students registering in 2015-16 and 2016-17 was 109,552 and 123,712 respectively.

In the year 2014-15, over 21,000 more males had enrolled in the PhD programmes than females. Similarly, in the subsequent years, the number was higher by 21,688 and 21,882.

The data also reveals that maximum PhDs are enrolled in-state public universities, followed by institutions of national importance.

While 41, 566 students enrolled in the state public universities for 2016-17 academic session, 26,012 of them had enrolled in institutions of national importance.

A total of 17,715 students had registered for PhD in central universities in the year whereas 16,595 of them enrolled in private universities.

Similar trends were witnessed in the years 2014-15 and 2015-16.