Bengaluru: Karnataka’s higher education sector crossed a significant milestone, with more than four out of every 10 young people in the state now pursuing higher education. The state’s gross enrolment ratio (GER) rose to 41.8% in 2023-24, its highest ever, helping Karnataka climb to the sixth spot nationally, according to the All-India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2023-24 that was released on Wednesday.The state’s GER increased from 39.6% in 2022-23 and recorded a sharp jump from 32% in 2019-20, reflecting a steady rise in college enrolment over the past five years. Female students continued to outnumber their male counterparts in higher education, with the GER for women touching nearly 43%, compared with around 41% for men.With the latest improvement, Karnataka now trails only Delhi (53%), Tamil Nadu (52.3%), Uttarakhand (48.5%), Telangana (46.6%), Himachal Pradesh (46.4%) and Sikkim (42.5%) in gross enrolment ratio, moving up two places from the previous year’s rankings.The state also retained its distinction as one of India’s most accessible higher education hubs, recording 69 colleges per lakh eligible population — the highest among major states. It was followed by Telangana (56), Andhra Pradesh (51), Himachal Pradesh (51), Kerala (50), Rajasthan (47) and Tamil Nadu (43).Karnataka had 4,529 colleges in 2023-24, up marginally from 4,524 a year earlier, making it the third-highest in the country after Uttar Pradesh (8,625) and Maharashtra (5,380).The state enrolled 27.6 lakh students in higher education during 2023-24, the fifth-highest in India, behind Uttar Pradesh (72.7 lakh), Maharashtra (46.5 lakh), Tamil Nadu (35.8 lakh) and Madhya Pradesh (27.7 lakh). Bihar reported an identical enrolment of 27.6 lakh.Karnataka also accounted for 9% of the country’s higher education teachers, behind Uttar Pradesh (12.1%) and Maharashtra (10.8%).Another major highlight for the state is the increase in the number of universities. Karnataka had 91 universities in 2023-24, up from 79 the previous year, largely due to the establishment of 10 new state universities by the previous govt.
