UNESCO report, titled ‘Global Education Digest 2009’, informs that the number of students enrolling for higher education globally has risen five-fold, from 28.6 million in 1970 to 152.5 million in 2007. In the process, girls have surpassed boys. The number of male students went up from 18 million to 75 million, while that of female students rose from 10.8 million to 77.4 million.
Noteworthy rise has been witnessed in higher education enrolments, in South and West Asia region, which includes India. Here, the student population grew six-fold, from 2.8 million to 18.5 million. In comparison, in East Asia and Pacific region, which includes China, it became 12-fold, from 3.9 million to 46.7 million.
Every 15 years, from 1970 to 2007, the number of students pursuing higher education has doubled itself. Globally, the gross enrolment ratio and the percentage of the relevant age group enrolled in higher education have almost tripled, from 9% to 26%, in these 37 years. Almost 51.7 million new students, or one-third of the total, have enrolled in just seven years since 2000.
