Rajasthan has recorded its highest-ever female-to-male enrolment ratio in higher education, with 127 girls joining colleges for every 100 boys during the 2025-26 academic session — even as the state logs a second consecutive annual decline in overall college admissions. The dual trend underscores a structural shift in who is choosing higher education in the state, even as the total pool of students shrinks.

Overall Admissions Decline

According to data released by the State Higher Education Department, total enrolment across undergraduate and postgraduate courses stood at 12,55,809 in 2025-26, down from 13.11 lakh the previous year — a fall of 4.23 per cent. This follows a 1.31 per cent drop recorded in 2024-25, ending nearly a decade of uninterrupted growth in college enrolment.

Government colleges bore the sharpest impact, attracting 5,42,195 students against 7,13,614 in private institutions. Male enrolment stood at 5,53,630 — 2,03,463 in government colleges and 3,50,167 in private colleges.

Record Female Participation Across Categories

Female enrolment reached 7,02,179, with 3,38,732 in government colleges and 3,63,447 in private institutions. The current ratio of 127 girls per 100 boys marks a dramatic improvement from 97 girls per 100 boys recorded in 2015-16 — a decade-long upward trajectory.

The trend cuts across social categories. Among Scheduled Tribes, the ratio reached 134 girls per 100 boys, the highest of any group. The General category recorded 129, followed by Minorities at 128, OBCs at 126, and Scheduled Castes at 122.

What Experts Say

Abir Ahmed, a policy expert on female education and employment, attributed the gains to a convergence of policy measures. 'The rise in girls' enrolment is the result of several policy interventions working together — scholarships, free education, better transport, hostel facilities and growing social acceptance of higher education for girls. More young women are now entering colleges than ever before. The next challenge is ensuring they find meaningful employment after completing their education,' Ahmed said.

Damodar Goyal, President of the Society for Private Unaided Schools at Rajasthan, welcomed the gender gains but flagged deeper structural concerns. 'The increase in girls' enrolment is encouraging, but the overall decline in admissions is worrying. School enrolment has already fallen sharply, especially in higher classes, and that is now beginning to reflect in college admissions. Teacher shortages, weak infrastructure and declining learning outcomes need urgent attention if this trend has to be reversed,' Goyal said.

Why the Decline in Total Admissions Matters

The back-to-back falls break a near-decade-long streak of enrolment growth and point to upstream pressures: shrinking school-level pipelines, particularly at the senior secondary stage, are feeding fewer students into college. This comes amid broader concerns about learning outcomes and institutional capacity in Rajasthan's public education system. Notably, government colleges — which serve a disproportionately higher share of first-generation learners and students from economically weaker sections — have seen the steepest drop, raising equity questions that go beyond gender ratios.

What to Watch

Educationists and policymakers will now need to address the employment pipeline that Ahmed flagged — ensuring that record female enrolment translates into workforce participation, not just graduation numbers. The next academic cycle will indicate whether the overall admissions decline stabilises or deepens further.