UPSC Essentials | Mains answer practice

UPSC Essentials | Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 36)

UPSC Essentials brings to you its initiative for the practice of Mains answer writing. It covers essential topics of static and dynamic parts of the UPSC Civil Services syllabus covered under various GS papers. This answer-writing practice is designed to help you as a value addition to your UPSC CSE Mains. Attempt today’s answer writing on questions related to topics of GS-2 to check your progress.

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Discuss the major outcomes of the All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) 2021–22.

How the suspension of financing for the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees would affect Palestinians in Gaza?

Introduction

— The introduction of the answer is essential and should be restricted to 3-5 lines. Remember, a one-liner is not a standard introduction.

— It may consist of basic information by giving some definitions from the trusted source and authentic facts.

Body

— It is the central part of the answer and one should understand the demand of the question to provide rich content.

— The answer must be preferably written as a mix of points and short paragraphs rather than using long paragraphs or just points.

— Using facts from authentic government sources makes your answer more comprehensive. Analysis is important based on the demand of the question, but do not over analyse.

— Underlining keywords gives you an edge over other candidates and enhances presentation of the answer.

— Using flowcharts/tree-diagram in the answers saves much time and boosts your score. However, it should be used logically and only where it is required.

Way forward/ conclusion

— The ending of the answer should be on a positive note and it should have a forward-looking approach. However, if you feel that an important problem must be highlighted, you may add it in your conclusion. Try not to repeat any point from body or introduction.

— You may use the findings of reports or surveys conducted at national and international levels, quotes etc. in your answers.

Self Evaluation

— It is the most important part of our Mains answer writing practice. UPSC Essentials will provide some guiding points or ideas as a thought process that will help you to evaluate your answers.

QUESTION 1: Discuss the major outcomes of the All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) 2021–22.

Introduction:

— The report of the All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) 2021–22 found that 4.33 crore students are currently enrolled in a higher educational institute — up from 4.14 crore in 2020-21, and 3.42 crore in 2014-15.

— The survey captures total student enrolment in eight different levels: undergraduate, postgraduate, PhD, MPhil, diploma, PG diploma, certificate, and integrated programmes.

Body:

You may incorporate some of the following points in the body of your answer:

Key takeaways

Female Enrollment

— The number of women enrolled in higher educational institutes has steadily increased.From 1.5 crore women enrolled in 2014-15, there has been a jump of 32% to 2.07 crores enrolled in 2021-22.

— The most remarkable rise occurred at the PhD level. In 2021-22, the country’s overall PhD enrolment is 2.12 lakh, with 98,636 women. Eight years ago, just 47,717 women had enrolled in PhD studies.

— The proportion of women is highest at the post graduate level, where 55.4% students are female.

Gross Enrollment Ration (GER) and Gender Parity

— The GER represents how many students participate in the higher education system in a given population. The anticipated GER for the age range 18-23 years in India is 28.4, according to the AISHE 2021-22 report.

— Chandigarh at 64.8% boasts of the highest GER, followed by Puducherry at 61.5%, Delhi at 49%, and Tamil Nadu at 47%.

— Gender Parity Index (GPI) shows the ratio of the female GER to male GER. A GPI of 1 indicates parity between the two genders; any number between 0 and 1 shows a disparity in favour of males, whereas a GPI greater than 1 indicates a disparity in favour of females.

Arts over the sciences in graduation, PG

— The survey showed that the Bachelor of Arts (BA) programme has the highest enrolment, with 1.13 crore students — 34.2% of total undergraduate enrolment across India.

— Similarly, the social science stream has also the highest number of postgraduate students enrolled at 10.8 lakh. The latest survey shows that the Master of Arts (MA) programme has the highest enrolment, with 20.9 lakh students, which is 40.7% of total postgraduate enrolment.

Primacy of government institutions

— In the government sector, state public universities have the largest share of enrolment, accounting for around 31% of the total enrolment for universities.

— Even though there are more private universities, students prefer government educational institutions.

Demographics of students graduating

— During the 2021–22 academic year, 1.07 crore students were estimated to have graduated from undergraduate, graduate, doctorate, master’s, and other diploma/certificate programmes.

Conclusion:

— Maharashtra has witnessed an exponential increase in PhD enrolments in the last five years.

— The scientific stream produces the most PhD graduates (7,408), followed by engineering and technology (6,270).

(Source: Latest All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE): What it says on female enrolment, takers for Arts and Science by R Radhika)

Points to Ponder

All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) 2021–22

NEP

Gross Enrollment Ratio