Hyderabad: Are girls losing interest in studying engineering in IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) or NITs (Nati-onal Institutes of Technology)? Sample this: There are only 68 girls in the top-1,000 JEE (Main) rankers from across the country.
Even among the top-5,000 rankers, the number of girls is just 466, a measly 9 per cent. In engineering colleges affiliated to state universities, the percentage of girl students ranges from 30 to 40 per cent.
In the two Telugu states, TS and Andhra Pradesh, students appear for Eamcet (engineering) entrance and thereafter join B.Tech in government or affiliated colleges.
But when it comes to Joint Entrance Exam, the numbers are not encouraging.National Institute of Training, Warangal, director Prof. G.R.C. Reddy feels that the meagre number of girls clearing JEE Main 2017 is an alarming situation.
“It is time we introduce super-numerary quota for girls if introducing reservations is a tedious pro-cess. This way, girls can be encouraged to pursue education in IITs and NITs,” he said, pointing out that he would try to raise the issue in the forthcoming NIT Council meeting.
Meanwhile, P. Hima Bindu, Head of Physics Department at Nizam College, said parents are content with daughters joining nearby engineering and medical colleges. That’s why many girls neither apply for JEE exam nor aim seriously at the national entrance test.
Another professor from Osmania University echo-ed the same sentiments.“Most parents want their daughters to commute from their home at undergraduate level and it is the same in the case of engineering studies. They want their children to get the best ranks in state entrance and join top colleges in the state,” she said, adding that it was not a question of girls not being able to withstand the stress associated with JEE.
Girls are faring exceedingly well at secondary, higher, UG and PG studies and in different entrance exams including the UPSC, the professor said. Of the 11.2 lakh students that appeared for JEE Main this year, only 3 lakh applicants — less than 30 per cent — are girls. Meanwhile, the IIT council, which met on Friday, is learnt to have decided to increase super-numerary quota for girls so that their percentage goes up to 20 in three years.
