Speaking about the New Education Policy 2024 in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, Union minister of education Dharmendra Pradhan said due to several initiatives taken by the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre, schools have seen an uptake of 31% of female students.

The education minister said that women have started studying more and that there has been a 31% increase in the number of female students ever since the Modi-led government came into power in 2014.

In India, there are more than 300 million students– 260 million in grades from 0-12th and 40 million in higher education institutions and there is only a microscopic minority that goes out to study, Pradhan said.

He said that under the Modi-led government, the number of students in higher studies has increased to 20-25%.

“There is a 44% increase in students from backward classes going to school, a 50% growth of female students from Scheduled Castes (SC) and an 80% increase of female students from Scheduled Tribes (ST) in schools,” said Pradhan.

He also said that there has been a growth of students from Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and a further 45% increase of female students from the Muslim minority in schools.

This shows that because of the initiatives taken by the government, children have started studying more, Pradhan said, adding that the New Education Policy will be great to take India to new heights in the next 3 years.

Speaking on encouraging teaching Indian languages in schools, the education minister said that India’s soul is alive through its languages and that is why the government has decided to take measures to increase the teaching of Indian languages.

As per the updated curriculum framework, it is now obligatory for all students in classes 11 and 12 to study a minimum of two languages, with one of them being an Indian language.

According to Pradhan, The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has taken out a circular that materials for teaching and learning 20 Indian civil languages be made available in schools.