Women Participation in STEM.

Why in News?

• Female enrolment in Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) has increased from 8% in 2016 to 20% in 2021-2022.
• In a written reply, Minister of State for Education Dr. Subhas Sarkar said this in the Rajya Sabha .
• To promote female students for pursuing higher education and research, University Grants Commission provides special post-graduate scholarships for girl students across the country.
• The Minister said, the All India Council for Technical Education is also giving ten thousand scholarships to girls entering technical education.
• He said, there has been consistent improvement in the enrolment of female students in STEM Courses.
• As per AISHE Report, the number of female students enrolled in STEM Courses has increased from 41 lakh 97 thousand 186 in 2016-17 to 43 lakh 87 thousand 248 in 2020-21.

 About STEM:

• The STEM acronym was introduced in 2001by scientific administrators at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF).
• The organization previously used the acronym SMET when referring to the career fields in those disciplines or a curriculum that integrated knowledge and skills from those fields.
• It is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in 4 specific disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — in an interdisciplinary and applied approach.
• India is one of the countries that produce the highest number of scientists and engineers, the growth of STEM has picked up significantly over the last few years.
• Under Article 51A of the Constitution of India, it is a duty of every citizen of India to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.

Significance:

• A robust STEM education creates critical thinkers, problem-solvers, and next-generation innovators.
• According to the National Science Foundation, it is predicted that 80% of the jobs created in the next decade will require some form of math and science skills.