The All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) is India’s annual official survey of the higher-education system. The Ministry of Education conducts it through participating institutions.

Basic Details

Released by: Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education.
Frequency: Annual.
Started: The survey began in 2010-11.
Institution Types: Universities, colleges, and standalone higher-education institutions.

Information Collected

Institutions: Their management, location, programmes, infrastructure, and accreditation-related details.
Students: Enrolment by level, programme, gender, social group, and mode of study.
Staff: Teaching and non-teaching personnel, including gender and social-group distributions.
Academic Output: Examination results, student out-turn, research activity, and programme-level information.
Finance: Receipts, expenditure, and selected institutional financial indicators.

Major Indicators

Gross Enrolment Ratio: Student enrolment as a proportion of the population in the relevant age group.
Gender Parity Index: The ratio of female participation to male participation.
College Density: The number of colleges relative to the eligible population.
Pupil-Teacher Ratio: The number of students per teacher.

Method

Registered institutions upload data through a web-based data-capture form. Nodal officers are responsible for accuracy, while the Statistics Bureau conducts validation and scrutiny.

Significance

Policy Baseline: AISHE gives governments a common statistical base for planning institutions, seats, teachers, and infrastructure.
Equity Tracking: Disaggregated enrolment data reveal differences by gender, social group, region, programme, and institution type.
Trend Analysis: Annual reporting allows policymakers to compare participation and capacity over time.

Prelims Concepts