More than half of the doctors in Kerala will be women in the coming decades. This can be gauged from the number of girl students getting admitted to courses in health and allied services in the past few years.
According to the State’s annual Economic Review 2023, more than 80% of the students in medical science-related courses run by the Kerala University of Health Sciences are girls. They have the highest presence compared with other categories of courses too.
In modern medicine courses, of the 5,398 students admitted in the 2021-22 academic year, 3,616 are girls (67%). This figure is reportedly higher than the national average of around 50%. In dental courses, of the 1,907 students, 1,640 are girls (86%).
Among those pursuing homeopathy medicine, 345 of the 385 students are girls. A similar trend is seen in Ayurveda medicine, where 1,030 of the total 1,176 students are girls (88%). In those pursuing Unani medicine, 51 of the total 60 students are girls. In Siddha medicine, 13 of the 17 students are girls. A similar pattern has been seen in the last several years.
A section of doctors have called for a detailed sociological study into this phenomenon of girls outnumbering boys in the medical sector. Some others point out that medical education is comparatively tough and the students will have to spend longer years before they can gain a foothold in the sector. Thus, boys may opt for other career options that are more lucrative and attractive.
Female students, however, constitute only 42.24% in engineering colleges and 21.55% in polytechnics. In agricultural courses under Kerala Agricultural University, the intake is 74.17%.
Girls constitute more than 60% of students in Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University. Over 75% of students in the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies too are girls. In undergraduate and postgraduate courses in various arts and science colleges, the intake is 62.84%.
