New Delhi: Only 14 per cent of Indian students opted for the commerce stream each year for higher secondary classes in the past 10 years (from 2012 to 2022), found a study conducted by the Ministry of Education.
The study, released Tuesday, also noted that the percentage of students going for the arts and science streams after class 10 have increased in the same period.
“Science and arts are consistently the most popular streams in the last 10 years. Students who opted for science and arts streams have increased from 31 per cent (for both science and arts) in 2012 to 42 per cent and 40 per cent respectively in 2022,” the study said.
More students have also been opting for vocational courses, it added.
In terms of absolute numbers, 30.9 lakh students took the arts stream in 2012, which went up to 40 lakh in 2022. The science stream had 30.7 lakh students in 2012, which increased to 42 lakh in 2022. As many as 13.7 lakh students had taken the commerce stream in 2012 and 14.4 lakh pupils in 2022.
“The data shows that students’ choices in the last decade have been based on job availability and the market outlook. Science and technology being the biggest job generator has attracted most students. Numbers not growing in commerce is a surprise for us as well because given the job opportunities in the finance sector and number of students opting for management studies, the numbers should have increased,” said an education ministry official, who was a part of the study.
Girls have consistently outperformed boys: Report
The study also gives state-wise details of streams that students chose in the last 10 years. While the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu had more students opting for science, at 76 per cent, 65 per cent and 62 per cent respectively, takers for arts were more in Gujarat (82 per cent), Punjab (73 per cent) and Rajasthan (71 per cent). Most students opting for the commerce stream during the period were from Karnataka (37 per cent).
The report also found that students have been performing better in their class 10 and 12 exams in the last decade. The percentage of those who scored above 60 per cent in class 10 went from 33 lakh in 2012 to 98 lakh in 2022. Students who scored above 60 per cent in class 12 similarly went up from 35.9 lakh in 2012 to 77 lakh in 2022.
The data also showed that girls have consistently outperformed boys by a margin of 8 per cent.
The study is being used as a basis by the ministry to bring in uniformity in assessment patterns in all 60 boards across India, including the state and central boards.
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