By Admin 
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), one of the leading educational institutions of the country, has seen a continuous decline in the number of female students in the last ten years. JNU Teachers Association (JNUTA) shared this information in its report ‘State of the University’ (October 2025 update) on Wednesday. According to the report, now female students in the university have become less than half of the total number.
It has been told in the report that in 2016-17, the number of female students in JNU was 51.1%, which has now reduced to 43.1%. This means that female students have now come under the category of minority in the university. JNUTA has described this as a serious sign of gender inequality and said that the university’s previous efforts at social inclusion, which were successful in increasing the number of female students, are now backfiring.
Female teachers were also affected
There has also been a decline in the number of women teachers. As of 31 March 2025, out of total 700 teachers, only 208 were women, i.e. 29.7%. This figure is less than the figures of 2022 and 2016. JNUTA described this as a cause for concern over the status of women’s education and leadership in the university.
The report also said that the university stopping conducting its entrance examinations and removing the “deprivation point system” in research programs could be a major reason behind the decline in the number of female students. Under this system, socially backward students were given extra marks to help them get admission.
Apart from this, the safe environment for female students has also decreased. In 2017, JNU’s GSCASH (Gender Sensitization Committee Against Sexual Harassment) was removed and ICC (Internal Complaints Committee) was created. JNUTA alleges that ICC is no longer an independent institution, but has become a part of the university administration. Due to this, female students are feeling unsafe and there has been a decrease in reporting of incidents of sexual harassment.
There is also a decline in the number of Scheduled Caste and Tribe students
Not only women, but the number of Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students has also decreased. The number of SC students in 2021-22 was 1,500, which has now reduced to 1,143. Similarly, the number of ST students decreased from 741 to 545. Due to this, the share of SC students in the university decreased from 15% to 14.3% and the share of ST students decreased from 7.4% to 6.8%, which is less than the reserved percentage.
JNUTA has linked this decline to admissions and administrative changes in the university. Social inclusion has been affected due to entrance examinations through the National Testing Agency (NTA) and lack of university autonomy.
Decline in educational investment also
The report also mentions a sharp decline in educational investment. In 2015-16, the educational expenditure of JNU was Rs 30.28 crore, which came down to Rs 19.29 crore in 2024-25. That means there was a total reduction of 36.3%. There was a 97.2% reduction in expenditure on seminars and workshops, 76.3% reduction in laboratories and 79.6% reduction in fieldwork/conferences.
Meanwhile, the financial burden on students has increased. Despite there being no entrance examination, the university compensated for its financial losses by charging more fees from students and candidates. Income from educational fees increased from Rs 240.8 lakh in 2015-16 to Rs 856.53 lakh in 2024-25.
Research culture also affected
According to the report, the research culture in the university has also weakened. While earlier research students were more in number, now they are less in comparison to graduate and postgraduate students. In 2016-17, the number of research students was 5,432, which has now come down to around 3,286.
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