Why Punjab Girls are Missing from the STEM Revolution, and what needs to change

Punjab ranks the lowest in Science stream enrolment for girls in grades 11-12 ata mere 16%, compared to 59% in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand (29%), and Rajasthan (20%).

- 

Despite the rising demand for STEM professionals, there is a significant shortage of qualified individuals.

While girls in Punjab are outshining boys in board exams for classes 8, 10 and 12, with a higher pass percentage, a quiet crisis has been brewing — one that may cost the state dearly in the decades ahead. As India rapidly moves towards a technology-driven economy, with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) as its backbone, girls from Punjab are missing the bus.

A new report — ‘Unlocking Potential: Financial Aid as a Catalyst for Girls’ STEM Success’ — conducted in two parts in 2023 and 2024-25 and jointly published by the Sattva Knowledge Institute and the All India Society for Electronics and Computer Technology (AISECT), paints a sobering picture. It shows how Punjab, once a frontrunner in education metrics, now lags behind in enabling its daughters to dream in digits, molecules, or machines.

Even within India’s education system, increasing emphasis is being placed on STEM as it can transform students into future innovators and critical thinkers across sectors rather than limiting them to mere users of technology.

Despite the rising demand for STEM professionals, there is a significant shortage of qualified individuals.

ANational Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) report highlights a glaring skill gap in India’s technology sector

— only 74 million professionals are available against a demand of 107 million.

The choices students make during the transition to higher secondary education have a critical impact on the future technical workforce of the country.

This new survey finds that among the four surveyed states, Punjab ranks the lowest in Science stream enrolment for girls in grades 11-12 at amere 16%, compared to 59% in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand (29%), and Rajasthan (20%).