Girl-heavy PU campus? Stats tell different story

Chandigarh: Contrary to the popular belief that Panjab University (PU) has a much higher number of girls than boys, the latest figures suggest the difference is not that large. Gender-wise details received from departments show 6,959 girls and 6,123 boys, a near balance rather than a wide gap.The university has a total of 16,124 students, according to the voter list released by DSW office. For polling on Wednesday, 171 booths are being set up. The remaining students, for whom gender-wise data has not been furnished, are also expected to be on similar lines, keeping the overall ratio fairly even. The campus also has 2 transgender students — both in different Arts Block departments. Within this strength, the largest numbers are found in the professional institutes. The University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET) leads with 2,535 students and 24 booths, followed by the University Institute of Legal Studies (UILS) with 1,921 students and 16 booths, and the Department of Laws with 1,094 students and nine booths.Other sizeable departments include UIAMS (513), UBS (498), Chemistry (404), and UIHTM (395). At the other end, some units such as French (12), Urdu (38), and the Guru Ravidas Chair (6) have only a handful of voters.A total of 171 booths have been set up across 61 departments and centres. In the social sciences and humanities, departments such as Economics (281), History (228), Political Science (196), and Sociology (221) fall in the mid-range. Though smaller in comparison with the professional institutes, they collectively form a substantial part of the electorate.The data highlights two key points: the gender ratio is more balanced than often assumed, and while a few large departments dominate in numbers, smaller and mid-sized ones continue to lend diversity and weight to the university's electoral landscape. Of the eight contenders, two — Mankirat Mann (ASAP) and Seerat (SOI) — are from UIET, the largest bloc. Laws has Gaurav Veer Sohal (ABVP) and Parabjot Gill (NSUI), while UILS is represented by Navneet Kaur (ASF). BOX- Departments with stark gender ratioDepts No. of boys. No. of girlsEnglish 54 293UIET 1965 570 UILS 732 1189 Defence studies 120, 26 girlsEducation 20 114