Patna’s share is 13.19%, while 63.70% enrollment is from outside six big cities.
Patna : The popularity of online degree programs for higher education is continuously increasing in Bihar. The special thing is that the number of people adopting online education is increasing from big cities of the state as well as small cities and towns. According to College Vidya’s enrollment data, 63.70 per cent of Bihar’s enrollments in 2025-26 came from outside the state’s six largest cities, while Patna was the largest contributor in the state with 13.19 per cent share. Bihar’s share in total enrollment in college education has increased from 11.08 percent in 2023-24 to 16.71 percent in 2025-26. This represents an increase of 51 percent in three sessions. The state’s share was 12.88 percent in 2024-25, which increased to 16.71 percent in 2025-26. Rohit Gupta, COO and Co-Founder of College Vidya, said that the attitude of students regarding higher education is changing. The decision to pursue a degree is no longer limited to college or location, but also depends on factors such as relevance of the program, career goals, and convenience of continuing studies with other responsibilities. Trends in Bihar show that students are exploring different options for higher education and online programs are becoming an important part of this journey. In the last three sessions, participation of youth has increased in the profile of online readers of Bihar. The share of students under 25 years of age studying postgraduate programs has increased from 47 percent to 71 percent. At the same time, the share of 21-25 years age group in postgraduate enrollment in 2025-26 was 64 percent. Even at the undergraduate level, the share of young students remains strong. The share of readers below 25 years of age is 91 percent, which was 81 percent two sessions ago. Enrollment figures in Bihar also reflect the growing preference for business and technology related programs. The share of postgraduate programs in the total enrollment of the state is 58.35 percent. Among these, the share of MBA is 58.23 percent, while the share of MCA in postgraduate enrollment is 20.25 percent.
The share of BCA in the undergraduate program is 38.46 percent. After this, B.Com with 30.77 percent share and BBA with 23.08 percent share were the major options. The major specializations being chosen by the students include Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Data Analytics, Data Engineering and Cyber Security. The enrollment data also shows the gender gap in the online higher education sector in Bihar. The share of males in undergraduate enrollment is 77.86 percent, while the share of females is 22.14 percent. At the same time, the share of men in postgraduate enrollment was 78.02 percent and the share of women was 21.98 percent. Overall, College Vidya’s enrollment data indicates that online degree programs are becoming an important part of higher education options for students in different cities and towns of Bihar. Young students in particular are choosing programs related to business, technology and emerging sectors as per their educational and career needs. Patna remains the major contributor with the largest share in the state, while enrollment from outside the six big cities reflects the growing penetration of online education.
