Student diversity plays a crucial role in fostering inclusive education, which enhances innovation, creativity, and problem-solving. In India, while the student mobility is increasing, disparities across regions and institutions continue to influence students’ decision in choosing an institution. Understanding student’s decision making will enhance equal opportunity for quality education. This study aims to identify the factors affecting interstate student diversity in Indian higher education. Secondary data from a national ranking body were analysed using statistical techniques and supervised machine learning algorithms using tool OriginPro 2024 and MATLAB’s R2024a respectively. Statistical analyses, including Pearson correlation, Spearman correlation, and Kruskal–Wallis tests, were employed to analyse relationships among factors, while machine learning models such as Gaussian Process Regression, Ensemble methods, Support Vector Machines, and Kernel-based approaches were used to assess feature importance. The findings show that the factors of student diversity vary across institution types. In Central Government Funded Institutions (CGFIs), location (23%) and course offerings (9%), while in State Government Funded Institutions (SGFIs), international student proportion (17%), were significant factors. For Self-Financed Institutions (SFIs), institutional rank (13%) and placement opportunities (10%) were key factors. These insights can guide policies and strategies to enhance student diversity and promote inclusive education in alignment with National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and quality education Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 4.

Objective: Studies on the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in Kashmir, India, are yet to be conducted. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of ACEs among young adults across all the ten districts of Kashmir Valley. Methods: A cross-sectional research strategy was used to assess the prevalence of ACEs by employing a multi-stage sampling method. Data were collected from 800 students studying in different colleges and universities in Kashmir with the help of the “Adverse Childhood Experiences” (ACEs) scale. Results: Findings disclosed that less than a quarter of the respondents reported high exposure to ACEs (15.4 %), more than one-tenth of the participants reported extremely high exposure to ACEs (13.4 %), over a quarter of the sample reported moderate exposure to ACEs (26.3 %), one-third of the youth reported low exposure to ACEs (33.0 %) and over one-tenth of the respondents reported no exposure to ACEs (11.8 %). The prevalence of ACEs was found to be 88.2 % (females: 82.7 % and males: 90.8 %) in Kashmir. The ACEs with the highest level of prevalence were “often or very often sworn at, insulted, or put down” (49.8 %), followed by “often or very often acted in a way that made them afraid that they would be physically hurt” (47.6 %), “often or very often pushed, grabbed, shoved, or slapped” (41.6 %), “often or very often hit so hard that they had marks or were injured” (28.3 %) and “touched or sexually fondled” (25.3 %). Thirteen out of 21 adverse events during childhood were significantly associated with gender. Conclusion: The findings suggest the need to advocate early targeted interventions, reduce ACEs and their impact, and design efficient measures to improve the health and well-being of young adults in Kashmir.