I read an IELTS test, which has the sentence: "Universities should accept equal numbers of male and female students in every subject."
Universities should accept equal numbers of male and female students in every subject.
At first, I thought it mentions two objects (male and female), so we have to use "the numbers of" but after reading some sample articles, I suddenly realized that some authors wrote: " Considering these, the idea of determining the number of males and females in every subject is justifiable."
Considering these, the idea of determining the number of males and females in every subject is justifiable.
So what's the difference? Please help me explain it