India today hosts one of the world’s largest higher education systems, with 1,168 universities, 45,473 colleges, and over 4 crore students as per AISHE. However, despite impressive expansion, higher education faces systemic challenges that undermine quality, equity, and global relevance.
Key Challenges facing higher education:
Inequitable Access:
- India’s Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) is 28.4%, well below the global average of 36.7%.
- Regional disparities remain stark as Tamil Nadu (GER 47) far outperforms Bihar and Jharkhand.
- Although the Gender Parity Index improved to 1.01, access for rural and marginalized groups remains uneven.
Weak R & D Ecosystem:
- India spends only 0.64% of GDP on R&D, far below South Korea (4.5%) and USA (3%).
- Higher education contributes just 10% of national research output, limiting innovation.
- Brain drain persists, with 1.8 million Indian students abroad but only 46,000 foreign students in India.
Governance Bottlenecks:
- Political interference in appointments such as repeated VC–Governor conflicts and limited institutional autonomy hinder academic freedom.
- Regulatory fragmentation through UGC, AICTE, NCTE, BCI, etc. creates compliance burdens.
Skill Mismatch:
- India’s employability rate is 51%, and the India Skills Report notes 60–73% tech talent shortage.
- Curricula lag behind emerging domains like AI, ML, and data science.
Quality concerns:
- Only 39% of universities and 20% of colleges are NAAC-accredited.
- A rigid examination system, outdated curricula, and shortage of qualified faculty weaken academic standards.
Measures to Strengthen Higher Education:
Boost Funding:
· Operationalise ANRF, expand PMRF, and increase R&D to at least 1% of GDP.
· PPP-based research parks and innovation clusters can replicate models like IISc–DRDO and IIT Madras Research Park.
Strengthen Governance:
- Establish a Central Higher Education Recruitment Board to ensure merit-based appointments.
- Provide autonomy in curriculum design, fee decisions, and international collaborations, aligned with NEP 2020.
Promote Inclusive Education:
- Expand SWAYAM, DIKSHA, NDEAR; strengthen BharatNet to bridge rural digital divides.
- Offer targeted scholarships for SC/ST/OBC, women, and students in NE states and emulate Kerala’s digital learning reforms.
Modernise Curriculum: Adopt multidisciplinary learning, internships (PM Internship Scheme), dual degree programmes, and Germany-style dual vocational models. Set up Industry Relations Cells across universities.
Accelerate Internationalisation: Encourage foreign campuses in GIFT City, joint degrees, and simplified credit transfer under NCrF.
Conclusion:
With holistic reforms, NEP 2020 implementation, academic autonomy, research investments, and industry partnership—India can transform its universities into engines of national development and international knowledge leadership.
‘+1’ Value Addition:
- India has 2nd largest higher education system in the world after China.
- PMRF launched to create 10,000 high-quality research scholars.
- IITs contribute 24% of India’s research output.
- International students in India are at only 46,000, compared to 18 lakh Indians studying abroad.
- R&D spending is at 0.64% of GDP in India) vs. 4.8% in South Korea.
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