India lags in higher education enrolment, says report

Involving the private sector in higher education could help solve many of the problems

Even an 11 per cent increase in student enrolment in higher education courses and a nine per cent growth in the number of institutions in the past decade have not helped improve India’s higher education scenario, says a report prepared by the Planning Commission, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) and professional services firm Ernst & Young.

The higher education sector is still plagued by various problems such as a low gross enrolment ratio (GER), inequitable access to higher education and the lack of quality research, notes the report titled ‘Indian Higher Education: The Twelfth Plan and Beyond’. To address these challenges, the government has proposed several initiatives in the 12th Plan in the areas of expansion, equity, excellence, governance, funding and implementation, and monitoring.

According to the report, the thrust should be on augmenting capacity in existing institutions, creating targeted schemes for the backward and minority communities and creating excellence in higher education institutions through research and innovation, faculty development and internationalisation. However, there are several systemic barriers that restrict entry of credible private higher education providers contributing effectively.

THE LEARNING CURVE

• 25.9 million students are enrolled in over 45,000 degree and diploma institutions in India
• Two-thirds of these institutes have been set up by the private sector
• Undergraduate courses enroll 87% of the total number of students enrolled in degree courses
• 4.2 million students are enrolled in distance education programmes
• India’s average of 16 % is much below the world average of 27%; China (26%) and Brazil (36%)
• There is acute shortage of faculty in central universities (40%) and state universities (35%)
• 62% of universities and 90% of colleges were average or below average in 2010 (NAAC accreditation)
• India’s relative citation impact is half the world average

“The government intends to achieve an enrolment of 35.9 million students in higher education institutions, with a GER of 25.2 per cent, by the end of the 12th Plan period through the coexistence of multiple types of institutions including research-centric, teaching and vocation-focused ones,” said Amitabh Jhingan, partner and national leader, education practice, Ernst & Young.

Jhinghan added that the private sector could play an instrumental role in the achievement of these outcomes through the creation of knowledge networks, research and innovation centres, corporate-backed institutions, and support for faculty development.

The report recommends six levers — merit-based student financing; internationalisation of education; enabling a research environment; high quality of faculty; improved technology for education delivery and employability; enhancement of quality of Indian higher education institutes.