Even a near 11% increase in student enrollment in higher education and a 9% growth in the number of institutions during the last decade has not helped better India's higher education scenario.
The higher education sector is still plagued with various challenges such as low gross enrollment ratio (GER), inequitable access to higher education by community, geography and gender and lack of quality research and education, says a Planning Commission-FICCI-Ernst & Young report on ‘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.
The accent is on augmenting capacity in existing institutions, creating targeted schemes for the backward and minority communities and building excellence in higher education institutions (HEIs) through research and innovation, faculty development and internationalization.
| 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 of16 % was much below the world average of 27%; China (26%) and Brazil (36%) |
| There is 40% and 35% shortage of faculty in state and central universities, respectively |
| 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 |
However, there are several systemic barriers that restrict entry of credible private higher education providers contributing effectively.
“The Government intends to achieve enrollment of 35.9 million students in higher education institutions, with a GER of 25.2%, by the end of the Twelfth Five Year Plan period through the coexistence of multiple types of institutions including research-centric, teaching and vocation-focused ones," said Amitabh Jhingan, Partner & National Leader, Education practice,
Ernst & Young.
Jhinghan added that the private sector can be expected to 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; internationalization of education; enabling a research environment;
high quality faculty;improved technology for education delivery and employability-- to enhance quality of Indian higher education institutes.
