Datanomics: Cracks widen further in India's higher education system

UG students account for three out of every four enrolled, yet their share slipped by nearly three percentage points in 2023-24 compared with the pre-pandemic year.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) faces fresh scrutiny after ordering a retest for the UGC NET June 2026 exam, barely a month after nationwide protests over the NEET paper leak controversy concluded at Jantar Mantar. Citing repeated questions and multiple errors in the papers, the agency has called for fresh exams in three subjects: English, commerce, and sociology. Such entrance exams serve as the gateway to higher education, but the numbers tell a worrying story, especially at the undergraduate (UG) level. UG students account for three out of every four enrolled, yet their share slipped by nearly 3 percentage points in 2023-24 compared with the pre-pandemic year of 2018-19. In absolute terms, UG enrolment stood at 34.58 million in 2023-24, down 0.27 per cent from the year before — the first such decline since 2011 — even as the country’s overall enrolment increased by 0.82 per cent. The fall was sharpest in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, while Delhi, a major higher-education hub, saw its UG share decline by 0.83 per cent. Delhi did not feature in the top ten in terms of decline during the period.