Review of Growth of Higher Education System in India

Abstract

In this section, we shall first review the growth and expansion of higher education in the country in the post-Independence period which has been rapid and sizeable. India’s Higher Education System is one of the largest in the world with 611 universities, 31,324 colleges with 521,843 teachers catering to 1, 36, 41, 808 students Although the system looks outwardly humungous, it includes just 12% of the 18–24 age group, thus leaving out the mainstream of 88%; several anomalies plague the system. These range from lack of outreach to the majority, inability to meet future demands of children who are now getting compulsory schooling (under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan or universalization of primary education) that would require an estimated 2,000 universities and 60,000 colleges with 12 lakh teachers and 10 lakh administrative staff. These challenges magnify with rising aspirations of a burgeoning population, especially of youth.