Higher Education and Private Universities in India

The Union Budget prompts reflection on public policy alignment with India's future, especially in the context of technology and artificial intelligence. Higher education, particularly private universities, is crucial for India’s ambitions in technology, healthcare, research, and innovation.

Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) Targets

• India aims to increase its GER to 50% by 2035.
• Current enrolment: approximately 4.3 crore students (GER of 28.4%).
• Target requires servicing approximately 7.6 crore students, adding over 3 crore learners.
• Private universities are essential to achieve this growth.

Challenges in Private University Expansion

• Previous expansions, such as in the IT sector, prioritized quick financial gains over academic quality.
• Current regulations treat all private universities similarly, lacking differentiation based on mission and quality.

Global Perspectives

• Quality in higher education is determined by mission and delivery, not ownership.
• U.S. institutions like Harvard, Stanford, and MIT succeeded due to their faculty strength, governance, and research capabilities.
• The U.S. education system benefits from extensive, outcome-based federal research funding.

Comparative Investment in Research

• U.S.: Education spending is 5.4–5.8% of GDP; research alone is around 3.5% of GDP.
• India: Education spending is 4-5% of GDP; research is approximately 0.6–0.7% of GDP.

Policy Recommendations for India

• Allocate government research funding based on demonstrated capability and rigorous accountability.
• Open capacity-building schemes to all high-quality institutions.
• Consider a higher-education analogue of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) framework.

The future of Indian higher education and the achievement of its economic ambitions will be shaped by policy decisions made today. The focus should be on enabling and incentivising quality, differentiated educational institutions.