Private Participation In Higher Education And The Challenges Chiranjeevi M.Com MBA,HOD Dept of Commerce,Soundarya Institute of management and science Harish G M.com,Assistant Prof. in Dept. of Commerce,Soundarya Institute of management and science Abstract Education is the manifestation of perfection which is already in man but Perfection can only be achieved through Quality Education. The dual challenge that Indian higher education institutions face is, firstly to contribute to economic growth of the country and secondly to improve the quality of life of its citizens. The Indian higher education system has emerged as one of the largest in the world, with 14.6 million students enrolled in more than 31, institutions. Over the past decade, the number of universities in the country has increased at a CAGR of 7.5% (from 272 to 556) while the number of colleges has grown at a CAGR of 11% (from 11,146 to 31,324). However, Indian higher education continues to suffer from three fundamental challenges: access, equity and quality. We explore them briefly: Access: While India s higher education system is the world s third largest in terms of enrollment, next only to China and the USA, its GER-currently at 13.8%-significantly lags the world average at 26%. Equity: There is wide disparity in GERs across states, urban and rural areas, gender, and communities: Quality: Quality of a product or services is its ability to satisfy the needs and expectations of the customer and also the Planning Commission in its approach paper to 12th Five Year Plan had suggested that the current not-for-profit approach in the education sector should be re-examined in a pragmatic manner so as to ensure quality without losing focus on equity we believe that the Government should seriously consider this suggestion to attract private investment in this sector. This Paper highlights the key role private sector has played And the Challenges facing in Indian higher education and also suggestions that the government can take to further encourage the participation of good quality private players in strengthening Indian higher education Keywords: Compounded Annual Growth Rate( CAGR), Gross Enrollment Ratio(GER), Notfor-Profit, Access, Equity, Quality.
Introduction Indian Education Sector - An Overview India, today, is considered as a talent pool of the world, having qualified and educated human resources in abundance. This has been one of the primary reasons for transformation of India into one of the fastest growing economies in the world since liberalization in the 199s. As the economist Clark Kerr observed, On a global scale, wealth and prosperity have become more dependent on the access to knowledge than the access to natural resources. Post-independence India has witnessed an above average growth in the number of educational institutions vis-à-vis its population. While there were just about 2 Universities and 5 Colleges at the time of independence, today these numbers have grown exponentially. Please find below a snapshot of the current higher education sector in India: India has a total of 61 universities. 43 central universities, 299 state universities, 14 private Universities, 128 deemed universities and 5 institutions established through state legislation, 3 Institutions of National Importance There are 45 technical institutes, 13 management institutes, 4 information technology institutes, 6 science and research institutes and 3 planning and architecture institutes Government spends around 3.8% of its GDP on education FDI inflows in the education sector during May 212 stood at $31.22 mn Present Scenario of Indian Higher Education Higher Education is a very important sector for the growth and development of human resource which can take responsibility for social, economic and scientific development of the country. The University Education Commission (1948-49), under the Chairmanship of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, gave the foundations of the future of Indian Higher Education. The report of the Education Commission (1964-66) under the Chairmanship of Dr. D.S. Kothari symbolized the symbiotic relationship between education and national development in a rapidly changing social and natural environment, higher education plays a varied and complex role in development. Without adequate higher education and research institutions providing a critical mass of skilled and educate people, no country can ensure genuine endogenous and sustainable
development. Higher education has given ample proof of its viability over the centuries and of its ability to change and to induce change and progress in society and India has one of the largest higher education systems in the world, and has been witnessing healthy growth in its number of institutions and enrollment in the last few decades. The number of universities has grown more than six times in the last four decades (In 197-71 13 universities and in the year 211-12 659) India has more than 33, colleges with one-third of the colleges having been set up in the last five years (In 197-71 3,64 colleges and in the year 211-12 33,23) Methodology of the study: The study conducted on the bases of analytical research using only secondary data from various Books, journals, magazines, websites, etc. Table 1: Number, Nature and Category of Institutions (As on August, 211) Type of institution Number Central Universities 43 State Universities 289 State Private Universities 94 Deemed to be Universities 13 Institutes of National Importance plus *Other Institutes 5 Institutions established under State Legislature Acts 5 Total 611 Total Colleges 31,324 Grand Total 31,935 *Other Institutes include Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) (5), National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology (RGIPT) and Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER). Now 129, as Deemed to be University status of one university has been withdrawn.
Table 2: Region-wise Distribution of Colleges Region % of Colleges Population in the age group 18-23 (in crore) Southern Central Western Eastern Northern North-East 33 22 19 11.5 1.5 3.5 2.9 4.7 4.26 3.56 *.6 Source: Higher Education in India, UGC, 28 * Separate data not available. Table 3: No of Universities and colleges in India Year No of universities No of colleges 197-71 13 364 198-81 133 4722 199-91 19 7346 2-1 256 1286 26-7 387 2117 211-12 659 3323 8 6 4 2 13 133 No of universities 19 256 387 659 197-71 198-81 199-91 2-1 26-7 211-12
4 3 2 1 No of colleges 3323 2117 1286 364 4722 7346 197-71 198-81 199-91 2-1 26-7 211-12 From the above table and chart it is clear that the number of universities has grown more than six times in the last four decades and India has more than 33, colleges with more than 5% of the Colleges having been set up in the last ten years. Table 5 No of Student enrollment in higher education and GER in higher education. No of students enrolments (In GER in higher education (%) Year Millions) 197-71 2 198-81 2.8 5 199-91 4.9 6 2-1 8.4 1 26-7 16.6 12.3 211-12 25.9 17.9 3 2 1 2 2.8 No of students enrolments (In Millions) 4.9 8.4 16.6 25.9 197-71 198-81 199-91 2-1 26-7 211-12
2 15 1 5 GER in higher education (%) 17.9 1 12.3 5 6 197-71 198-81 199-91 2-1 26-7 211-12 From the above table and chart it s clear that Student enrollment in HEIs has grown 12 times in the last four decades and GER in higher education has reached close to 18% in 211 12. Table 6: share of unaided private institutions in the total number of institutions Enrollment in private institutions as percentage of total year Private institutions as percentage of total 31.9 21-2 42.6 54.2 27-8 61.8 58.9 211-12 63.9 8 6 4 Private institutions as percentage of total 42.6 61.8 63.9 2 21-2 27-8 211-12
1 5 Enrollment in private institutions as percentage of total 31.9 54.2 58.9 21-2 27-8 211-12 From the above table and chart its clear that The share of unaided private institutions in the total number of institutions is now a little less than two-thirds, up from 4% a decade ago and The unaided private sector accounted for around 6% of total enrollment in 212 almost double that of the share of total enrollment of 33% in 21. Table 7 Growth of private institutions and enrolments comparing with govt institutions. Year Institutions in Numbers Enrolment in Millions Govt Private Govt Private 27 11239 18145 6.3 7.5 212 16768 29662 8.9 12.8 From the above table it s clear that between 27 and 212, the number of private institutions grew faster than the number of government institutions and Enrollment in private institutions has increased at a CAGR of 11% over the last five years, as compared to 7% in government institutions. The challenges of India s education system For every one of our people to benefit from new employment opportunities being created across the economy, we must ensure that every Indian is educated and skilled -Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh s address to the nation on Independence Day 27 Access: Availability of suitable number of institutions across regions to fulfill demand. Equity: Equal opportunity for all sections of society to participate in higher education
Quality: Provision of suitable infrastructure, trained faculty and effective pedagogy in higher education institutions aimed at delivering expected outcomes 1. With a GER of 13.8% and enrollment of 14.6 million, access to higher education in India is currently restricted to a limited population. 2. There is wide disparity in Higher Education GERs across states, urban and rural areas, gender, and communities. Examples: Inter-state disparity: 31.9% in Delhi vs. 8.3% in Assam Urban-rural divide: 23.8% in urban areas vs. 7.5% in rural areas Differences across communities: 6.6% for SCs, 6.5% for STs, 8.7% for OBCs, and 17.2% for others Gender disparity: 1.6% for female vs.14.4% for male 3. Faculty shortage: 45% of the positions for professors, 51% positions for readers, and 53% positions for lecturers were vacant in Indian universities in 27-8 4. Deficient physical infrastructure: 48% of universities and 69% of colleges have infrastructure deficiencies 5. Poor academic standards: The system is plagued with outdated curricula and ill-equipped libraries (average 9 books per student vs. 53 in IIT Bombay) 6. Unaccredited institutions: As of March 211, only 161 universities and 4,371 colleges had been accredited by NAAC Findings and conclusion: 1. India s GER of16% was much below the world average of 27%, as well as that of other emerging countries such as China (26%) and Brazil (36%) in 21 2. Enrollment has grown in India s higher education institutions at an annual rate of 7.4% between 21 29, the country s growth lags behind that of China and Brazil, but is ahead of that of the US and Russia 3. The role of the private sector can be expected to assume greater significance driven by the high potential demand for higher education
4. There is wide disparity in terms of rural-urban, gender and communities and also a significant disparity across states 5. Lack of research activity and shortage of high-quality faculty are plaguing the sector 6. India s public expenditure on higher education as a percentage of GDP is comparable to other countries it is extremely low when assessed on a per student basis 7. The Indian higher education segment contributes marginally to the national R&D expenditure, which itself is low by international standards The Indian higher education segment contributes marginally to the national R&D expenditure, which itself is low by international standards Conclusion In India, it seems to be a case of one step forward and two steps back. While the government has introduced various bills in the Parliament, each of these seems to be stuck at various levels. Bills, such as National Commission for Higher Education and Research, National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions, and Foreign Educational Institutions, if passed can bring much needed structural changes. There is an urgent need to debate these bills and ensure that they are passed. Most importantly, a change in mindset is required. Perhaps, time has come to remove the stigma associated with profi ts in the education sector so that legitimate private enterprises can have access to capital and set up world-class institutions that the country needs so badly. A lot of debate has taken place on affi liation, accountability, autonomy, and so on. Everyone seems to agree that a radical overhaul of the higher education system is
much needed. Time has now come to walk the talk. Or else India s youth will be left behind in the global race. References Inclusive and qualitative expansion of higher education 12 th five-year plan, 212-17, university grants commission new delhi-112. Ernst & young pvt ltd., making the indian higher education system future ready ficci higher education summit 29. Ernst & young pvt ltd., private sector participation in indian higher education ficci higher education summit 211. Ernst & young pvt ltd., higher education in india: twelfth five year plan (212 217) and beyond ficci higher education summit 212. Asha gupta., international trends in private higher education and the indian scenario. September 25 Marmar mukhopadhyay and sudhanshu bhusan., access and quality in higher education: role of private participation., university news, 42(7), february 16-22, 24. Higher education in india issues related to expansion, inclusiveness, quality and finance. University grants commission bahadur shah zafar marg new delhi-11 2, November 28.