International Journal of Educational Administration

Volume 1 Number 1 (2009), pp. 51-58

© Research India Publications
http://www.ripublication.com/ijea.htm

Higher Education in India: an Overview

S. Kuppusamy

Director-MBA, M.Kumarasamy College of Engineering, Thalavapalayam, Karur-

639113, Tamilnadu

Introduction and Brief History

Before we discuss the current higher education system in India, a brief historical
background will be helpful to understand the developments over the past several
decades. India has a very rich history dating back to several millenniums. Knowledge
was preserved and propagated through oral tradition. In this context, the teachers set
up ‘residential schools’ in their own homes. Students were supposed to reside with the
teacher and his family and the students were expected to share the daily chores of the
teacher’s family. Sanskrit was the language of the educated and the texts were
composed in this language. Most of the major modern languages in India are derived
from Sanskrit, except the classical language of India, Tamil.
During the regime of Buddhist kings belonging to the Mauryan dynasty in the
third and second century BC India flourished with the establishment of exclusive
institutions of learning. Taxila, now in Pakistan, became the seat of learning where
scholars journeyed to learn and to be educated. Nalanda, in eastern India became
famous for the Buddhist University where several religious conclaves were held.
In the 10th century, India was invaded from the northwest and many founded their
dynastic rule in India. Persian became the court language and the educated elites
became conversant in Farsi and Arabic. The dual traditions of Sanskrit and Farsi
education were kept alive till the colonization of India by the British. The British
established schools to teach English and the sciences.

Advent of Modern Higher Education

The western higher education in India began with the establishment of Hindu College
at Calcutta (1817) by Raja Rammohan Roy and his friend David Hare with the
objective of providing a channel by which real knowledge might be transferred from
European sources to the intellect of Hindustan. The East India Company founded
another Sanskrit College for Indians at Calcutta (1825), which was a move that was
protested by Raja Rammohan Roy since he felt that Indians should also receive
education in European languages and western sciences. By this time, the Christian
missionaries had started establishing colleges at other places, with the objective of
52 S. Kuppusamy

spreading Christianity through the teaching of English and western sciences.

Elphinstone College was founded at Bombay (1834), and Madras Christian College
(1837) at Madras to prepare natives for public employment. In the same style,
colleges were set up at Masulipatanam (1841), Nagpur (1844), and Agra (1853). Till
that time, the number of colleges had risen to 25, in the whole country. One
interesting fact about Indian higher education is that colleges were established earlier
to the birth of universities in India.
It was in 1854 that the establishment of modern universities in India was first
recommended by the Wood’s Education Despatch, and as a consequence, three
universities in the presidency towns of Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras were set up in
1857. The main function of these universities was to conduct examinations and award
degrees, while teaching work was to be done in the affiliated colleges. This was, in
fact, an adoption of the London University model. With the rapid rise in enrolment
after the establishment of these three universities, Punjab University at Lahore (1882)
and the University of Allahabad (1887) were also established. After this, no new
university was set up in the Nineteenth Century. By 1902, however there were five
universities and 191 affiliated colleges with a total enrolment of 17,650 students.
In the meantime, the National Freedom Movement had gathered momentum and
the enlightened Indians took keen interest in the education of their fellow natives.
Consequently, six new universities came into existence between 1913 and 1921.
These included Banaras Hindu University (1916), Patna University (1917), Osmania
University (1918), Lucknow University (1920), and Aligarh Muslim University
(1920), which were established by Acts of Central Legislature. All these institutions
were Central Universities at that time. With the establishment of Delhi (1922),
Nagpur(1923), Andhra(1926), Agra(1927) and Annamalai (1929) universities, the
total number of universities became 16 by 1930. This sudden spurt in the number of
universities was due to favourable recommendations of Calcutta University
Commission (1917-19). Most of these universities were teaching-type and not degree
awarding type of universities. However, during 1929-47, the official effort to develop
higher education became slow due to some political problems related to freedom
struggle and the breakout of the Second World War in 1939. Therefore, only three
universities could be set up during this period – Kerala (1938), Utkal(1943) and Sagar
(1946). In this way, the number of universities established before independence rose
to 19. Rajasthan University, Jaipur and Punjab University, Chandigarh were set up in
1947, because Punjab University, Lahore had gone to Pakistan during partition. Thus,
the total number of universities set up by 1947-48 became 20 with about 500 affiliated
colleges and 2.30 lakh students.

The Era of Massive Expansion

As India achieved freedom in 1947, the Department of Education founded in 1945
was converted into a full-fledged Ministry of Education. Higher education was the
first sector of education to attract the attention of the Union Government. As a first
step, the University Education Commission (1948-49) was appointed, which
recommended rapid expansion of higher education in India on a priority basis. The
Higher Education in India: an Overview 53

Commission also made several other recommendations having significant bearing on

future development of higher education in the country. During the period of three
years from 1947 to 1950, seven new universities were founded raising the total
number to 27 with 695 colleges affiliated to them. The total enrolment in these
institutions of higher education was 174,000 (excluding those enrolled in Pre-
University course) in 1950-51. The total number of teachers working in these
institutions was a little more than 21,000. It was from this point onwards that the ‘era
of massive expansion’ of higher education in our country began.
During the period of 50 years since 1950-51, the growth of higher education has
been phenomenal. On an average, four to five universities and 225 colleges were
established annually. The total number of universities in India at present is 273 and
the number of affiliated colleges is 11,831 with a total enrolment of over 77.34 lakhs.
During the last fifty years, the total number of teachers in the universities and colleges
has also increased to more than 3.51 lakhs. The growth rate of higher education had
been as high as 13-14 % during the 1950s and 1960s, but declined to about 2-3 %
during 1970s. During 1980s and the early 1990s the overall growth rate had been
about 4.2%. However, at present the growth rate is around 5% per annum.
The quantitative development of higher education during the post-independence
period has been apparently very impressive. Unlike the pre-independence period, the
benefits of higher education are now reaped by a sizeable number of youth even from
under-privileged actions of the society. At present, we have one college for every
11,000 persons and one university for every 4.7 lakh persons in the relevant age group
(18-23 years); but in real terms, only about 6-7% of the eligible age group are getting
the benefit of higher education. This is an insignificant quantum when compared to
the corresponding figures of over 50% for the countries belonging the Organization of
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and about 30% for some other
developed countries. Highlighting the significance of higher education in the modern
times, the World Bank document (1994) stated, “The development of higher
education is correlated with the economic development: enrolment ratios in higher
education average 51% in the countries that belong to OECD, compared with 21% in
middle-income countries and 6% in low-income countries”.

Institutional Framework for the Higher Education System

With this varied history of the higher education system, the current system is
primarily modeled after the British system. However, some of the technical
institutions in engineering and management studies are modelled on the US system.
The Indian higher education system remains primarily the responsibility of the
various state governments of the nation, although the central government has taken
the initiative in establishing and funding a few central universities and other
institutions of national repute through out the country.
India has 14 major languages of its own to its credit. But institutions of higher
education use English as the medium of instruction for most of its courses,
particularly in the technical fields, though the regional language remains a major
cultural artifact that provides the cultural context.
54 S. Kuppusamy

The institutional framework of higher education in India is now complex. There

are several types of institutions: universities, colleges, institutions of national
importance, post-graduate institutions and polytechnics. Only the universities are
authorized to grant degrees. By special acts of Parliament, the institutions of national
importance, however, have been authorized to grant degrees. Post-graduate
institutions and polytechnics can grant diplomas and are to be recognized by the All
India Council of Technical Education.
Universities are of four types: State Universities, Central Universities, Deemed
Universities (aided and unaided), and Private Universities. The following itemizes
these different types of higher educational institutions in India.

Types of Higher Educational Institutions in India

INSTITUTION NUMBER
Central Universities 20
State funded universities 217
Deemed universities 45
Private deemed universities 57
Private universities under state 5
Other private universities 10
Institutions of national importance 13
Source: Sitra reports No.74,2007

Central Universities
Usually, a university is established under the act of a State legislature. The state
Government maintains control of the universities in many respects, although a central
agency, the University Grants Commission provides the bulk of funding to these
bodies. The Central Government has established 20 universities that are fully funded
and controlled by it. The following table lists the Central Universities of India.

List of Central Universities

Aligarh Muslim University, Uttar Pradesh
Assam University, Assam
Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Uttar Pradesh
Banaras Hindu University, Uttar Pradesh
Central Agricultural University, Manipur
Indira Gandhi National Open University
Jamia Milia Islamia, Delhi
Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi
Mahatma Gandhi Antarrastriya Hindi Vishwavidyala, Maharastra
Manipur University
Higher Education in India: an Overview 55

Maulana Azad National Urdu University

Mizoram University
Nagaland University
North eastern Hill University, Meghalaya
Pondicherry University, Pondicherry
Tezpur University, Assam
University of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
University of Delhi
University of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
Visva Bharati, West Bengal
Source: Sitra reports No.74,2007

Deemed Universities
Deemed universities are the unique in India. Prior to independence, several private
autonomous institutions of higher education and learning were developed in India by
some private entrepreneurs and philanthropists. The Education Commission headed
by Dr Radhakrishnan (a noted philosopher and the second President of India)
recommended in 1948 that these institutions should be recognized appropriately.
Accordingly, the Government of India made a provision under the UGC Act of 1956,
Section 3, to recognize some deemed institutions to be universities. The objective was
as follows:
“If institutions which for historical or other reasons were not universities, yet were
doing the work of high standard in specialized academic fields comparable to that
done at a university then the granting to these institutions the status of universities
would enable them to further contribute to the cause of higher education thereby
mutually enriching the institution and the university system.” To qualify for being a
deemed university it was required that, “the institution should generally be engaged in
teaching programs and conducting research in chosen fields of specialization which
were innovative and of very high academic standards at the Master’s and Research
levels. It should also have a greater interface with society through extramural
extension and field action related programs.”
In recent years there has been a significant growth of deemed universities. Only
29 deemed universities were recognized from 1956 to 1990. But after 1990, there
have been 63 new deemed universities, excluding the regional engineering colleges
that are given the degree granting powers.

State Universities
Universities charted under the state legislatures have been founded at various times.
The number of universities in a state depends on the population as well as resources
available to the states. Table below shows the distribution of universities by their
respective states in India.
56 S. Kuppusamy

List of States with Their No. Of State Universities

Andhra Pradesh 12 Maharashtra 16

Arunachal Pradesh 1 Madhya Pradesh 7
Assam 3 Manipur 1
Bihar 3 Meghalaya 1
Chandigarh 1 Mizoram 0
Chatisgarh 2 Nagaland 1
Delhi 2 Orissa 3
Goa 1 Pondicherry 1
Gujarat 4 Punjab 3
Haryana 3 Rajasthan 8
Himachal Pradesh 1 Tamil Nadu 16
Jammu and Kashmir 2 Tripura 1
Jharkhand 1 Uttar Pradesh 14
Karnataka 8 Uttarakhand 4
Kerala 4 West Bengal 7
Source: Sitra reports No.74,2007

Most of the state universities have colleges affiliated to them. Colleges provide
undergraduate and post graduate education. Universities manage and conduct the
qualifying examinations and grant degrees. Universities conduct courses at post-
graduate level awarding Masters Degrees. The doctoral program in a typical
university is very much like that of the United Kingdom where little emphasis is put
on course work and is based solely on the dissertation written under the guidance of
an approved “guide” or a Professor.
The following table shows the distribution of accredited colleges by the various
states. The number varies according to the population as well as the fiscal and
physical resources available to the states.

List of States with Accredited Colleges

Andhra Pradesh 142 Maharashtra 942

Arunachal Pradesh 5 Madhya Pradesh 7
Assam 192 Manipur 6
Bihar 34 Meghalaya 7
Chandigarh 13 Mizoram 8
Chatisgarh 25 Nagaland 2
Delhi 0 Orissa 116
Goa 14 Pondicherry 6
Gujarat 50 Punjab 95
Haryana 150 Rajasthan 96
Himachal Pradesh 18 Tamil Nadu 218
Higher Education in India: an Overview 57

Jammu and Kashmir 23 Tripura 4

Jharkhand 18 Uttar Pradesh 74
Karnataka 448 Uttarakhand 25
Kerala 141 West Bengal 119
Source: Sitra reports No.74,2007

A study of existing trade in higher education shows that the country is already
quite deeply involved in this trade. Approximately 50,000 students from India are
enrolled abroad through the modes of consumption abroad, virtual university,
franchise and twining programmes. The process was speeded up after 1991 with the
adoption of the liberalization policies. Delegates from foreign universities now
generally visit India to market their education. Indian agencies and agents are also
hired to recruit students. There is increasing trend towards setting up franchisee and
twining programmes especially in collaboration with American and British
universities. More than 30,000 Indian students were getting education in 1995-96 in
the USA alone. As far as export of such service by India is concerned i.e., foreign
students coming to India for study, the current prospects are not too bright. India has
already got some 5,455 international students from neighboring countries.

References
Books

[1] Abhay Kumar, Samik Lahiri, “Behind The Blackboard”, SFI Publications
[2] Ansari, M M. Economics of Distance Higher Education. New Delhi:
Concept Publishing Co., 1992. (378, N2)
[3] Barry Berman, “Marketing Channels”, 1996, John Wiley and Sons Inc.
[4] Chinese Education Association, . China Higher Education Directory. Hong
Kong: Hon Wing Book Co, 1987. (378.51, M7)
[5] Chirstopher Lovelock, Jochen Wirtz, “Service Marketing”, fifth 2004,
Person education, Delhi.
[6] Chorafas, Dimitris N. Globalization of Money and Securities: New
Products Players and Markets. New Delhi: Tata Mcgraw-Hill, 1992.
(332.645, N2C)
[7] Chunawalla, S.A, “Marketing Principle And Practice”, First 1997,
Himalaya House.

Journals
[1] Annadurai and Vicent “privatization of teacher education in India” Issues in
higher education P. 281 – 286.
58 S. Kuppusamy

[2] Dr.M.K.Sylaja kumari and A.S.prasanth “A study on Students’ perception

about Globalization and Privatization of Higher Education” Issues in higher
education P. 233 – 246
[3] Dr.S.Dravid Amirtha Rajan & Ganana Soundari “higher education in the
context of GATS” Issues in higher education P. 233 – 246
[4] International Journal of Education Management, Vol.19 No.15,2005, Emerald
, rad Publishing USA.
[5] Jawarharhal Nehru.B “Problems in higher education” Issues in higher
education P 203 - 216
[6] Journal of Management Development
[7] Michael Mitsopoulos and Theodore Pelagidis “The case for abolishing the
higher education state monopoly in Greece”
[8] Prof. leslie Paliath “Profound thinking on the impacts of GATS on higher
education in India”, Issues in higher education P. 269 – 280
[9] Quality assurance in Education , MCB University Press
[10] Rengaraju and Selvamuthu Kumaraswamy, Globalization and liberalization”,
Issues in higher education P. 255 – 268
[11] Shyamle “Globalization: A threat to higher education of women analyzes the
conditions of higher education in connection with globalization and
privatization” Issues in higher education P. 217 - 224
[12] The research and occasional paper series, University of California
[13] Xavier Mahimairaj “ All Globalization and academic excellence points out the
major constrains in our higher education” Issues in higher education P. 203 –
216