Privatisation of Higher Education There has been an upsurge in the demand for higher education after independence, resulting in a substantial expansion in the number of universities and colleges in the country. India has the second largest higher education system in the world. As per UGC Annual Report 2014-15, as on 31.03.2015, the number of Universities had gone up to 711 (46 Central, 329 State, 205 State Private, 128 Deemed to be Universities, three Institutions established under State Legislation) and 40760 colleges in the Higher Education sector. The Indian higher education has already entered a stage of massification and the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education in 2015-16 is 24.5 percent, which is 3.45 crore in absolute numbers. The current target is to increase Gross Enrolment Ratio to 25.2 percent in 2017-18 and further to 30 percent in 2020-21. The extant National Policy on Education (NPE) provides for a National System of Education which implies that, up to a given level, all students, irrespective of caste, creed, location or sex, have access to education of a comparable quality. The Government is committed to provide equitable access to quality education to all, by enhancing access to public funded education across all levels ranging from elementary to higher education. This information was given by the Minister of State (HRD), Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey today in a written reply to a Lok Sabha question.
