NITI AAYOG REPORT ON ENHANCING QUALITY HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIA

GS2 GOVERNANCE: 

Introduction

• The report, titled “Expanding Quality Higher Education through States and State Public Universities,” focuses on improving State Public Universities (SPUs), which educate 80% of India’s college students.

State Public Universities

• 495 SPUs in India as of January 2025, with Karnataka having the most (43), followed by West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh (38 each).
• SPUs have grown by 50% in the past 14 years, with student enrollment increasing by 38%.

Key Focus Areas

The report suggests 80 policy recommendations in four key areas:

Quality of Education

• National Research Policy to enhance research quality.
• Creation of Centres of Excellence and MERUs.
• Improved teaching methods and digital learning platforms.

Funding & Finance

• Increase financial autonomy for SPUs.
• Set up State-level Infrastructure Finance Agencies.
• Encourage CSR contributions and tax exemptions to attract funding.

Governance

• Formulate State-level Higher Education Vision for 2047.
• Strengthen Higher Education Councils and improve faculty recruitment.

Employability

• Strengthen university-industry partnerships.
• Promote internships, apprenticeships, and entrepreneurship programs.

Key Findings

• Jammu and Kashmir leads in education spending as a percentage of GDP.
• Disparities in funding across states, with some showing negative growth rates in higher education expenditure.

Implementation Strategies

• Short, medium, and long-term strategies for implementation.
• Over 125 performance indicators to measure success.

Financial

• Combined expenditure on higher education is 0.62% of GDP.
• The report stresses the need for increased allocation to support infrastructure and enhance education quality.

Gender and Enrolment Trends

• Gender disparities exist, with states like Kerala showing higher female enrolment rates.
• Geographically smaller states have more balanced enrolment ratios.