249 new universities in 5 years: How are universities growing in India?

AISHE: Private universities have grown faster but over 70% of students still attend public universities; Tamil Nadu has the highest GER among states.

The AISHE report shows that 58 new state public universities came up over 2016-21, a fraction of the 132 new state private universities.

Sheena Sachdeva | July 17, 2023 | 12:10 PM IST

NEW DELHI: Over the five years between 2016-17 and 2020-21, the total number of universities in India, public and private, has risen 29% with 249 new universities established, as per the report of All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2020-21, the latest one available. The maximum number of new universities – 90 – were established 2018-19.

The growth in private universities has far outstripped that in public ones. The AISHE report shows that 58 new state public universities came up over 2016-21, a fraction of the 132 new state private universities. Despite this, public universities still account for over 70% of enrollment.

Enrolment in higher education has risen by 28.8 lakh since 2019-20, totalling 3.85 crore in 2019-20 and 4.13 crore in 2020-21. Over five years, between 2016-17 and 2020-21, it rose by 56.7 lakh.

Further, enrolment of women students in higher education has risen 20% from 2016-17 to 2020-21; that of Dalit students (Scheduled Caste) has risen 15%; of tribal students (Scheduled Tribes), 30%; and Other Backward Classes (OBC), 20%.

AISHE: More universities, women’s institutions

Out of 1,113 universities up by 2020-21, 657 were government managed – 235 central government and 422 state government – 10 were private deemed (aided), and 446, private unaided.

A total of 132 new state private universities have come up from 2016-17 to 2020-21 and 58 new state public universities. Plus, 49 national institutes of importance; seven new central universities and one government run deemed-to-be-university have been added.

Total number of universities between 2016-17 and 2020-21

Type of University

Numb er

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

State Public University

345

351

371

386

403

State Private University

233

262

304

327

365

Deemed University-Private

79

80

80

80

80

Institute of National Importance

100

101

127

135

149

Central University

44

45

46

48

51

Deemed University-Government

33

33

34

36

34


According to the AISHE, out of the 1,113 universities in 2020-21, there were 16 open universities, including one central, one state private and 14 public state open universities. There 112 dual mode ones.

Of the total in 2020-21, 17 universities were exclusively for women with two each in Haryana, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal and one each in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Uttarakhand. This total was 11 in 2014-15; from 2014-15 to 2020-21, six new universities exclusively for women were established.

Amongst all states, Rajasthan has the most universities, 92, in 2021.

Out of 1,099 universities which responded to the AISHE 2020-21, 56% were general in nature; 17% technical; 6% agriculture; 6% medical; and 5% management-focused institutions

However, three union territories including Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Lakshadweep had no university.

Most students in government universities

The AISHE report highlights that total enrolment in higher education across universities has increased by 28.80 lakh, from 3.85 crore in 2019-20 to 4.13 crore in 2020-21. Despite the spike in the number of private institutions, the vast majority of Indian students, 73.1%, still attend government universities, mostly state-run. Government aided and private universities account for 26.3% of total enrolment.

Where students study: Enrolment by university type (2016-21)

Type of University

Enrollment

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

Central University

719,418

723,679

704,582

720,025

703,776

Central Open University

815,946

861,275

1,035,081

1,167,336

1,252,286

Institute of National Importance

1,96,664

203,197

228,431

293,336

306,513

Deemed University-Government

44,159

42,921

37,496

39,727

39,902

State Public University

2,761,335

2,596,633

2,387,604

2,578,473

2,778,080

State Open University

1,080,812

1,090,083

1,174,747

1,208,060

1,514,737

State Private University

768,389

1,035,729

1,157,093

1,276,201

1,475,669

Deemed University-Government Aided

69,901

55,994

59,720

56,169

55,332

Deemed University-Private

611,965

652,151

696,926

788,762

889,794

Total

35,705,905

36,642,378

37,399,388

38,536,359

41,380,713


The state open universities’ enrollment was 10 lakh in 2016-17 and rose to 15 lakh in 2020-21.

Enrollment in state private universities has increased 92%. In 2016-17, state private university enrolment was 7.6 lakh. It grew to 14 lakh in five years.

Enrollment in central universities has decreased from 7.1 lakh in 2016-17 to 7 lakh in 2020-21.

Enrolment in state public universities has fluctuated. In 2016-17, overall enrollment was around 2.7 crore. However, in 2017-18, it fell to 2.5 crore and further to 2.3 crore in 2018-19. But it rose again in 2019-20 and 2020-21 with 2.5 crore and 2.7 crore.

Gross enrollment ratio

The gross enrolment ratio (GER) in 2020-21 was 27.3, an increase of 1.7 over the previous year. The GER is the proportion of students enrolled in higher education out of the total population of youths in the college-going age group. For AISHE, GER is calculated for the age group of 18-23.

In 2020-21, GER among males was 26.7, and among females, 27.9.

In 2020-21, Chandigarh had the highest GER with 66.1 followed by Puducherry with 60.8 and Delhi with 47.6. But among the large states, Tamil Nadu had the highest GER – 46.9.

Course-wise enrollments

Integrated programmes saw enrolment rise 211% – only 17,000 students opted for them in 2016-17 compared to the 3.8 lakh in 2020-21. This is also a reflection of the increase in the number of integrated courses on offer.

In postgraduate courses, enrollment increased by 20%; in undergraduate courses, by 15%. Enrolment in diplomas rose 14%.

Enrolment by programme (2016-2021)

Year

UG

PG

Diploma

Certificate

Integrated

MPhil

PhD

Total

2016-17

28,348,197

213,051

2,612,209

166,617

17,395

43,267

141,037

35,705,905

2017-18

29,016,350

235,263

2,707,934

177,223

195,777

34,109

161,412

36,642,378

2018-19

29,829,075

224,711

2,699,395

162,697

241,126

30,692

169,170

37,399,388

2019-20

30,647,287

217,249

2,672,562

159,869

300,373

23,934

202,550

38,536,359

2020-21

32,657,509

257,187

2,979,320

155,911

385,541

16,744

211,852

41,380,713


SC-ST, women’s enrolment

In 2020-21, the student population in higher education was 51.3% male and 48.7% female. However, even by 2020-21, representation of historically-marginalised communities didn’t match the proportion of seats reserved for them in public institutions, except in the case of the Other Backward Classes. SC enrolment was 14.2%; 5.8% students were tribal or ST; and 35.8% were from OBCs.

In postgraduate courses, enrollment increased by 20%; in undergraduate courses, by 15%. Enrolment in diplomas rose 14%.

Enrolment by gender, category (2016-21)

Year

Male

Female

SC

ST

OBC

2016-17

18,980,595

16,725,310

5091515

1,852,375

12,299,309

2017-18

19,204,675

17,437,703

5280361

1,913,864

12,833,005

2018-19

19,209,888

18,189,500

5567078

2,067,748

13,591,994

2019-20

19,643,747

18,892,612

5657672

2,156,109

14,249,114

2020-21

21,237,910

20,142,803

5,894,700

2,412,069

14,821,537


The enrollment of women has increased by 20 percent from 2016-17 to 2020-21. Enrolment of Dalits has risen 15%; of Adivasis, 30%; and of OBCs, by 20% over the same period.

Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan are the top 10 states contributing to 53.17 percent of the total student enrolment

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