India will need 1500 institutions by 2030 to accommodate college-going population: UK India Business Council Report

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 8: By 2030 India will have the largest number college-going population – a staggering 140 million. The country will need at least another 1,500 institutions by 2030 to accommodate this huge influx of students, states a report by the UK India Business Council.

To become a global superpower in the 21st Century India needs to place excellence, equal access, and employability at the heart of expanding its Higher Education system.

The Council stated that Indian students are a valuable part of every community across the UK. The quality of UK universities rightly attracts students from across the world, but few more so than from India. Despite efforts to increase this, the limited capacity to exchange students will never be enough to ensure equal access for all Indian students to the highest quality education the UK and the world has to offer.

During the launch of the ‘Beyond the Top 200 – Effective International Collaboration for Indian Higher Education’ report the Council stated that they are highly encouraged that the Government of India is creating a policy to allow foreign universities to operate in the country. This is a welcome step that would allow the best courses, teaching, and facilities available globally to directly change lives in India.

The Report recommends collaboration based on sustainable goals, partnerships and collaboration
with foreign universities should be based on a long-term approach to attract sustainable relationships and outcomes. Like private sector businesses, universities need long-term clarity in order to make a commitment to India. It suggests that a new Higher Education policy should
work to harness the potential of all institutions in India, not just a select few.

In developing criteria to select foreign university entrance into the Indian Higher Education market, however, Indian policymakers have recommended that only “the top 200 in the world” be allowed to collaborate with the best Indian institutions.

“Indian policymakers are right to only want the best the world has to offer. However, while International ranking systems are designed to help students choose where to study, they are not a suitable tool to judge which foreign universities have what India and Indians actually want. Frequently, universities that do not fall into the top 200 offers world-class courses, teaching, and facilities that directly meet India’s strategic needs,” it said.