Pune Boom: How 15 private universities reshaped higher education in 'Oxford of the East'

MUMBAI: Punekars affectionately call their city 'the Oxford of the East' – a sobriquet given by Jawaharlal Nehru to Pune in 1950 – while those preferring the vernacular refer to it as 'vidyeche maherghar' or the maternal home of education. While comparison with the British university town may appear far-fetched, the city has been long perceived as a destination for higher education across the Global South.

As the city transformed into a major information technology hub post-liberalisation, in addition to the existing automotive and manufacturing industry, it saw a significant growth in private educational institutes, especially those offering technical and management programmes. The next chapter in Pune's educational journey is the proliferation of privately-run universities, dotting the city and peripheral towns.

Since the Maharashtra government framed guidelines for establishing private universities in 2013, 33 have been set up in the state. Pune got the lion's share – 15. Barring the three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, private universities have been set up at a steady pace in a district which already had a handful of private deemed-to-be universities.

Thanks to the state government's policy of decentralising higher education to ease the administrative burden on public universities, most private universities emerged out of existing colleges in the city.

The advent of private varsities has allowed students from within the state as well as outside, even abroad, to pursue unique, multi-disciplinary and industry-oriented courses in technical disciplines and even liberal arts. However, the exorbitant fees has heightened the educational disparity, as cash-starved public institutes struggle to retain staff and attract students.

Private Universities: The boom

While Pune owes its recognition primarily to the educational and research institutions established during British Raj – Deccan College (1821), College of Engineering Pune (COEP; 1854), BJ Medical College (1878), Fergusson College (1884), SP College (1916), ILS Law College (1924) and Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (1930) – the city continued to cement its position in academia post-Independence.

Today, it is home to the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) and Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in addition to numerous government and privately-run higher education institutes and schools.

One of the first private institutes in the city to become independent was Bharati Vidyapeeth, formed in 1964 by late Patangrao Kadam, a former state minister. In 1996, its medical college came under the ambit of a deemed university; its engineering institute became a constituent college in 2000.

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Another medical college started by late politician DY Patil became part of DY Patil Vidyapeeth deemed-to-be university in 2003. The DY Patil group has since added two state private universities in Pune – Ajeenkya DY Patil University in 2015 and DY Patil International University in 2018 – in addition to multiple deemed universities in other Maharashtra cities.

The Symbiosis International Cultural Centre, set up in 1971 by former Fergusson College professor SB Majumdar to help foreign students in the city, was accorded deemed university status, transforming it into Symbiosis International. Today, it runs 48 institutes in multiple cities with a cumulative enrollment of over 40,000. In 2017, the organisation also started Symbiosis Skills and Professional University, a state private university.

After the state's guidelines paved the way for new private varsities, Spicer Memorial College, a Seventh-day Adventist institution established in Pune in 1915, became the first state private university in 2014, the Spicer Adventist University. It was followed by 14 others during the last 10 years.

Private universities, industry

FLAME University, established in 2015, was among the first private universities in Pune to be built from scratch. The institute, which calls itself a “pioneer in liberal education” in India, chose Pune due to its reputation, manpower availability and booming tech and manufacturing industry, besides the temperate weather of the Western ghats.

Pro vice-chancellor MA Venkataramanan said the city's many industries and educational institutes have thrived off of each other. "When both international and domestic companies are trying to relocate, the biggest thing they look for is the human capital. When tech and industries arrive in a place, the university founders also feel that it's a great place. So it's kind of playing itself into a virtuous cycle of one feeding the other," he said.

Among the institutes already rooted in the city, the Maharashtra Institute of Technology (MIT) was among the first to become a private varsity – Dr Vishwanath Karad MIT World Peace University (MIT WPU) – in 2017. The move was aimed at achieving more flexibility in curricula and paedagogy.

"The public universities cater to a large number of institutes and their curriculum tends to be rigid, whereas we offer a more multi-disciplinary approach… We were also able to set up industry-owned and sponsored laboratories and an incubation centre," said Nathrao Jadhav, assistant director of admissions at MIT WPU.

Jadhav added that state and central-government policies have allowed institutes to chart their own course.The colleges are being increasingly pushed to either seek autonomy or become self-financed universities, he said.

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Private-university authorities believe they have diversified the city's educational offerings. "While we focus strongly on an interdisciplinary education model offering over 10 Centres of Excellence on our campus that drive cutting-edge research in the country… others may focus on providing in-depth expertise in certain niche areas," said Venkataramanan.

"That competition is increasing every year. As a result the universities are coming up with more inter-disciplinary courses to attract students,” Jadhav said.

This has also helped diversify the student community in legacy institutions. While MIT earlier drew most students from within Maharashtra, 35% of current enrolments are from outside. Their student body represents over 40 nationalities. FLAME University, too, gets students from all over the country as well as 10 other nations.

Pune private universities: Fee structure, expansion

While private universities help open new avenues, their fees, which often run in lakhs, remain prohibitive. Arvind Natu, chairman, board of governors at IISER, said most private universities largely offer professional courses with higher fee structures.

"The University Grants Commission (UGC) has separate rules for private universities, including no fee restrictions. As a result, they are mushrooming. Their fees are beyond what normal students can afford although some exceptional institutes tried to cover up by offering scholarships," he said.

The private universities, however, insist that they are concerned about having marginalised students' ability to enrol. They point to the various scholarships given to students who cannot afford the fee.

Opinion is divided on the impact of this proliferation on public institutions. Some believe it has affected the public universities’ ability to retain faculty, maintain fees and attract students, others think the government-supported institutes are yet to be affected.

"The old government-run colleges…remain the first choice of students. They opt for private institutes only when they don't get admitted there," said Nitin Karmalkar, former VC of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU).

However, Jadhav admits that government-run colleges in the remote parts of the state are struggling. "In rural areas, government institutes face problems of inadequate funding and infrastructure. While public universities have limited intake, private universities are not bound by such restrictions," he said.

An official at a private university believes there’s room for everyone. "India has always had a freedom market. The government institutes aren't poorly funded due to private universities. The state is forced to increase tuition and other costs due to other priorities such as healthcare," he said.