Higher Education is the responsibility of both the Centre and the States. The coordination and determination of standards in Universities & Colleges, at present, is entrusted to the UGC and other statutory regulatory bodies.

The Central Government provides grants to the UGC and establishes Central Universities/Institutions of National Importance in the country. The Central Government is also responsible for declaring an educational institution as "Deemed-to-be University" on the recommendations of the UGC. However, the Government is committed to reform the UGC and is in process of replacing it with Higher Education Commission of India.

At present, the main categories of University/University-level Institutions are:- Central Universities, State Universities, Deemed-to-be Universities and University-level institutions.

Status of Higher Education in India

• Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER): A high percentage of the eligible population is still outside college as shown by the GER in Higher Education in India of 25.2% (18-23 years of age group).
• The GER for male population is 26.3 % , female is 24.5% , SC is 21.8% and ST is 15.9%.
• Gender Parity Index: There is a marginal increase in the Gender Parity Index (GPI) for all categories from 0.89 in 2012-13 to 0.94 in 2016-17.
• Regional Disparities: The college density (number of colleges per lakh eligible population) varies from 7 in Bihar to 59 in Telangana as compared to all India average of 28.
• Also, most of premier universities and colleges are centred in metropolitan and urban city, thereby leading to the regional disparity in access to higher education.
• Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR): in Universities and Colleges is 22 which have remained stable from 21 in 2012-13.
• The foreign student enrolment has also been increased from 34,774 in 2012-13 to 47,575 in 2016-17 with a greater increase in male foreign students as compared to female students.

Issues with Higher Education

• Management of the Indian education faces challenges of overcentralisation, bureaucratic structures and lack of accountability, transparency, and professionalism.
• As a result of increase in number of affiliated colleges and students, the burden of administrative functions of universities has significantly increased and the core focus on academics and research is diluted.
• Even institutions like IISc, IITs and IIMs perform poorly in world ranking.
• Education system is plagued with rot learning, lack of employability and skill development. An assessment of 150,000 engineering graduates in 2016 found that only 18% of engineers were employable in the software services sector in a functional role.
• There is a mismatch between courses taught at universities and requirement of industry resulting into unemployable graduates coming out of these institutes every year.
• Faculty shortages and the inability of the state educational system to attract and retain well qualified teachers have been posing challenges to quality education for many years. Shortage of faculty leads to Ad-hoc expansion even in premier institution
• Large numbers of NET/PhD candidates are unemployed even when there are lot of vacancies in higher education.
• There is a disconnect between the teaching and research enterprise with research being concentrated in specialized research institutes under different government departments limiting universities to largely play a teaching role.

Way Forward to Improve Higher Education

NITI Ayog has provided a Higher Education Action Agenda which includes following key areas:

A. Autonomy for top colleges

1. More established colleges should be brought under the autonomous colleges scheme to take them out of the centralized control of their university and provide greater flexibility in academic matters.
2. This will allow the colleges to develop their brand name and compete more effectively for good students and teachers.

B. Reform of the regulatory system - A tiered system of universities

1. Introduce a system of regulation that focuses on information disclosure and governance rather than micro management of universities.
2. Within the existing legal framework, a tiered system can be introduced in following way

First tier: the top research-focused universities, which promise to compete globally.

3. These universities are given full autonomy and promised additional resources based on significant improvements over time.
4. These universities may be subject to high standards of transparency with full freedom granted in operational matters such as courses, curriculum, teaching hours and pedagogy.

A second tier of universities: those with employment-focused education can be subject to light regulation.

5. These universities would be expected to use the flexibility given to them to adjust admission policies, curriculum and courses to respond to shifts in job composition in the marketplace.
6. They will also be evaluated according to their success in job placements of their students.

The last tier of the universities: those whose primary function would be to ensure that higher education is available to all should be the most regulated one.

7. This tier will consist of the universities that are currently performing poorly and not likely to perform well on either research or employment dimension.
8. While this tier can receive greater scrutiny from the UGC, there is a need for loosening control here as well with priority given to transparency.

C. Establish a system of project- and scholar-specific research grants

1. A system of public funding for research in specific areas of public importance has driven much of the innovation in science and technology in other countries. A similar system should be set up in India with funding to specific scholars, thus, providing both maximum flexibility and accountability for results.
2. Another model that should be adopted is the ‘prize’ system with funding going to research/innovation groups that deliver solutions to clearly specified problems. Such a system can be used in the future to drive innovation and research, solve pressing problems, and provide a mechanism for competition and quality assurance.

D. Increased focus on vocational and profession led education.

1. Establish and promote norms/standards and/or outcome based certification for institutions that focus on skills and trades closely tied to employment.
2. Include vocational subjects in mainstream universities to allow for greater acceptance and utility for vocational learning.
3. Focus more in particular on those skills that are expected to be in high demand from the public sector in the coming years. Examples include public health workers, foundational skills teaching, nursing and paramedics