Context: The NITI Aayog’s report titled ‘Expanding Quality Higher Education through States and State Public Universities’ provides a detailed analysis of state-level spending on higher education in India.

About the Report

• The report is a first-of-its kind policy document in the higher education sector focused specifically on States and State Public Universities (SPUs).

• State Public University (SPU) is a university established or incorporated by a Provincial Act or by a State Act can be termed a State (Public) University.  

• It provides detailed quantitative analysis on vital indicators of Quality, Funding and Financing, Governance and Employability over the last decade across the themes. 

Key-highlights

• Top States for Education Expenditure (as a Percentage of GDP): Jammu & Kashmir leads with 8.11% of GDP spent on education, followed by:

• Manipur (7.25%)

• Meghalaya (6.64%)

• Tripura (6.19%)

• States like Delhi (1.67%), Telangana (2%), and Karnataka (2.01%) allocate much less.

• Expenditure Trends: Per youth expenditure on higher education rose from Rs. 2,174 to Rs. 4,921 between 2005-06 and 2019-20, but disparities across states have grown.

• Maharashtra has the highest higher education budget at Rs. 11,421 crore, followed by Bihar (Rs.9,666 crore) and Tamil Nadu (Rs.7,237 crore).

• Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland have the smallest budgets.

• GSDP Spending: Bihar spends 1.56% of its GSDP on higher education, followed by Jammu & Kashmir (1.53%) and Manipur (1.45%).

• Telangana has the lowest at 0.18%.

• University Density: Sikkim has the highest university density (10.3 universities per 1 lakh population), while Bihar has the lowest at 0.2.

• Gender Equality in Higher Education: Kerala, Chhattisgarh, and Himachal Pradesh have higher female enrollment than male. UTs like Chandigarh and Mizoram have balanced male-female enrollments.

Challenges

• Dearth of good quality infrastructure.

• Shortage of faculty and staff.

• Insufficient expenditure on R&D.

• There is a low enrolment of students at the MTech and Ph.D. levels, presenting a significant challenge in fostering advanced research and academic growth.

• Courses, syllabus, curriculum not being industry-ready.

• Issues in funding: They face financial challenges due to dependency on traditional revenue sources such as admission fees and state grants.

• There are administrative delays in fund sanctioning along with the lack of framework for bank loans as major challenges for funding and financing of SPUs.

Policy Recommendations from NITI Aayog's Report on Higher Education Expenditure

• NITI Aayog's report on higher education spending provides nearly 80 policy recommendations aimed at improving the quality, accessibility, and funding of higher education in India, particularly through State Public Universities (SPUs).

The key policy areas include:

• Increase in Funding and Allocation

• Focus on Quality and Infrastructure

• Promotion of Research and Development (R&D)

• Improved Industry-Academia Collaboration

• Enhancing Gender Equality in Education

• Encouraging Private Investment

• Improved University Density in Overcrowded States

• Strengthening the Higher Education Regulatory Framework

• Revamping Curriculum and Skill Development