Q. What are the major challenges in India’s higher education?

A: To begin with, the enrolment in higher education in India is less than 30 percent, whereas that in the developed world could be between 60 – 70 percent. This may lead policymakers to take steps to increase enrolment in higher education. The NEP (2020) also suggests steps in this direction. There must be challenges in the quality of higher education, though there are no comparable and periodical assessments of learning achievements. Many believe that those who complete higher education do not have employable skills. This is touted as a reason for the higher level of unemployment among people with higher education, though there can be other reasons, too. Like in school education, there was a rapid expansion in the supply of higher education, and a greater part of this was through self-financing private colleges. Such a rapid expansion also necessitated a large number of teachers, and many were not adequately prepared or motivated for this purpose. 

Among the students, there is also an intense competition to get into reputed colleges (and most of them are government-owned), and this creates a situation where scoring higher marks in entrance examinations becomes most important. Hence, many students in higher secondary grades enrol in coaching institutes or focus only on those aspects of education which are important in entrance examinations. Many people with graduate or post-graduate and even doctoral degrees may take up jobs which do not require these degrees, and hence, there is a wastage of efforts/​resources in higher education. 

Q:  Is the enrolment in higher education really low in India?

A: In my view, it is not low. When we say that it is only 25 or 30 percent, the denominator is the share of population in the college-going age group. However, nearly 50 percent of Indian youngsters do not complete school education successfully and hence they cannot go for higher education. If we take the share of youngsters who go to higher education in India, out of those who complete school education successfully, it could be more than 60 percent. In that sense, India’s enrolment in higher education is comparable to developed countries, where more than 90 percent of youngsters complete school education. 

Secondly, it is not necessary or even ideal for everybody to go for higher education. They may not have the interest or aptitude for it. On the other hand, they can acquire useful skills or vocational education as part of or after school education, and these can be used gainfully in a flourishing economy. In countries like Germany, such a vocational education is considered important, and those who complete it, get gainful employment. A sizeable section of those who complete school education in countries like China or Vietnam would move to cities or special economic zones and take up factory jobs. However, there are two problems in India: Those who complete just a school education may not get a salaried job in a formal sector organisation. There are different reasons for it. Manufacturing has not grown notably in India even after economic reforms, and there are not enough jobs in this sector to absorb those who complete school education. Even when there is a development of small-scale manufacturing, these are mostly in the informal sector, and hence, the quality of jobs is poorer (with no regular salaries and social security). Hence, almost all students who complete school education successfully may try to get into one or the other form of higher education.

Q: What could be the other reasons for the relatively higher enrolment in higher education in India?

A: There could be other factors, too. We know that the participation of adult females in paid employment is low in India (only around 30 percent, whereas that in China and many other countries could be above 60 – 70 percent). However, most of the girls who complete school education successfully go for higher education. There is an argument in the literature that among the non-poor or middle-class, educated girls have a higher value in the marriage market. This need not be for their incomes from jobs. An educated woman may be preferred as she may be seen as more useful to educate and take care of children; she may enhance the social status of her husband, etc. For these reasons, girls from non-poor families may go for higher education, even when they do not plan to focus on getting jobs, or they may take up a job only if it meets the prevailing gender norms and requirements of their marital family. 

Another reason for higher enrolment in higher levels of college/​university education is unemployment itself. Those who complete undergraduate education may not get a job that is desirable (according to them) and hence may pursue post-graduate education. This may happen even in the case of doctoral education. Hence, the pursuit of higher levels of education could be a way to postpone employment. 

There could be certain Brahmanism, which is spreading also among the middle- and lower castes through the process of Sanskritisation, encouraging youngsters to pursue higher education. Most students from upper caste families are less likely to take up the jobs of welders, mechanics, etc., and they may pursue undergraduate education whether they really like it or not. This may be encouraging youngsters from middle/​lower caste groups to follow the same path. On the other hand, in countries like Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, even the children of college-educated parents may enrol in vocational education instead of pursuing a regular university education. This is less likely to happen in India in the current context.

Q:  How do the challenges of school education affect higher education in India?

A: We have noted the poor learning achievements of the majority of children in Indian schools. Since most students who pass school education go for one or the other higher education, those who have not learnt much in school would also end up in higher education. This will have an impact on the quality of students in universities and colleges. We have noted the sudden transition to English as the formal medium of instruction in higher education for the majority of students who have received their school education with one or other regional language as the medium, and the absence of quality college-level textbooks in regional languages as a factor impacting the quality of higher education in another Q&A note. 

For many students, what they study in college/​university is not going to contribute to their life or career. They may want degrees (but even such degrees are not important for the job they may finally take up). Hence, they may not be concerned about the content of education or what happens in the classroom. They may not attend classes regularly. They may use shortcuts (like poor-quality guidebooks) at the last minute to pass examinations. These can demotivate teachers, and they may lose the incentive to do their jobs well. All these factors can have a negative impact on the quality of higher education. 

Given the scarcity of jobs which provide stability and viable social security, there is a huge demand for government jobs in India. Hence, there is a very high competition in the recruitment examinations for these jobs. These jobs also use multiple-choice tests, which may not test the specific proficiency required for the work but may test the general knowledge of candidates. For this reason, those who continue with higher education may have a certain advantage in passing these examinations. Hence, there is a tendency to use higher education to get jobs which do not require it. This can also reduce the connection between the content of education and the life and career of students.

Q: How do the problems of higher education affect school education?

A: The quality of higher education influences school education directly through the levels of knowledge/​preparedness of school teachers. The quality of teacher education also depends on the overall quality of higher education. It is noted in NEP (2020) and other documents that the quality of teacher education in India is not desirable. 

We have noted that students pursue higher education to get degrees as a screening/​signalling device in labour markets. However, this value is there only in the case of reputed universities. There are only a small number of such reputed universities in India. Hence, there is a very tough competition to get into these colleges. The admissions in higher education in India are on the basis of entrance examination (multiple-choice) scores, which assess proficiency in a few aspects/​disciplines. In developed countries, they may consider varied proficiencies, including participation in extra-curricular activities, but that cannot be attempted in India, since it may be seen as discriminatory and working against historically underprivileged groups. Hence, the excessive focus on entrance tests. These tests also focus a lot on speed and not necessarily the knowledge or the ability to think through. Hence, there is an excessive focus on coaching institutes. There are cases where students may enrol in a school-cum-coaching institutes to get into higher education, which can work against a holistic school education. 

There is also another problem with the focus on coaching. In India, in general, it is the public (government) colleges or universities which have a better reputation. These provide highly subsidised education. However, the competition to get into these institutes is tough. Hence, it is only those who can do well in entrance examinations (with the help of coaching) who get into these colleges/​universities. Given the need for preparation, including the expenses for coaching, most of these students come from middle or upper-middle-class families. This can lead to a situation where better-off families get the benefit of subsidised higher education, whereas students from less affluent ones may have to use private self-financing colleges.

Q: What could be the reasons for the higher level of unemployment among people with higher education? 

A:One argument is that the quality of higher education is poor, and it does not provide employable skills. We have already noted certain factors which may keep the quality of higher education poorer in the majority of colleges and universities. Given the level of economic development of India (one way to think about the level is the nature of capital and technology that is used in the economy), it may not be able to provide all those who complete higher education the jobs which require such an education. 

Ideally, there should be a match between education and employment. There should be avenues for reasonable employment in all sectors — those who can get a decent income from agriculture, those who complete school education should get factory jobs, and those who get higher education may get jobs in services, including those in the government. (Everybody should have a minimum income that is decent enough so that no employment is seen as inferior). 

There can be an education ladder too, with almost everybody completing school education, then a share of them taking up jobs with or without vocational education; then another section going for higher education, but only a very small share going for higher levels of higher education. There should be a match between these two ladders — that of education and employment. When one ladder has a surplus of people at a particular level, there could be either unemployment or a scarcity of workers. When the latter happens, one may see a readjustment of education and the job-seeking behaviour of people, and this may reduce the mismatch between these two ladders. However, there can be institutional problems which may work against this process. When manufacturing does not develop well, all those who want to get out of low-productivity agriculture may seek higher education and employment in services, and there can be overcrowding there, which in turn can lead to unemployment. The unemployment among the higher educated people in India could be a lot more if most women who are educated were also seeking paid employment.

Q: What are the issues in professional/​vocational education?

A:  There used to be a higher demand to get into engineering colleges. There was also an increase in the supply of seats, mainly through self-financing colleges. It seems like there is a market correction of both the demand and supply. Many students would join engineering without interest or preparedness (say in mathematics) and then find it difficult to pass examinations and get a degree. They would be wasting time and money without getting a degree. Over time, one can now see parents or their children becoming a little more open to taking up other streams of study. Due to this, many (self-financing) engineering colleges have vacant seats currently, and many are closing down. 

One probable reason for the higher demand for engineering is the higher chance of getting a job (say that of a software developer) after completing the programme, whereas the chances of getting any job after a typical liberal arts and science undergraduate education programme are quite low in India. Since one does not need an engineering degree to be a software developer, there may be other reasons why labour markets do not attract liberal arts and science students. Having enough training in mathematics and logic, and offering a four-year liberal arts and science degree programme, may correct this. Then there can be a reduction in the demand for engineering education, since the majority of students who go through these programmes rarely take up a core engineering job. 

There is a high demand for medical education in India. The cost of medical education is much higher than that of engineering, and hence, there are fewer government and self-financing medical colleges. This is also the reason for the exodus of Indian students to countries in Central Asia, Eastern Europe, East Asia, and even Caribbean Islands to get medical education. The cost of education in some of these countries may be less than that in the self-financing colleges in India. There is an absolute scarcity of medical doctors in the rural areas of many parts of India, but these areas may not be attractive to those who have received expensive medical education within the country or abroad. There have to be many more medical education facilities within the country which are funded by the government or philanthropic foundations. 

Excessive entry barriers in the medical profession can also work against the creation of adequately trained medical professionals who are willing to work in rural areas. It seems like the healthcare system wherein medical treatment is provided by a small set of government hospitals or highly expensive private hospitals has created and sustained a medical education which is very expensive, and there is an expectation that all doctors have post-graduate and higher degrees, and the doctors themselves expect a very high compensation. There have to be changes in the healthcare system and medical education so that appropriately trained people are available adequately in all parts of the country to address the healthcare needs of the population. However, the existing medical education also impacts high school education in encouraging many students to prepare for the entrance examination for this purpose. 

Though there is a huge demand for professional higher education, the demand and supply for good-quality vocational education are limited in India, and this is connected to and contributes to the problems we have discussed earlier.

Q: What could be certain major reforms to address the challenges in higher education?

A:  Based on the discussions here, one can note that there is a need to improve the quality of school education to see that there is an improvement in higher education. There have to be other avenues of education and employment that do not push almost all who pass school education to enrol in colleges and universities. This may require an increase in the availability of more salaried employment in manufacturing. Hence, the balanced structural transformation of the economy, where manufacturing and services grow by absorbing those who move out of agriculture, may be necessary to limit enrolment in higher education to those who have an interest and aptitude. 

Though the signalling role of degrees from universities cannot be avoided, there can be a change in the current situation. Currently, almost all colleges/​universities try to be part of a single ladder where there are a few which acquire a reputation (and there are only a few Indian universities/​colleges with a global reputation), but most others fail in this regard. Hence, they provide poor-quality education based on that singular standard but are not trying to do something socially useful. One can see thousands of colleges with programmes in sociology, economics, etc., but the education in these disciplines does not enhance students’ capacity to understand and deal with the sociological/​economic issues in their life or career. There are thousands of colleges with programmes in physics, chemistry or biology, but their contribution to specific social needs, such as the creation of good quality school teachers in these subjects, is not remarkable. There is a need to change this situation. 

Santhakumar V is a former Professor, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru

Featured Image: Large Learning Models (Gemini AI)

Primary reading material

V Santhakumar. Enrolment in Higher Education: Need Reflection. University Practice-Connect. 
https://​prac​tice​con​nect​.azim​premji​u​ni​ver​si​ty​.edu​.in/​e​n​r​o​l​m​e​n​t​-​i​n​-​h​i​g​h​e​r​-​e​d​u​c​a​t​i​o​n​-​n​e​e​d​-​f​o​r​-​r​e​f​l​e​c​tion/

Shephard, K., & Santhakumar, V. 2023. Universities with a Social Purpose: Intentions, Achievements and Challenges. Springer 
https://​link​.springer​.com/​b​o​o​k​/​1​0​.​1​0​0​7/978 – 981-99 – 8960‑7

V Santhakumar & Gunther Dietz. Intercultural Universities in Latin America: Lessons for India. University Practice-Connect.
https://​prac​tice​con​nect​.azim​premji​u​ni​ver​si​ty​.edu​.in/​i​n​t​e​r​c​u​l​t​u​r​a​l​-​u​n​i​v​e​r​s​i​t​i​e​s​-​i​n​-​l​a​t​i​n​-​a​m​e​r​i​c​a​-​l​e​s​s​o​n​s​-​f​o​r​-​i​ndia/