Higher Education

India's higher education GER tripled from 9.3% (2004) to 28.4% (2022-23). NEP 2020 targets a GER of 50% by 2035. Women's GER (28.5%) now marginally exceeds men's (28.3%) nationally — a historic milestone. Growth driven by expansion of private colleges and deemed universities alongside central institutions. Quality concerns remain: fewer than 50 Indian institutions rank in global top-1000 (QS 2024). AISHE 2022-23 covers ~43,796 institutions.

Total universities grew from 304 (2004-05) to 1,168 (2022-23), including central, state, deemed, and private universities. The pace of addition accelerated post-2010 with liberalised private university establishment norms. NAAC accreditation coverage remains low — only ~35% of Higher Education Institutions are NAAC-accredited. Quantity growth has outpaced quality assurance; NIRF rankings show concentration of high-quality institutions in a few states.