New Delhi: India's higher education sector has expanded significantly over the past decade, with a rise in universities, colleges, student enrolment and participation of women and disadvantaged communities, according to an SBI Research report released on Tuesday.
The report said the number of universities increased to 1,289 in FY24 from 723 in FY14, while the number of colleges rose to 48,246 from 36,634 during the same period.
The number of standalone higher education institutions also increased from 11,664 in FY14 to 15,221 in FY24.
Student enrolment crossed 4.5 crore in FY24, with male and female students accounting for nearly equal shares. Students belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes together represented around 62 per cent of total enrolment.
Female participation also increased across several areas of higher education. Women outnumbered men among undergraduate science students, while their representation among PhD students was close to that of men.
The teaching workforce expanded from 13.7 lakh in FY14 to 17.3 lakh in FY24, with women accounting for about 45 per cent of teachers. However, SBI Research noted that around one-third of sanctioned teaching positions in centrally funded universities and institutes remained vacant, with vacancies particularly significant at the professor level.
The report also highlighted the expansion of premier technical and management institutions. The combined number of IITs, IIMs and NITs increased to 76 in FY26 from 59 in FY14.
Placements from IIMs rose to around 13,700 in FY24 from 7,500 in FY16, while placements from IITs increased to approximately 17,500 from 9,500 over the same period.
Median salaries across IIMs, IITs and NITs more than doubled between FY16 and FY24, with the median salary at IIMs crossing Rs 40 lakh in FY24, according to the report.
Despite the expansion, SBI Research called for increased public spending on education. It noted that higher education's share of total government expenditure has remained around 1 per cent in recent years.
The report also recommended greater investment in research, stronger industry-academia collaboration and wider access to vocational training. Among its other suggestions were granting statutory status to the National Testing Agency, reviewing examination systems and reducing regional disparities in student-teacher ratios.
SBI Research also proposed examining a constitutional amendment aimed at supporting a right to free and fair educational opportunity.
