HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIA AND THE QUEST TO ACHIEVE INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
(Image from Internet) The Indian higher education sector has witnessed a dramatic growth of educational institutions, especially in the private sector, making India the third largest in terms of student registration, next only to China and the United States. Today, the country has close to a 1000 universities and over 39,500 colleges. [1] Of these about 38% universities and over 77% colleges are privately managed. [2] That said, all these institutions - public or private - are closely regulated by government approved bodies. Despite these figures, India’s Gross Enrolment Ratio was 25.8, compared to the world average of around 27. [3] In terms of international standing, not a single Indian higher education institution (HEI) in the country figured in the top 100 of the internationally-acknowledged QS World University Rankings for 2020. Several factors inhibit the growth of Indian HEI. Some of these include the dearth of quality teachers, academic ...