Indian Higher Education Market on Verge of Quantum Jump

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The higher education industry in India is large and is growing significantly. The industry is poised for a substantial change in the future. The higher education industry in the country is the third-largest in the world, behind China and the USA, in terms of the number of students. According to the available data, the number of students enrolled in higher education in India is more than 35 million. Typically, higher education refers to the education after 10+2, in colleges, universities, professional institutions, and research institutions. There are 903 universities, 39,050 colleges, and  10,011 standalone institutions in India, according to the data published by the Ministry of Human Resource Development of the Government of India. 



In India, around 144 million people are within the higher education receiving age of 18-23 years, and approximately 32% of the 1.1 billion population in the country is under the age of 14 years; who will seek higher education in the coming years. Thus, the higher education market in India is poised to grow substantially in the future. The higher education market in India has exhibited a rising trend with students receiving higher education rising steadily over the years. According to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE: 2017-18), conducted by the Department of Higher Education of the Ministry of Human Resource Development of the Government of India, the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for higher education in the country in 2017-18 was substantially higher at 25.8% in comparison with 10% in 2004-05. The GER for higher education is calculated for the students within the age group of 18-23 years (the age bracket considered for higher education). GER is the ratio of the total enrolment in higher education to the eligible population (18-23 years) in the country. In essence, GER indicates the level of participation in higher education among the eligible population in the country. The Government of India has set an ambitious target of raising the GER in higher education in the country to 30% by 2020.

In practice, Indian society lays a strong emphasis on the acquisition of higher education. For the middle class, expenditure on higher education is the next priority after food and groceries. And with the middle class expanding substantially, expenditure on higher education in the country is also set to increase proportionally.

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES

The Government of India has given high priority to the development of the higher education system in the country. The following are some of the initiatives of the government to actuate the objective: • The Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan(RUSA) scheme aims to provide strategic funding to higher educational institutes throughout the country • 100% Foreign Direct Investment through the automatic route is allowed for the education sector in the country • Public-Private Partnerships are promoted along with tax concessions to attract foreign players

MARKET SIZE

The size of the higher education market in India is estimated at Rs 3,100 billion in 2019-20, and the market is growing at a CAGR of 11%.

GROWTH DRIVERS

• Increasing awareness among the population in the country is increasing enrolments in higher education in the country
• Large number of courses are offered with higher fees
• Increasing income levels and willingness to spend on higher education
• Expenditure on higher education is expected to go up from USD 10.3 billion to USD 30 billion

OPPORTUNITIES

• The existing higher education infrastructure in the country is inadequate to handle the strong demand, therefore there is immense investment opportunities for private as well as foreign investors • A massive investment of USD 200 billion is estimated to actuate the ambitious target of the government to achieve 30% GER in higher education by 2020,thus opening up investment opportunities for private and foreign players • There are ample opportunities for the private players to offer higher education through advanced digital tools • The need for increasing employability among the Indian students has opened up opportunities for private as well as foreign players to impart vocational education

CHALLENGES

• Enrolment: India’s GER in higher education is 25.8% (as in 2017-18), which is significantly lower in comparison with China (43.39%) and USA (85.8%). • Curriculum: The curriculum in higher education in India is often out-dated. It is not structured to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation among students. • Infrastructure: Many institutes of higher education in the country have poor infrastructure with inferior facilities for students. • Faculty Shortage: Shortage in faculty has negatively impacted the quality of higher education in the country. Moreover, failure to attract quality faculty has posed grave challenges to the education quality. • Industry-Linkage: There is insufficiency in industry participation in areas, like curriculum development and research collaboration. • Employability: The higher education system in India is not aligned to the skills required by the industry. In addition to the deficiency in job-related skills, the students passing out from the higher education institutes in the country are often found to lack interpersonal and soft skills.

CONCLUSION

Despite the higher education industry in India is vibrant and growing, there are quality issues that need to be addressed. The existing curriculum should be structured to the needs of the industry in order to render the passing out students industry-ready. Moreover, there should be collaborations with top foreign higher educational institutes for the students to undertake collaborative research/study.


Location: Beltola Tiniali, Guwahati, Assam, India

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