India’s higher education revolution since 2014: From expansion and access towards quality and opportunity 

Since 2014, the Indian higher education system has undergone a massive transformation. Enrolment has risen sharply, with more students, more women, and more from marginalised communities. The major institutions (the IITs, IIMs, and NITs) are all in place. The issue now is that the system has grown so fast that it’s created a whole raft of new problems. There is a massive faculty shortage, very low research output, major affordability issues, huge disparities in education quality, very little vocational training, and a very poor examination system. The focus is now very much on scale as well as quality. 

One of the most dramatic changes has been the number of higher education institutions. The number of universities has increased from 723 in FY14 to 1,289 in FY24 (a 78% increase). The number of colleges rose from 36,634 to 48,246, and the number of standalone institutions rose from 11,664 to 15,221; by FY24, India had 64,756 institutions of higher education. Growth in both the public and private sectors has led to greater access to higher education. With so many more universities and colleges, students have a much wider range of subjects to choose from in their own area. 

As the number of institutions has grown, so too have student numbers in higher education. By FY24, some 4.5 crore students were enrolled (a 36% increase on FY14). More women are entering higher education (up 47% over the last 10 years), and in science, women now outnumber men. In FY24, 3.4 lakh students joined PhD programmes (nearly half were women), and 43.7% of students in Engineering and Science were women.  

The demographic makeup of higher education has become more diverse. According to statistics, for instance, students from Scheduled Castes made up 15.5% of the total admissions in higher education, Scheduled Tribes accounted for 6.4%, and Other Backwards Classes stood for 40.1%, which means that SCs, STs and OBCs made up about 62% of all students enrolled in higher education institutions in the financial year FY24. This is a major change because the expansion of higher education is not simply numerical growth. With more students attending, access to education across a range of social groups has also increased. The same trends are also evident among faculty members in higher education. The number of faculty in higher education institutes grew by 27%, from 68 lakh in 2013-14 to 17.32 lakh by 2023-24. The percentage of female teachers rose from 39% to 45%, while the share of SC, ST, and OBC teachers also increased.  

The change is clear in India’s leading educational institutions. The total number of IITs, IIMs, and NITs rose from 59 in FY14 to 76 in FY26, driven by the establishment of seven IITs, nine IIMs, and one NIT. Student enrolment in IITs and NITs rose from about 1.62 lakh in FY18 to about 2.44 lakh in FY24. Moreover, the number of students in IIMs nearly doubled from 9,298 in FY18 to 18,243 in FY24. Additionally, over the years, Indian educational institutions have also transformed, with more equal numbers of students from both genders. In FY24, women made up around 20% of students entering IITs and NITs, or one female student for every five. The share of women among IIM students increased from 26.3% in 2017-18 to 37.7% in 2023-24.  

These figures show that growth in student numbers and performance is not mutually exclusive. IIM placements increased significantly, from approximately 7,500 in FY16 to 13,700 in FY24. IIT placements also jumped from around 9,500 to 17,500. NIT placements have increased from 18,000 to 29,000. The report says 93% of students found employment, and the median salary across the IITs, IIMs, and NITs increased by 105% from FY16 to FY24. The IIMs are the most impressive in this regard, with the median salary in FY24 exceeding Rs 40 lakh. Students also continue to study further, which means these institutions are not just entry points to employment but, in fact, routes to further study and career progression. 

The success of the IITs, IIMs, and NITs does not prove that the whole of higher education has reached that standard. They are a tiny fraction of the higher education system and are extremely selective. The real issue is not simply the number of institutions, but the quality of learning and graduate employability. The current system’s failings have become all too evident in this context. 

Another issue is the faculty shortage. The number of teachers has increased overall, but as of March 2023, vacancies remain at various institutions. The total number of vacancies is 14,042 out of 41,351 approved (34% vacancy rate). Of the IIITs, around 54% of posts remain vacant, while the IITs and NITs have 39% and 29% vacancies, respectively. The most prestigious technical institutions, in general has a shortfall of around 40%. The IIMs (the management institutes) also have a faculty shortage (30%), and the overall shortfall at the central universities (33%) is a concern that needs urgent attention. The IISERs have the best teaching record. The final percentage of vacant professorial posts is still 56.2%. It is a paradox, really. We have a well-developed education system in India, yet the supply of teachers is so poor. That has to be addressed. The student-teacher ratio is 23, which is acceptable globally. The ratio varies by state, with TN, Kerala, and Goa around 14 and Bihar at 57.    

Another big issue is research. Universities account for less than 10% of the nation’s R&D. As a result, universities are expected to do all the knowledge creation, patenting, technology development, and problem-solving for the country, rather than simply producing graduates. They need to be much more embedded in industry. With more institutions and more students coming into India, the question is how we convert that into research recognised around the world.  

Financing is also a quality issue. Government funding for the higher education sector rose from Rs 23,152 crores in FY15 to Rs 55,727 crores in the FY27 budget estimates for FY27 — an increase of over 140%. However, the share of higher education expenditure has remained static at 1% in recent years, down from 1.6% in FY18. In conclusion, although funding has increased, it is still insufficient to meet the system’s rising needs.    

India’s research and development institutions, higher learning institutions, and industries have remained disconnected for the past 78 years, underscoring the need for stronger partnerships. To become one of the world’s top three economies by the centenary of its independence in 2047, India needs to combine its efforts to produce quality knowledge through research and development and to develop qualified human resources through education that can sustain economic growth and remain globally competitive. Investment in R&D through educational institutes is the need of the hour to make India a global center for innovation.    

India ranked 38th out of 139 economies in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2026, led 36 lower-middle-income countries, and ranked highest among 11 economies in Central and Southern Asia. India performed better in innovation outputs than inputs, ranking 49th in inputs and 25th in outputs, both higher than the previous year. India has performed well in IT, the digital market, its large domestic market, a growing startup ecosystem, and knowledge and technology output. However, it faces challenges with low R&D spending, infrastructure, the number of qualified researchers, human capital, foreign direct investment, and collaboration between industry and universities. To improve, Indian universities should increase research funding and provide more interdisciplinary, hands-on learning. They can also partner with companies, establish advanced labs, support entrepreneurship, and strengthen international ties. By focusing on critical thinking, problem-solving, and job readiness, universities can help close the gap between education and industry. 

Vocational education in India has a long way to go. Among 15-29-year-olds in India, the share with some form of vocational training rose from 7.1% in FY18 to 30.7% in FY24/25. That’s clear progress, but many young people still lack vocational training. There’s also a considerable gender gap. India needs more than higher education; it needs much stronger links between education, skills, and jobs.  

Indian higher education has grown since 2014, though it still faces many problems (staffing shortages, low funding, and low staff productivity, to name a few). The first wave of reform increased capacity and created many new access opportunities. There are now far more universities and colleges; enrolment is well over 45 million; female participation is much higher; the proportion of students and staff from under-represented groups is higher than it was; and there are many more institutions. The second wave of reform should not be judged by the rate of growth per se. The problems that already exist (staffing, research output, regional imbalances, cost of study, training, and the difficulty of establishing a suitable assessment system) all point to the fact that growth will bring its own set of problems.  

The big issue for the next 10 years is to go from quantity to quality. Fill faculty positions as soon as possible. Strengthen the interface between research and industry. Increase funding for higher education. Improve vocational education. Ensure education is both affordable and high quality. Build confidence in the examination system. 

Most importantly, we need to take the excellence that we have seen at the IITs, the IIMs and so on and spread it right across the university system. The first 10 years were about getting more Indians into higher education. The next 10 years are about ensuring the education they get is high-quality, affordable, research-oriented, and fair. India has pretty much solved the problem of not having enough colleges. The real higher education issue is that millions of students are now entering those colleges, and we have to make sure they get a good education. That education will transform their lives, as well as the country’s economy and society. To get to where we are, on a par with our peers around the world, we will have to partner with universities around the world that have campuses in India.  

Access to higher education in India has improved enormously over the last 10 years and the next 10 years will be about making that access count by providing high-quality education products and services to many. By 2035, we expect India to have a world-class education system that provides world-class education and research, has strong links between universities and industry, has very strong vocational training capability, and is accessible to all. That’s a very big ask and will require a lot of work. It will require investment in infrastructure, recruitment of high-quality faculty, increased R&D spending, attracting foreign-educated faculty, greater institutional autonomy, reform of the assessment system, and a greater focus on industry and technology trends. Success will be measured not by the number of institutions we create, but by the number of skilled graduates we produce, the knowledge we generate, and the innovation we create. 

Ramesh Kotnana is Senior Manager at the Centre for Business Innovation, Indian School of Business, Hyderabad