International Research Journal of Social Sciences___________________________________ _ _ ISSN 2319 – 3565 Vol. 2 ( 8 ), 58 - 60 , August (2013) I nt. Res. J. Social Sci. International Science Congress Association 58 Short Communication Growth of Higher Education in India Gaikwad B.R. 1 and Solunke R.S. 2 1 Department of Economics, M.S.S.’s Arts, Com. Sci. College, Jalna, Dist. Jalna, INDIA 2 Department of Economics, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Mareathwada University, Aurangabad, INDIA Available online at: www.isca.in Received 1 st July 201 3 , revised 22 nd July 201 3 , accepted 12 th August 2013 Abstract In India the central Government and the state Governments are trying to nurture talent through focusing on the e xpansion of higher education. In the Year 1950 - 51, there were 30 universities and 695 colleges. This number has increased to 634 Universities and 33023 c olleges upto December 2011. Though the number of colleges and institutions related to higher education has increased but there is disparity in the growth of higher education at the national level In India. In the process of expansion of higher education th e problem of disparity has been also arised. It is responsibility of the U.G.C. to make more effective regulation over the higher education system in India. Merely growth of higher education will not serve the basic purpose of education policy. It is nece ssary to see that the Universities and colleges should provide quality education to the masses. In some Universities and colleges there is poor infrastructure, lack of skilled manpower, which are barriers in providing quality education to the age group of 18 to 22. There are also malpractices and unhealthy practices in some institutions related to the higher education. The U.G.C. should made effective regulation and try to control such malpractices. Keywords: Higher Education, UGC, Educational Disparity . Introduction The 21 st century is the age of knowledge - based economy, and the center - stage of change. Higher education has not escaped the impact and is in the process of challenge, thereby challenging the traditional system of education. The disparity in wealth and quality of life between the developed and developing world has been attracting the attention of the world. The exponential growth of population in the developing countries is matched by the exponential growth of knowledge in the developed world 1 . All developin g countries the efforts are being made by the respective Government to promote higher education. Central Government and state Governments are trying to nurture talent through focusing on the number of Universities and Colleges for expansion of higher educa tions. In the Year 1950 - 51, there were 30 universities and 695 colleges. This number has increased to 634 Universities and 33023 colleges upto December 2011. The following table reveals the growth of higher education in India. In the table 1 the number o f institutions related to higher education upto 2011 - 12 is shown. It indicates that there is expansion of high education In India. The Central and state Government have taken initiatives to promote higher education. In the year 2011 - 12, the number of Unive rsities and Colleges was 690 and 35539 respectively in India. Table 1: Number, Nature and Category of Institutions (2011 - 12) Sr. No. Types of Institutions Number 1 Central Universities 44 2 State Universities 306 3 State Private Universities 145 4 Deemed Universities 130 5 Institutions of National Importance Plus other Institutions 60 6 Institutions established under state legislative Acts 5 Total 690 7 Total Colleges 35,539 Grand Total 36,229 Source: Economic Survey of India, Ministry of Finance, New Delhi. Table 2: Expenditure on Higher Education Year Expenditure % of GDP 2006 - 07 1.14 2007 - 08 1.09 2008 - 09 1.23 2009 - 10 1.25 Source: University Grants Commission, New Delhi (2012). The table no. 2 indicates percentage of GDP in expenditure on higher education in the year 2006 - 07 was 1.14 which increased to 1.25 in the year 2009 - 10. It means there is increasing International Research Journal of Social Sciences__ ______________ ________________________ ___________ ISSN 2319 – 3565 Vol. 2 ( 8 ), 58 - 60 , August (201 3 ) Int. Res. J. Social Sci. International Science Congress Association 59 expenditure on higher education by the central Government. Due to this inc reasing expenditure there is growth in the institutions which is providing higher education to the masses. Though there is increasing expenditure by the central Government in India but comparatively it is less than the developed countries. Table - 3 Growth of Higher Education institutions in India (Dec. 2011) Year No. of Universities No, of Colleges 1950 - 51 30 695 1960 - 61 55 1542 1970 - 71 103 3604 1980 - 81 133 4722 1990 - 91 190 7346 2000 - 01 256 12806 2010 - 11 564 33023 Source: University Grants Commission, New Delhi (2012). Table - 4 Statewise Number of Universities and University level institutions listed by the UGC Sr. No. States/ Union Territories Total (Dec., 2011) 1 Andhra Pradesh 46 2 Arunachal Pradesh 03 3 Assam 10 4 Bihar 21 5 Chhattisgarh 15 6 Delhi 25 7 Goa 02 8 Gujarat 36 9 Haryana 22 10 Himachal Pradesh 18 11 Jammu Kashmir 11 12 Jharkhand 12 13 Karnataka 42 14 Kerala 19 15 Madhya Pradesh 28 16 Maharashtra 44 17 Manipur 03 18 Meghalaya 09 19 Mizoram 03 20 Nagaland 04 21 Orissa 19 22 Punjab 17 23 Rajasthan 48 24 Sikkim 05 25 Tamil Nadu 59 26 Tripura 03 27 Uttar Pradesh 58 28 Uttaranchal 19 29 West Bengal 26 30 Chandigarh 03 31 Puducherry 04 Total 634 Source: University Grants Commission, New Delhi (2012). Table 3 shows the growth of higher educations institutions (Universities and Colleges) in India for the period 1950 - 51 2010 - 11. In the year 1950 - 51 the number of Universities was 30 which went up to 564 in the year 2010 - 11. The increase in th e Universities during the period was 18 times. In the year 1950 - 51 the number of colleges were 695 which increased to 33023 in the year 2010 - 11. The increase in the colleges for the above mentioned period was 47 times. This growth in the Universities and C olleges was due to massive efforts and policy decisions were taken by the central government and the state government. Though the number of colleges and institutions related to higher education has increased but there is disparity in the growth of higher education at the national level In India. Table 4 reveals the disparity in the growth of Universities and University level institutions in the country. The table no. 4 indicates that the total statewise Universities and University level institutions were 634 in December 2011. Universities and University level institutions were highest in Tamil Nadu (59) followed by Uttar Pradesh (58). It means 18% Universities and University level institutions were in these two states. There is statewise disparity in case with all these institutions related with higher education. Region wise Distribution of Colleges In the process of expansion of higher education the problem of disparity has been also arised. There is also regionwise imbalance in the distribution of colleges. The maximum numbers of colleges were distributed in the southern region, which has resulted into concentration of colleges in particular region. The data for the period 2000 - 01 to 2004 - 05 has related that nearly one third (33%) colleges were established in the southern region. The numbers of colleges located at the central region were 22% followed by Western region were 19%, Eastern region 11.5%, Northern region 10.5%. The lowest numbers of colleges were located a t North - East region. The percentage was 3.5. The data related to region, percentage of colleges and population in the age group (18 - 22) is shown in the table 5. Table - 5 Regionwise Distribution of Colleges Region Percentage of colleges Population in the age group (18 - 22) (in crore) Southern Region 33 2.90 Central Region 22 4.70 Western Region 19 4.26 Eastern Region 11.5 3.56 Northern Region 10.5 - North - East Region 3.5 0.60 Source: Higher Education in India, U.G.C. (2008). From the table no. 5 clear that there is uneven distribution of colleges related with the population in the age group (18 - 22). The central government and the state governments should interfere in the uneven distribution of college. Because such International Research Journal of Social Sciences__ ______________ ________________________ ___________ ISSN 2319 – 3565 Vol. 2 ( 8 ), 58 - 60 , August (201 3 ) Int. Res. J. Social Sci. International Science Congress Association 60 type of une ven distribution of colleges will not serve the basic purpose of India’s education policy. In other words such skewed pattern of distribution of colleges will be a barrier in the balanced socio - economic development of the country. Such type of concentratio n of higher education in particular region should be avoided. The Central Government should take initiative to establish colleges in those regions where there is no proper proportion of the population and the number of colleges. Conclusion The central government and the state governments are making more provision to promote higher education. In the Eleventh Five Year Plan the total provision of Rs. 44,000 cr. was made for higher education. In the Twelve Five Year Plan the total provision of Rs. 1, 80,000 cr. is made for higher education. Such provision is made to increase Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) related to the higher education. It is responsibility of the U.G.C. to make more effective regulation over the higher education system in India. Merely growth of higher education will not serve the basic purpose of education policy. It is necessary to see that the Universities and colleges should provide quality education to the masses. In some Universities and colleges there is poor infrastructure , lack of skilled manpower, which are barriers in providing quality education to the age group of 18 to 22. There are also malpractices and unhealthy practices in some institutions related to the higher education. The U.G.C. should made effective regulatio n and try to control such malpractices. The Universities and Colleges should provide sufficient employable skills so that employability can improve. In the era of globalisation there are more weightage for competitiveness. India’s higher education should b e more reliable, competent so that the coming generations can be more competent to face the challenges in their life. On the eve of a new century, there is an unprecedented demand for and a great diversification in higher education, as well as an increase d awareness of its vital importance for sociocultural and economic development, and for building the future, for which the younger generations will need to be equipped with new skills knowledge and ideas 6 . References 1. Dhar B.B., Higher Education System , A .P.H. Publishing Corporation, New Delhi,1 - 3 (2008) 2. Gupta Sumit and Gupta Mukta, Higher Education in 21 st Century, Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 37 - 38 (1997) 3. Government of India, Economic Survey (2012 - 13), Ministry of Finance, New Delhi, 285 (2012) 4. Government of India, National Sample Survey Organisation (2007 - 08), 61 st and 64 th round, New Delhi, (2007) 5. Gove rnment of Maharashtra, Road map (2010 - 15), Department of Higher and Technical Education, Mumbai (April 5, 2010) (2010) 6. Rao D.B., Higher Ed ucation in 21 st Century, Discovery Publishing House, New Delhi, 10 - 11 (2003) 7. University Grants Commission (2012), Higher Education in India at a glance, New Delhi. (2012)