SPECIAL FEATURE: EDUCATION IN DELHI
Aiming high
EACH YEAR,
thousands of students with dreams in their eyes from small towns and villages head to the Delhinational Capital Region in the hopes of building a better tomorrow. Higher education is seen as a stepping stone to a brighter future for those coming from rural backgrounds. There is no dearth of public institu tions in the capital, from Jawaharlal Nehru University to Delhi University, but, over the past decade, the region has emerged as a hub of higher education with the mushrooming of private institutions.
As more and more students migrate to the capital, they get absorbed by both the private and public institu
tions. Some of the best talent in the country pass out from these institutions and join the workforce. The growth of the satellite towns of Noida and Gurugram (earlier Gurgaon) has facilitated a rapid expansion of the educational hub around the city.
Aspirants to the civil services and other examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) are so determined that they stay on in the city until they crack the exam. It also happens that often students get admission to institutions but without the hostel facilities. In such cases, the students require an entire ecosystem to support their stay in the city. Delhi responded remarkably well with payingguest accommodation and affordable housing that residents offered for the migrant and floating population of students. For those who can afford them, entire houses are also availabe for rent. As per the All India Survey on Higher Education, the enrolment of students in universities in Delhi stood at 7,36,762 in 201617. Delhi also had a high number of students coming from abroad, at 2,632, according to the survey. Institutions based in Delhi also provide distance education to 15.4 per cent of students across the country.
The number of colleges per lakh population is a good indicator of the infrastructure facilities for higher education in a State. The number of colleges per lakh population (age group 1823 years) is 178 for Delhi and the average enrolment per college is 1,501. Though the Delhincr region has colleges of every specialty under the sun, the survey found that colleges for management and medicine in Delhi outnumbered those of other streams. There were a total of 62 private unaided colleges and 16 private aided colleges in Delhi, which is a healthy number. So, while there were 96 government colleges and 78 private colleges, there was scope for the establishment of more private colleges. The total enrolment in private colleges was 88,041 during 201617. In 201415, across India, enrolment in higher education touched 33.3 million, pushing up the gross enrolment rate to 23.6 per cent. No points for guessing which city got the lion’s share of the education pie.
FUNDAMENTAL CHALLENGES
According to Ernst & Young, the Indian higher education system emerged as one of the largest in the world, with 14.6 million students enrolled in more than 31,000 institutions. Since the 2000s, the number of universities in the country has increased at a CAGR (compounded an nual growth rate) of 7.5 per cent (from 272 to 556) while the number of colleges has grown at a CAGR of 11 per cent (from 11,146 to 31,324). However, Indian higher education suffers from three fundamental challenges of access, equity and quality, according to Ernst & Young.
While India’s higher education system is third largest in the world in terms of enrolment, next only to China and the United States, its gross enrolment ratio (GER), at 13.8 per cent, significantly lagged behind the world average at 26 per cent in 201011. There was wide disparity in GERS across States, urban and rural areas, gender, and communities. As for interstate disparity, it was 31.9 per cent in Delhi and 8.3 per cent in Assam.
As of March 2011, only 161 universities and 4,371 colleges had been accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). Ernst & Young suggested that the government encourage private players to set up highquality institutions. It suggested simplification of regulations by reducing inputbased constraints that stifle operational autonomy; introducing studentside financing to ensure a levelplaying field between highquality public and private institutions; creating enabling legislation at the State level to encourage private players to set up universities in those States; expediting the passage of the Universities for Research and Innovation Bill to encourage private players to invest significant amounts in setting up innovation universities which are independent of geographical constraints; and allowing players to set up forprofit institutions while putting in place a regulatory framework to ensure quality and transparency. $
The number of colleges per lakh population (age group 18-23 years) is 178 for Delhi and the average enrolment is 1,501.