Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Higher Education, Social Demand, and Social Equity in India

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Higher Education in the BRICS Countries

Part of the book series: Higher Education Dynamics ((HEDY,volume 44))

Abstract

During more than six decades since independence, Indian higher education has undergone remarkable transformation from an elite to a mass system. Today, India possesses a very large and diverse higher education system with programmes in almost all areas of traditional and modern learning. Despite this growth, the issue of deteriorating quality and social inequity in access is still persisting. An insight into prospective higher education demand stresses an explicit focus on the supply parameters that influence the higher education from the perspectives of various stakeholders. These supply parameters include not only sources and quantity but also quality and access. With the increase in the number of students who complete higher secondary schooling, the transition rate from secondary to higher education in absolute terms is also increasing. The demand from disadvantaged groups will rise dramatically through their increased participation along with women.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Universities can either be established by an Act of Parliament or by the state legislatures. The universities are of the unitary type with one or multiple campuses or of the affiliating type. The concept of an affiliating university is unique to South Asia where a university affiliates colleges. These colleges conduct teaching and learning under the supervision of the university to which they are affiliated. The colleges do not award their own degrees, but the university to which the colleges are affiliated awards the degrees. Recently, a few selected colleges have been given autonomous status by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to conduct teaching and learning independently.

  2. 2.

    Recently the title of lecturer and reader has been replaced by Assistant Professor and Associate Professor.

  3. 3.

    The state private universities do not receive funding from the government although they are given university status by the state (provincial) government. They are independent in deciding the fee structure for the various programmes and enjoy both academics, administrative and financial autonomy.

  4. 4.

    The term scheduled caste (SC) is now used to refer to the communities listed in the government schedule as “outcastes.” The notion of “outcastes” is premised upon the Hindu caste system, which divides society into the four broad categories of Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (traders), and Shudras (menial workers) (Dirks 2001). Today, the SC population represents 16 % of the country’s population and still struggles to achieve social equality. There remain geographic divisions within Indian cities and villages which exemplify the role that the caste system plays in today’s society (Desai et al. 2010).

  5. 5.

    Scheduled tribes (STs) in India are generally considered to be adivasis, meaning indigenous people or original inhabitants of the country. The adivasis or the tribals (STs) constitute the second-largest minority social group (the first being SC) in India (Maharatna 2005) and account for approximately 8.2 % (equivalent to 85 million people) of the total population. The total number of tribal communities recognized by the government as STs is 701, each with its distinct cultures, social practices, religions, dialects, and occupations (Ministry of Tribal Affairs, 2009).

  6. 6.

    OBCs stand for Other Backward Castes. A community is classified as “OBC” if it qualifies as “backward” based on a complex set of social, economic, and educational criteria, as specified by the National Commission on Backward Classes (NCBC).

  7. 7.

    The Right of children to Free and Compulsory Education Act known as RTE Act came into force on April 1, 2010. Under this Act, the right to education has been accorded the same legal status as the right to life as provided by Article 21A of the Indian Constitution. Every child in the age group of 6–14 years will be provided 8 years of elementary education in an age appropriate classroom in the vicinity of his/her neighborhood. Any cost that prevents a child from accessing school will be borne by the state which shall have the responsibility of enrolling the child as well as ensuring attendance and completion of 8 years of schooling. All private schools shall also be required to enroll children from weaker sections and disadvantaged communities in their incoming class to the extent of 25 % of their enrolment, by simple random selection.

  8. 8.

    Labor force participation rate (LFPR) is defined as the number of persons in the labor force per 1000 persons.

  9. 9.

    Worker population ratio (WPR) defined as the number of persons employed per 1000 persons.

  10. 10.

    Unemployment rate (UR) is defined as the number of persons unemployed per 1000 persons in the labor force (which includes both the employed and unemployed).

  11. 11.

    The definition of urban area includes: (a) all places with a municipality, corporation, cantonment board or notified town area committee, etc. This is known as Statutory Town, (b) all other places having a minimum population of 5000, at least 75 % of the male main working population engaged in nonagricultural pursuits, and a density of population of at least 400 persons per sq. km. This is known as Census Town.

References

  • Agarwal, P. (2011). Indian higher education: Envisioning the future. New Delhi: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Agrawal, T. (2011). Returns to education in India: Some recent evidence, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, http://www.igidr.ac.in/pdf/publication/WP-2011–2017.pdf. Accessed 15 Dec 2012.

  • Ahluwalia, M. (2011). Prospects and policy challenges in the twelfth plan. Economic & Political Weekly, 46(21), 88–105.

    Google Scholar 

  • AIU. (2010). Handbook of distance education. New Delhi: Association of Indian universities.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ambani, M., & Birla, K. (2001). Report on a policy framework for reforms in education. New Delhi: Government of India.

    Google Scholar 

  • Basant, R., & Sen, G. (2010). Who participates in higher education in India? Rethinking the role of affirmative action. Economic & Political Weekly, 45(39), 62–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhagat, R. B. (2011). Emerging pattern of urbanisation in India. Economic Political Weekly, 46(34), 10–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhasin, V. (2007). Status of tribal women in India. Studies on Home and Community Science, 1(1), 1–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bob C. (2008). Dalit Rights are Human Rights: Caste Discrimination, International Activism, and the Changing Educational Inequalities in India in the Context of Affirmative Action. Demography, 45(2), 245–270.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bogue, D. J., & Zachariah, K. C. (1962). Urbanization and migration in India. In R. Turner (Ed.), India’s urban future. Berkley: University of California.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chandrasekhar, C. P., Ghosh, J., & Roychowdhury, A. (2006). The demographic dividend and young India’s economic future. Economic and Political Weekly, 41(49), 5055–5064.

    Google Scholar 

  • Choudhry, S. (2011). Employment in India: What does the latest data show? Economic & Political Weekly, 46(32), 23–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, J. I. (1966). Population geography (p. 129). Oxford: Pergamon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clifford, B. (2008). Dalit rights are human rights: Caste discrimination, international activism, and the changing educational inequalities in India in the context of affirmative action. Demography, 45(2), 245–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Datt, G., & Mahajan, A. (2012). Indian economy. New Delhi: S. Chand & Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denman, B. D. (2009). Higher education by distance: Opportunities and challenges at national and international levels. Report. London : The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Desai, S., Dubey, A., Joshi, B., Sen, M., Shariff, A., & Vanneman, R. (2010). Human development in India: Challenges for a society in transition. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dev, M. S., & Venkatanarayana, M. (2011). Youth employment and unemployment in India. Mumbai, IGIDR. www.igidr.ac.in/pdf/publication/WP-2011-2009.pdf. Accessed 10 Nov 2012.

  • Davis, K. (1951). The population of India and Pakistan (pp. 107–123). Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, K. (1965). The urbanization of the human population. Scientific American, 213(3), 41–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dirks, N. B. (2001). Castes of mind: Colonialism and the making of modern India. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • DST. (2012). Bibliometric study of India’s scientific publication outputs. New Delhi: Department of Science and Technology, GOI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duraisamy, P. (2002). Changes in returns to education in India, 1983–94: By gender, age-cohort and location. Economics of Education Review, 21(6), 609–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dutta, P. V. (2006). Returns to education: New evidence for India, 1983–1999, Education Economics, 14(4), 431–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FICCI. (2011). Private sector participation in Indian higher education, FICCI Higher Education Summit 2011, Ernst & Young Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata.

    Google Scholar 

  • FICCI. (2012). Higher education in India: 12th five year plan (2012–17) and beyond. FICCI Higher Education Summit 2012, Ernst and Young Pvt. Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ganguly, S. (2009). Access to civic amenities in selected metropolitan cities in India. Population and Environment Bulletin, 6(2–3), 5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gupta, A. (2004). Divided government and private growth in India. International Higher Education, 35, 13–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Himanshu. (2011). Employment trends in India: A re-examination, Economic & Political Weekly, 46(37), 43–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirway, I., & Jose, S (2011). Understanding women’s work using time use statistics: The case of India, Feminist Economics, 17(4), 67–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joshi, K. M. (2007). An exploration of private sector financing of higher education in the Philippines and its policy implications for India. Journal of Faculty of Educational Sciences, Ankara Universities, 40(2), 321–346.

    Google Scholar 

  • Joshi, K. M. (2010). Higher education and the largest impoverished and marginalized group of the Indian population: Reviewing enrolment and access to higher education among tribals in India. Asian Social Work and Policy Review, 4(2), 57–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joshi, K. M., & Kinjal Vijay Ahir, K. (2013). Indian higher education: Some Reflections, Intellectual economics, 7–1(15), 42–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Joshi, K. M., & Basu R. S. (2013). Higher education and participation of indigenous people in India: Some reflections. Societal Studies, 5(2), 467–480.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kannan, K. P., & Raveendran, G. (2012). Counting and profiling the missing labour force. Economic & Political Weekly, 47(6), 43–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirpal, V., & Gupta, M. (1999). Equality through reservations. Jaipur: Rawat.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ledent, J. (1982). Rural-urban migration, urbanization, and economic development. Economic Development & Cultural Change, 30(3), 507–538.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Madheswaran, S., & Attewell, P. (2007). Caste discrimination in the Indian urban labour market: Evidence from the national sample survey. Economic and Political Weekly, 42(41), 4146–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maharatna, A. (2005). Demographics perspectives on India’s tribes. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • MHRD. (2011). Higher and technical education statistics: 2009–10. New Delhi: Ministry of human resource development.

    Google Scholar 

  • MHRD. (2012). Annual Report 2011–12. Department of school education & literacy & department of higher education, Ministry of human resource development, Government of India, New Delhi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Tribal Affairs. (2009). Annual Report 2008–09. New Delhi: Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitra, A. (1968). A note on internal migration and urbanization in India,1961. In P. Sen Gupta & G.Sdasyuk (Eds.), Economic regionalization of India: Problems and approaches (pp. 251–257). New Delhi.

    Google Scholar 

  • MOLE. (2012). Report on employment and unemployment survey: 2011–12., New Delhi: Ministry of Labour & Employment.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mukherjee, S., & Rupa Chanda, R.(2012). Student Mobility from India to selected European Countries: The case of Germany and France, Working paper No. 378, IIM Bangalore.

    Google Scholar 

  • NKC. (2009). Report to the nation 2006–09, Government of India, New Delhi, National Knowledge Commission.

    Google Scholar 

  • NSSO. (2010). Employment and unemployment in India, July 2009-June 2010. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, New Delhi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patni, R. N., & Dash, J. (2002). Tribal and indigenous people of India: Problems and Prospects. New Delhi: APH.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patwardhan, V., & Palshikar, V. (1992). Reservation seats in medical education: A Study. Journal of Education and Social Change, 5, 1–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Powar, K. B. (2003). Distance education in India: Panacea or Mirage? Higher Education Policy and Practices, 1(3): 38–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Powar, K. B. (2011). Indian higher education revisited. New Delhi: Vikas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rangarajan, C., Iyer, P., & Kaul, S. (2011). Where is the missing labour force? Economic & Political Weekly, 47(39), 68–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, B., & Kanaley, T. B. (2006). Urbanization and sustainability in Asia: Case studies of good practices, Asian Development Bank. http://www.adb.org/publications/urbanization-and-sustainability-asia-good-practice-approaches-urban-region-development. Accessed 15 Aug 2012.

  • Sardana, M. M. K. (2013). India aims at becoming global hub of supply of skilled manpower, discussion notes No. 1301, New Delhi, ISID. http://www.isidev.nic.in/pdf/DN1301.pdf. Accessed 10 June 2013

  • Sedwal, M., & Kamat, S. (2008). Education and social equity: With a special focus on scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in elementary education, Monograph No. 19. New Delhi: NUEPA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sen Gupta, P. (1968). Some characteristics of internal migration in India. In P. Sen Gupta & G. Sdasyuk (Eds.), Economic regionalization of India: Problems and approaches. New Delhi: Registrar General of India.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh, R. B. (2006). Sustainable urban development. New Delhi: Concept.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sivaramakrishnan, K. Kundu, A., & Singh, B. N. (2005). Handbook of urbanization in India: An Analysis of trends and processes. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Srivatava D. K. & Tapas K. S. (1997). Government Subsidies in India. New Delhi: National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stella, A., & Gnanam, A. (2003). Foundations of external quality assurance in Indian higher education. New Delhi: Concept.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sundar, P. (2000). Beyond business: From merchant charity to corporate citizenship. New Delhi: McGraw Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sundaram, K. (2006). On backwardness and fair access to higher education: Results from NSS 55th round surveys 1999–2000. Economic and Political Weekly, 41(50), 1011–1024.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorat, S., & Motilal, M. (2005). Persistent poverty—Why do scheduled castes and scheduled tribes stay chronically poor, Paper presented at the 2005 PRCIIPA SEMINAR 29–30 September. New Delhi, PRCIIPA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tilak, J. B. G. (2001). Education and globalisation: The changing concerns in economics of Indian education, Editorial. Perspectives in Education, 17(Special Issue), 5–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tilak, J. B. G. (2004). Absence of policy and perspective in higher education. Economic and Political Weekly, 39(21), 2159–2164.

    Google Scholar 

  • UGC. (1997). Report of the pylee committee on the recommendations of the punnayya committee relating to unit cost of higher education and other. New Delhi: University Grants Commission.

    Google Scholar 

  • UGC. (2002). Annual report, New Delhi: University Grants Commission, 2001–02.

    Google Scholar 

  • UGC. (2012). Higher Education in India at a Glance, http://www.ugc.ac.in/ugcpdf/208844_HEglance2012.pdf. Accessed 15 July 2012.

  • UGC. (2013). Higher Education in India at a glance. http://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/6805988_HEglance2013.pdf. Accessed 20 July 2013.

  • Weisskopf, T. (2004). Impact of Reservation on Admissions to Higher Education in India. Economic & Political Weekly, 39(39), 4339–4349.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xaxa, V. (2001). Protective discrimination: Why scheduled tribes lag behind scheduled castes? Economic and Political Weekly, 36(29), 2765–72

    Google Scholar 

  • Zachariah, K. C. (1964). A historical study of migration in the Indian subcontinent. (pp. 1901–1931). Bombay: Asia Publishing House.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University, 364001, Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India

    Kishore M. Joshi

Authors
  1. Kishore M. Joshi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kishore M. Joshi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Studies on Labor & Society, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Simon Schwartzman

  2. Faculty of Education, University of Oslo, Kristiansand S., Norway

    Rómulo Pinheiro

  3. University of Witwatersrand Grad. School of Public & Development, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Pundy Pillay

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Joshi, K. (2015). Higher Education, Social Demand, and Social Equity in India. In: Schwartzman, S., Pinheiro, R., Pillay, P. (eds) Higher Education in the BRICS Countries. Higher Education Dynamics, vol 44. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9570-8_7

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation