Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

India’s Economy and Society pp 287–324Cite as

Changing Landscape of Professional Higher Education in India: What Do We Know and What Do Recent Data Tell Us?

Part of the India Studies in Business and Economics book series (ISBE)

Abstract

This paper analyses the rapid expansion of professional higher education (PHE) in India in its several dimensions. Using secondary database, it discusses (a) trend and patterns of growth in professional higher education, (b) inequalities in access, (c) barriers to participation, and (d) household financing of professional higher education. We find striking regional inequality in the growth of PHE in India in the last decade—close to 40% of professional higher education institutions are located in southern region while it is less than 10% in central, eastern and north-eastern regions. Findings also suggest that students belonging to poor households are not only underrepresented in PHE but also spend considerably less on it than their rich counterparts. The discussion on the status and prospects of professional higher education in India in this chapter will be useful to the academia, regulatory bodies and policy makers.

This is the revised version of the paper presented in the seminar on ‘Indian Economy and Society’ held on 7th and 8th February 2020 at the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), Thiruvananthapuram. We are extremely grateful to the participants of the seminar for their valuable comments and suggestions on the earlier version of the draft. We acknowledge the invaluable feedback received from Prof. Sunil Mani, Prof. Mary E. John, Prof. Ram Singh, Prof. Sebastian Morris on the work. All errors are our own.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   169.99
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

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Detail on the explanatory variables used in the probit model is discussed in Table 11.9 in appendix.

  2. 2.

    Progressive closure means institute cannot admit the students for the first year during the academic year for which progressive closure is granted; however, the existing students will continue.

  3. 3.

    ‘Others’ include Christian, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Zoroastrian and other religions.

  4. 4.

    Private institutions include both private-aided and un-aided higher education institutions.

References

  • Agarwal, P. (2009). Indian higher education: Envisioning the future. Sage.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • AICTE. (2020). All India Council for Technical Education, New Delhi, Government of India. Accessed on July 2, 2020. https://facilities.aicte-india.org/dashboard/pages/dashboardaicte.php

  • Altbach, P. G. (2013). Advancing the national and global knowledge economy: The role of research universities in developing countries. Studies in Higher Education, 38(3), 316–330.

    Google Scholar 

  • Altbach, P., & Levy, D. (2005). Private higher education: A global revolution. Sense.

    Google Scholar 

  • Azam, M., & Bolm, A. (2009, April). Progress in participation in tertiary education in India from 1983 to 2004. Journal of Educational Planning and Administration, 23(2), 125–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Azam, M., & Kingdon, G. G. (2013). Are girls the fairer sex in India? Revisiting intra household allocation of education expenditure. World Development, 42, 143–164.

    CrossRef  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 

  • Basant, R., & Sen, G. (2014). Access to higher education in India: An exploration of its antecedents. Economic & Political Weekly, 49(51), 38–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bayar, A. A., & Yanik İlhan, B. (2016). Determinants of household education expenditures: Do poor spend less on education? Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies, 18, 83–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biswas, G., Chopra, K. L., Jha, C. S., & Singh, D. V. (2010). Profile of engineering education in India: Status, concerns and recommendations. Norosa Publishing House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bloom, D. E., Canning, D., Chan, K. J., & Luca, D. L. (2014). Higher education and economic growth in Africa. International Journal of African Higher Education, 1(1), 22–57.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Borooah, V. K. (2018). Higher education in India: Access, quality and structure. In N. V. Varghese, N. S. Sabharwal, & C. M. Malish (Eds.), India higher education report 2016 on equity. (pp. 169–201). Sage.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Buckner, E. (2017). The worldwide growth of private higher education: Cross-national patterns of higher education institution foundings by sector. Sociology of Education, 90(4), 296–314.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Chakrabarti, A. (2009). Determinants of participation in higher education and choice of disciplines: Evidence from urban and rural Indian youth. South Asia Economic Journal, 10(2), 371–402.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Chanana, K. (1993). Accessing higher education – the dilemma of schooling: Women, minorities, scheduled caste, and scheduled tribes in contemporary India. In S. Chitnis & P. G. Altbach (Eds.), Higher education reform in India: Experience and perspectives. (pp. 115–154). Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chanana, K. (2016). Gender representation in higher education: Going beyond numbers. In N. V. Varghese & G. Malik (Eds.), India: Higher education report 2015 (pp. 113–134). Routledge/National University of Educational Planning and Administration.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chandrasekhar, S., Geetha Rani, P., & Sahoo, S. (2019). Household expenditure on higher education in India: What do we know & What do recent data have to say? Economic and Political Weekly, 54(20), 52–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chatterjee, C., & Ramu, S. (2018). Gender and its rising role in modern Indian innovation and entrepreneurship. IIMB Management Review, 30(1), 62–72.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Chaudhuri, K., & Roy, S. (2006). Do parents spread educational expenditure evenly across the two genders? Evidence from two North Indian states. Economic and Political Weekly, 41(52), 5276–5282.

    Google Scholar 

  • Choudhury, P. K. (2016a). Role of private sector in medical education and human resource development for health in India. Economic and Political Weekly, 51(3), 71–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Choudhury, P. K. (2016b). Growth of engineering education in India: status, issues and challenges. Higher Education for the Future, 3(1), 93–107.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Deshpande, S. (2018). Access and exclusion: Mapping social diversity in education in India. In N. V. Varghese, N. S. Sabharwal, & C. M. Malish (Ed.), Higher education report 2016 on equity (pp. 359–379). Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dhesi, A. S. (2000). A quantitative analysis of demand for higher education. Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR).

    Google Scholar 

  • Dubey, A. (2008). Determinants of Post-Higher Secondary Enrolment in India. Higher education in India: Issues related to expansion, inclusiveness. (pp. 139–198). Quality and Finance. University Grants Commission.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duraisamy, P., & Duraisamy, M. (2016). Contemporary issues in Indian higher education: Privatization, public and household expenditures, and student loan. Higher Education for the Future, 3(2), 144–163.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Ghuman, R. S., Singh, S., & Brar, J. S. (2009). Professional education in Punjab: Exclusion of rural students. Publication Bureau, Punjabi University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hasan, R., & Mehta, A. (2006). Under-representation of disadvantaged classes in colleges: What do the data tell us? Economic and Political Weekly, 41(35), 3791–3796.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huy, V. Q. (2012). Determinants of educational expenditure in Vietnam. International Journal of Applied Economics, 9(1), 59–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Justman, M., & Méndez, S. J. (2018). Gendered choices of STEM subjects for matriculation are not driven by prior differences in mathematical achievement. Economics of Education Review, 64, 282–297.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Kaul, R. (1993). Caste, class and education: Politics of the capitation fee phenomenon in Karnataka. Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan, K., & Sabharwal, N. S. (2012). Access and equity in higher education: Aspects of gender, caste, ethnicity, religion, occupation and economic groups in rural and urban areas during pre and post reform periods. Working Paper Series, Vol. 6, No. 4, Indian Institute of Dalit Studies, New Delhi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kingdon, G. G. (2005). Where has all the bias gone? Detecting gender bias in the intrahousehold allocation of educational expenditure. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 53(2), 409–451.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Kundu, A. (2018). Economic and educational inequalities in India: Access and outcome indicators for different socio-religious groups. In N. V. Varghese, N. S. Sabharwal, & C. M. Malish (Eds.), India higher education report 2016 on equity. (pp. 63–91). Sage.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Malhotra, C. (2018). The malaise of under-representation of women in science: The Indian story. Current Science, 115(9), 1714.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Marginson, S. (2016). The worldwide trend to high participation higher education: Dynamics of social stratification in inclusive systems. Higher Education, 72(4), 413–434.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Medical Council of India. (2020). Data on medical colleges. Accessed on August 10, 2020. https://www.mciindia.org/CMS/information-desk/college-and-course-search.

  • Ministry of Education (formerly the Ministry of Human Resource Development-MHRD). (2019). All India survey on higher education 2018–19. Government of India. https://www.education.gov.in/en

  • Panchamukhi, P. R. (1990). Private expenditure on education in India: An Empirical Study. Unpublished report, Indian Institute of Education, Pune.

    Google Scholar 

  • Qian, J. X., & Smyth, R. (2010). Educational expenditure in urban China: Income effects, family characteristics and the demand for domestic and overseas education. Applied Economics, 43(24), 3379–3394.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Rahman, M., & Unnikrishnan, R. (2015). Scope and challenges of technical education: A Kerala perspective. Higher Education for the Future, 2(2), 194–207.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Raju, S. (2008). Gender differentials in access to higher education. In Higher education in India: Issues related to expansion, inclusiveness, quality and finance (pp. 79–102). University Grants Commission, New Delhi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rao, S. (2007). Engineering and technology education in India: Uneven spread and social coverage. Journal of Educational Planning and Administration, 20(2), 205–225.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saha, A. (2013). An assessment of gender discrimination in household expenditure on education in India. Oxford Development Studies, 41(2), 220–238.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Sinha, S. (2008). Identification of educationally backward districts higher education. In Higher education in India: Issues related to expansion, inclusiveness, quality and finance (pp. 56–78). University Grants Commission, New Delhi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinha, S. (2018). Regional disparities in availability, access and equity in higher education in India. In N. V. Varghese, N. S. Sabharwal, & C. M. Malish (Eds.), India higher education report 2016 on equity. (pp. 131–168). Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Srinivasan, J. (2010). Demand for education in India: Sub regional study. Well Publication.

    Google Scholar 

  • Srivastava, R. S., & Sinha, S. (2008). Inter-social groups disparities in access to higher education. In Higher education in India: Issues related to expansion, inclusiveness, quality and finance (pp. 103–110). University Grants Commission, New Delhi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sundaram, K. (2006). On backwardness and fair access to higher education: Results from NSS 55th round surveys 1999–2000. Economic & Political Weekly, 41(50), 5173–5182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sundaram, K. (2009). Fair access to higher education re-visited, some results for social and religious groups from NSS 61st round employment-unemployment survey, 2004–05. Journal of Educational Planning and Administration, 23(2), 111–123.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorat, S. (2008). Emerging issues in higher education: Approach and strategy of 11th plan. In Higher education in India: Issues related to expansion, inclusiveness, quality and finance (pp. 1–26). University Grants Commission, New Delhi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorat, S. (2016). Higher education policy in India: Emerging issues and approaches. In N. V. Varghese & G. Malik (Eds.), India: Higher education report 2015. (pp. 15–40). Routledge/National University of Educational Planning and Administration.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorat, S., & Khan, K. (2018). Private sector and equity in higher education: Challenges of growing unequal access. In N. V. Varghese, N. S. Sabharwal, & C. M. Malish (Eds.), India higher education report 2016 on equity. (pp. 92–130). Sage.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Tilak, J. B. G. (2002). Determinants of household expenditure on education in rural India. Working Paper No. 88, National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tilak, J. B. G. (2015). How inclusive is higher education in India? Social Change, 45(2), 185–223.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Tilak, J. B. G. (2018). Private higher education in India. In Education and development in India (pp. 535–551). Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tilak, J. B. G., & Choudhury, P. K. (2019). Inequality in access to higher education in India between the Poor and the rich: An analysis of the 64th and 71st Rounds of NSSO Data (2007–08 and 2013–14). Working paper CSD-2/2019). New Delhi, India: Council for Social Development. Retrieved from https://csdindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Prof-Tilak-Inequality-in-Access-to-Higher-Education-in-India.pdf.

  • Trow, M. (2007). Reflections on the transition from elite to mass to universal access: Forms and phases of higher education in modern societies since WWII. In J. J. F. Forest & P. G. Altbach (Eds.), International handbook of higher education (pp. 243–80). Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • UGC. (2015). Annual report 2014–15. University Grants Commission.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNESCO. (2017). Cracking the code: Girls’ and women’s education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Paris, France.

    Google Scholar 

  • Varghese, N. V. (2015). Challenges of massification of higher education in India. CPRHE Research Paper 1, Centre for Policy Research in Higher Education National University of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, M. T., & Degol, J. L. (2017). Gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM): Current knowledge, implications for practice, policy, and future directions. Educational Psychology Review, 29(1), 119–140.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Wankhede, G. (2016). Perspective on social group disparities in higher education. In N. V. Varghese & G. Malik (Eds.), India: Higher education report 2015. (pp. 97–112). Routledge/National University of Educational Planning and Administration.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whalley, J., & Zhao, X. (2013). The contribution of human capital to China’s economic growth. China Economic Policy Review, 2(1), 1–22.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (2017). Higher education for development: An evaluation of the World Bank group’s support. World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (2020). World Bank open database. World Bank, Washington, DC. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.TER.ENRR. Accessed August 30, 2020.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India

    Pradeep Kumar Choudhury & Amit Kumar

Authors
  1. Pradeep Kumar Choudhury
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Amit Kumar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pradeep Kumar Choudhury .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum, India

    Prof. Sunil Mani

  2. Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum, India

    Dr. Chidambaran G. Iyer

Appendix

Appendix

See Appendix Tables 11.7, 11.8, 11.9 and 11.10.

Table 11.7 State-wise growth of professional HEIs in India
Full size table
Table 11.8 Share of professional HEIs to total HEIs in India
Full size table
Table 11.9 Notation and definition of the variables in the probit model
Full size table
Table 11.10 Summary statistics of the variables used in the probit model
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Choudhury, P.K., Kumar, A. (2021). Changing Landscape of Professional Higher Education in India: What Do We Know and What Do Recent Data Tell Us?. In: Mani, S., Iyer, C.G. (eds) India’s Economy and Society. India Studies in Business and Economics. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0869-8_11

Download citation

search

Navigation