The role of private higher education in bridging regional and socio-economic GER gaps in India

Over the last decade, India has witnessed more than 46% increase in number of institutions of higher education. However, during the same period, the number of state private university increased by over threefold. With the rise in the number of universities, the gross enrolment ratio (GER) of students in higher education has also increased considerably. The total enrolment of students in Indian universities has grown by 26.5% from 2015-16 to 2021-2022. The surge in universities, particularly the private universities is not uniform, while state universities across the country in general increased by single digits, private universities came up in clusters and in a few selected cities. A few of the top private Universities are outperforming several national-level institutions in terms of teaching, research, placement, and publications. However, there remains a noteworthy gap in the GER between castes and genders. This paper provides insight into the role of private universities in improving GER and strengthening higher education in the country.