Growth of Higher Education in Manipur

Higher education in India has witnessed tremendous increase in the institutional capacity since independence. There are many issues and challenges of higher education in the country. Among them one is regional disparity. For instance, the North Eastern Region which comprises of eight states has been declared as an economically backward area and also considered as a special category by the planning commission. Naskar (2009) has shown that the student–college ratio in the region is far below the national average. In this background, the paper discusses the status of higher education in Manipur and its growth pattern in terms of expansion of institutions and increased enrolment. The chapter also brings out state government initiatives for an improved higher education system in the state and the major concerns for future growth. There has been an overall growth and increase of student enrolment in higher education of Manipur in the recent years. Responding to the recent trend, the state has initiated several measures for improving quality and access in higher education. However, proper future planning based on the identified major concerns of the higher education is the need of the hour. It is felt necessary to address the problems in higher education of the north-eastern states in general and in Manipur in particular from policy and planning perspective.