Over 4.5 crore Indians are in higher education, but private colleges dominate: AISHE

India's higher education enrolment reached a record 4.5 crore in 2023-24, with private colleges educating over 70% of college students. Female participation continued to rise, undergraduate programmes remained the most popular, and six states accounted for more than half of total enrolment.

In Short

• Total student enrolment reached 4.5 crore in 2023-24, up 0.8% from last year
• Private colleges educate over 70% of college students, showing strong private sector role
• Female enrolment rose 42.2% since 2014-15, nearing half of undergraduate students

India's higher education system has continued its steady expansion, with total student enrolment touching 4.5 crore in 2023-24, according to the latest All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2023-24 report.

The total estimated enrolment stood at 4,50,01,123 students, up by around 3.7 lakh students (0.8%) from 2022-23. Compared to 2014-15, enrolment has grown by 31.5%, reflecting the continued expansion of universities, colleges, and other higher education institutions across the country.

However, the latest data also shows that private colleges continue to dominate India's higher education system, enroling more than 70% of all college students.

PRIVATE COLLEGES EDUCATE OVER 2.2 CRORE STUDENTS

Of the 46,468 colleges that responded to the survey, only 7,944 (17.1%) are government colleges. These institutions account for 88.9 lakh students, or 28.6% of total college enrolment.

The remaining 38,524 colleges (82.9%) are privately managed, including aided and unaided institutions, and together enrol around 2.2 crore students, accounting for 71.4% of all college enrolment.

This underscores the growing dependence of India's higher education system on private institutions to meet rising demand.

FEMALE PARTICIPATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Female participation in higher education has also continued to improve.

The report shows that 2.2 crore women were enroled in higher education during 2023-24, representing a 42.2% increase since 2014-15.

Women now account for nearly half of undergraduate enrolment, while they outnumber men at the postgraduate level. Female students make up 49.5% of undergraduate enrolment and 56.2% of postgraduate enrolment.

INCREASE IN STUDENTS PURSUING UG DEGREES

Undergraduate programmes remain the backbone of India's higher education system.

Nearly 3.5 crore students, or 76.8% of total enrolment, are pursuing undergraduate degrees. Another 57.9 lakh students (12.9%) are enroled in postgraduate programmes.

Among undergraduate courses, Bachelor of Arts (BA) remains the most popular, enroling 1.3 crore students, followed by BSc (53.4 lakh), BTech/BE (43.2 lakh) and BCom (40.8 lakh).

At the postgraduate level, Master of Arts (MA) has the highest enrolment with 22.6 lakh students, followed by MSc (9.9 lakh) and MBA (9.6 lakh).

SIX STATES ACCOUNT FOR OVER HALF OF INDIA’S ENROLMENT

Student enrolment continues to be concentrated in a handful of states. The six states with the highest higher education enrolment are:

• Uttar Pradesh: 72.7 lakh
• Maharashtra: 46.5 lakh
• Tamil Nadu: 35.8 lakh
• Madhya Pradesh: 27.7 lakh
• Karnataka: 27.6 lakh
• Bihar: 27.6 lakh

Together, these states account for 52.9% of India's total higher education enrolment.

COLLEGE REMAINS THE BIGGEST HUB OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Of the total 4.5 crore students, about 3.18 crore study in colleges, 1.08 crore are enroled in universities and their constituent units, and nearly 23 lakh students study in standalone institutions such as polytechnics, nursing, and teacher training institutes.

Within universities, government-managed institutions account for 68.1% of enrolment, while private universities account for 31.9%.

The latest AISHE findings suggest that while India's higher education system continues to expand in size and improve gender participation, private colleges remain the primary drivers of access, educating a significant majority of students enroled at the college level.

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