Equity in access and participation in higher education in India Professor N.V.Varghese Acting Vice Chancellor NUEPA and Director, CPRHE/NUEPA, New Delhi

Economic growth and inequalities World is growing World is growing unequal Inequality has become one of the most commonly discussed theme in this century Education is a crucial factor influencing economic and social inequalities Equity in educational attainment is a necessary condition for more equal distribution of benefits of growth

Trends in the expansion of higher education This century experienced massive expansion – enrolment more than doubled from 100 to 212.5 m from 2000 to 2015 Nearly 90 % of the increase in enrolment is in developing countries Enrolment in developed countries are stagnating or declining The prospects of further growth lie in the developing countries

Massification of HE in India India has the second largest higher education system after China. India entered a stage of massification of HE in this century India has nearly 800 universities, nearly 40,000 colleges and 34 million students The enrolment ratio (GER) is 24.5 per cent. The rate of growth of higher education has been accelerating in this century. The growth potential of the sector continues to be high

Enrolment in higher education (GER) 2014 -15 Countries GER total GER male GER Female USA 86.0 73.0 100.0 UK 56.0 49.0 64.0 France 58.0 71.0 Russian Federation 80.0 88.0 China 43.0 40.0 47.0 India 24.5 25.4 23.5 Pakistan 10.0 11.0 9.0

Share in enrolment by management type 2007 general 2014 General 2007 Technical 2014 Technical Government 55.4 50.8 25.5 22.2 Private aided 29.6 25.6 30.6 24.2 Private unaided 13.5 23.2 42.4 52.6

HE development : from public to private institutions HE remained mostly a monopoly of the state in the post-independence period Focus on technological self-reliance ( establishment of IITs, IIMs, RECs ( NITs) Focus on quality in HE – limited expansion Private sector was encouraged – aided sector, self-financing courses, capitation fee colleges Private universities in this century

HE development in India in the 2000s : revival of the sector A stage of revival and massive expansion in this century Massification of the sector with 2 digit growth rates Major share of enrolment in private institutions This was also a period of expansion with persistent inequalities

Who benefits from Expansion When expansion is accompanied by increase in inequality indices - the rich benefits When expansion is accompanied by no change/ increase in inequality indices – rich and poor benefit When expansion is accompanied by a reduction in inequality indices – the poor benefits more than the rich

Inequalities in HE development in India Regional disparities have increased Social disparities declined but continue to persist Gender disparities are declining – GPI is close to unity or more than one in some of the advanced states Student diversity remains a challenge to be addressed systematically Social composition of student intake changed but institutions remain less sensitive to these changes – how to deal with student diversity

Regional Disparities : variations in GER in 2015-16 States GER total GER SC GER ST Bihar 14.3 9.3 12.3 Jharkhand 15.5 11.9 10.5 West Bengal 17.7 12.8 9.5 Chandigarh 57.3 32.7 - Delhi 45.0 29.5 Tamil Nadu 44.3 34.4 31.8 Andhra Pradesh 30.8 25.5 23.4 All India 24.5 19.9 14.2

Regional Disparities : colleges per 100 thousand population 2015-16 States Colleges Private institutions Telengana 60 83.3 Puducherry 55 62.3 Karnataka 50 67.7 Andhra Pradesh 45 80.4 Bihar 7 12.7 Jharkhand 9 37.7 West Bengal 10 38.1 Tripura 12 12.0 All India 28 63.8

Economic disparities in access : GER by income levels 2014 ( %) Income Quintile GER Poorest 20% Income group 5.2 20 to 40% income group 8.1 40 to 60 % income group 15.6 60 to 80 % income group 24.9 Richest 20% 61.7

Economic Disparities : enrolment by income levels 2014 (%) General ST SC OBCs I Quintile 7.7 11.6 7.8 4.1 II Quintile 16.4 15.3 13.7 8.3 III Quintile 29.0 24.7 21.9 18.8 IV Quintile 23.7 21.8 26.4 20.0 V Quintile 23.2 26.6 30.1 48.0 Technical 7.5 6.1 1.6 0.7 10.8 5.7 2.2 10.9 16.1 11.2 4.8 16.7 17.2 16.6 12.6 54.0 53.1 64.8 79.7

Social disparities : Enrolment by social groups GER % Christians 44.9 Hindus 32.9 OBC 14.8 SC 11.6 Muslim 9.6 ST 7.7 All 17.2

Social Disparities : Medium of instruction by type of institutions 2014 (%) Hindi English Regional Total Government 42.5 34.0 23.6 100.0 Private aided 25.4 53.5 21.2 Private unaided 16.3 72.7 11.0 31.7 48.1 20.2

Social Disparities : medium of Instruction by social groups Hindi English Regional Total ST 42.3 31.6 25.5 100.0 SC 37.1 31.9 31.0 OBC 35.6 46.1 18.3 Others 27.1 55.1 17.9

Social Disparities :Medium of instruction by social groups and income levels (%) I Quintile Hindi English Regional Total ST 44.4 31.3 24.3 100.0 SC 72.3 17.7 10.0 OBC 70.5 17.2 12.3 Others 60.6 31.1 8.3 67.0 21.3 11.8 V Quintile 21.2 18.2 28.4 55.4 16.2 16.5 74.8 8.7 18.7 20.8 25.4 60.1 14.5

Social disparities : conclusions Social disparities persist in HE Social disparities are higher in elite institutions, technical and professional courses and in PG courses First generation learners are more affected Medium of instruction influences selection of institutions of study The cumulative effect of disadvantage is a major stumbling block for the disadvantaged Private institutions add to social disparities

Gender Disparities Gender disparities are declining Women constitute nearly 45 % of enrolment in HE GPI is > 1 in some of the states with higher GER Women are less represented in technical subjects Private institutions does not necessarily add to widen gender disparities Safety in the campuses and outside

Equity in academic achievement Point of entry is relaxed due to reservation policies Academic integration remains a challenge Pre-college academic experience varies and they influence academic performance Medium of instruction at the school level is a major constraint to achieve academic integration First generation learners graduating from government schools find it more difficult Lecture method as the dominant mode of instruction negatively affects the disadvantaged

Equity in academic achievement Back paper syndrome is very common among the disadvantaged The disadvantaged repeat classes Drop out rates are higher among the disadvantaged groups Undesirable social outcomes and stress leading to and suicides are not uncommon Low employment outcomes

Strategies to promote equity in the campuses Academic support programmes in the first year in college Strengthen the existing remedial programmes Language and writing support to students Classes on general competencies Making special cells more effective Promoting mixed social groups Developing diversity action plans

Future challenges Less inequalities among elites and high among less elites Dispersed provision of higher education facilities More public institutions in the STEM areas Strict implementation of reservation policies Managing massification, markets and equity Managing diversity - majority of students from disadvantaged groups and teachers and administrators from advantaged groups

Future challenges Diversity in language proficiency and learning deficits Institutional tolerance of diversity and plurality needs to be monitored Widening educational distances among those enrolled Quality of higher education Employment and employability of the educated