3 Review(s)

India’s higher education system is the third largest in the world, next to that of US and China. It has expanded at a fast pace with the addition of nearly 20,000 colleges and more than 8 million students in the last one decade. As of now we have 42 central universities, 275 state universities, 130 deemed universities, 90 private universities, 5 institutions established and functioning under the State Act, and 33 Institutes of National Importance. Other institutions include 33,000 colleges as Government degree colleges and private degree colleges, including 1800 exclusive women’s colleges. Some institutions of India such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), National Institutes of Technology (NITs), and Jawaharlal Nehru University have been globally acclaimed for their standard of education. Higher education in India has been undergoing continuous systemic changes. Conceptualization of its paradigms, patterns and perspectives is far from static. Change in its future shape is inevitable. Response to this change is one of the major concerns of higher education. Globalization, privatization and technological advancements are the dominant factors forcing the convergence of all the modes of higher education in India.