Private Universities in IndiaWorld Education Summit

April 24, 2013Anup K. Singh, PhD

Private Universities Private higher education was prevalent in

Southern India and Maharashtra for a long time In the 90s onwards, private higher education

became a pan-India phenomenon Today India has more than 150 private

universities and more are being established In their mission, private universities are not

different from public universities Just as there are good and bad public

universities, there are good, bad and even some ugly private universities

Private Universities For more than 50% of private universities,

the UGC has not acknowledged inspection report

About 10% of them are mono-subject universities

Accredited universities are also around 10% Mostly promoted by a family

Government Regulations Private universities are largely regulated by

state governments In turn, state governments differ in their

regulatory alacrity and commitment In highly regulated states, both admission

and fees are regulatedThe UGC regulates faculty service conditions

and pay and perks Professional bodies also regulate

professional course, often limiting innovation in course development

Challenges for Private Universities Reputation Financial health Merit-n-means scholarship to students Cross-subsidy across faculties and

programmes Governance Support from industry Global competition

How Can They Respond Developing a vibrant quality academic

culture Attracting, developing and rewarding faculty

talent Student centricity Working for scholarship ICT Looking beyond fees based model