Page 82 - EW 1-156 May 2024

Cover Story

INDIA’S MOST ADMIRED GOVERNMENT MULTI-

DISCIPLINARY UNIVERSITIES

Although the country’s new
genre private universities
with their sprawling capital
intensive campuses, new-
age study programmes,
and high-quality faculty,
are capturing the public
imagination, government
universities continue to
host 74 percent of youth in

higher education

he latest All India Survey of
Higher Education (AISHE)
Report 2021-22 (released
TJanuary 25) of the Union Delhi University: confidentiality culture. Inset: Dr. Yogesh Singh
education ministry discloses that
India hosts 1,168 universities. Of Rankings (EWIHER), which until lower) best suited to their aptitudes
them, 240 are of the Central and then rated and ranked only private and aspirations.
445 of state governments. Therefore, universities, was expanded to also To compile the EW India Govern-
40 percent of the country’s 1,168 rank the best Central and state gov- ment University Rankings 2024-25,
universities are privately promoted. ernment varsities. Two years later in the well-reputed Bengaluru-based
However, the latter mentor only 2022, in keeping with our com- market research company AZ Re-
26.3 percent of the 43.3 million mitment to continuously improve search Partners Pvt. Ltd (estb.2002)
students in higher education. The and refine our ranking surveys, the interviewed 2,100 sample respon-
great majority of tertiary students broad category of government (and dents comprising higher education
are enrolled in the country’s 685 private) universities was further faculty and students, and industry
government universities. sub-divided according to subject representatives in 22 states coun-
This indicates that though the specialisations, to provide level play- trywide. These respondents were
country’s new genre private uni- ing field comparisons. persuaded to award government
versities are capturing the public In the latest EWIHER 2024-25, universities of whom they have suf-
imagination with their sprawling government universities are ranked ficient knowledge, perceptual scores
capital intensive campuses, new-age in nine separate silos — multidisci- of 1-300 on ten parameters of higher
study programmes, and high-quality plinary, law and humanities, natural education excellence, viz, faculty
faculty including expats, government and life sciences (including medi- competence, faculty welfare and de-
universities, which provide highly cal), engineering and technology, velopment, research and innovation,
subsidised education, continue to all-women, agriculture, physical curriculum and pedagogy, industry
host almost three-fourths of youth in sciences and sports, maths and re- interface, placements, infrastruc-
higher education. search. These subject-specialisation ture, internationalism, leadership/
With government varsities still rankings make it easier for school- governance and range and diver-
dominant in Indian higher educa- leaving students and graduates to sity of study programmes. Higher
tion, in 2020, the annual Educa- select government varsities (whose weightage is given to the critical
tionWorld India Higher Education tuition fees tend to be substantially parameters of faculty competence

82 EDUCATIONWORLD MAY 2024