http://digitallearning.eletsonline.

com/2017/02/a-blend-of-multiple-intelligence/

In a country where receiving higher education remains a dream for a large section of youth due to
their financial constraints or geographical location, it is vital to explore what sort of opportunities and
challenges private universities are faced with to provide succour in the Higher Education Sector,
writes Sandeep Dattaof Elets News Network (ENN).

The Higher Education Sector

This sector has been classified into various categories based on how they have been established. There
are four types: Central Universities, State Universities, Deemed Universities, and the Private Universities.
Also, there are institutes which are designated as institutes of national importance.

The Rise

With a mere 20 universities in 1950 to 677 in 2014, the Indian Higher Education sector can certainly be
viewed as a field which has witnessed a tremendous rise in the number of Universities/University level
Institutions and Colleges since 1947, the year India acquired its freedom from the British.

Today, the Indian higher education sector boasts of 45 Central Universities of which 40 are under the
purview of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), 318 State Universities, 185 State Private
universities, 129 Deemed to be Universities, 51 Institutions of National Importance (established under
Acts of Parliament) under MHRD (IITs – 16, NITs – 30 and IISERs – 5) and four institutions (established
under various State legislations).

Also, the number of colleges has also witnessed a surge of 74 times from just 500 in 1950 to 37,204, as
on March 31, 2013.

Such a quantum growth in the Higher Education sector is spearheaded by the Universities, which are the
highest seats of learning.

According to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Higher Education is a shared
responsibility of the Centre and the States. The University Grants Commission (UGC) and other statutory
regulatory bodies are responsible for coordination and determination of standards in Universities and
Colleges.

What is a Private University?

The UGC defines a private university as “an institution of higher learning established through a State or
Central Act by a sponsoring body”, such as a society registered under the Societies Registration Act,
1860, or any other corresponding law for the time being in force in a state or a public trust or a company
registered under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956.
As per law, for an institution to be given the status of a private university the State legislature conferring
the status has to pass an Act by which the institution will acquire the status of a university. Private
universities have to be recognised by the UGC so that the degrees awarded by them hold value.

Scope for Private Universities

India holds huge potential in terms of possibilities opening up before a private university. It is so since
the higher education largely remains inaccessible or beyond financial means to a big section of the
youth in this billion-plus country.

There are 262 Universities that can award degrees as specified by the UGC under Section 22 of the UGC
Act with the approval of the statutory councils, wherever required through their main campus.

The privatisation of education brings more and more options in higher education for students in India.
Admission to these universities is conducted through various state and national-level exams across
the country. Akash Tomer of Elets News Network (ENN) writes about the admission processes and
admission regulatory bodies.

From 10 private universities in 2006, the number of private universities in India has risen more than 25
times that of in 2016. According to the University Grants Commission (UGC), the country had around
259 universities in 2016. Rajasthan had most number of private universities (42) in the country, followed
by Uttar Pradesh (28), Gujarat (26) and Madhya Pradesh (22). States like Haryana (18), Himachal
Pradesh (17) and Punjab (14) also have a good number of private universities. The data indicates that
the number of private universities in India is growing at a rapid rate and students are feeling drawn to
seek admissions to these universities.

Why private universities are mushrooming in the country? India, largely being a young nation, there is a
huge requirement for higher educational institutions in India due to its huge youth populace. to fulfill
the educational institutions of country’s young population. As the data reflects, Central and State
universities aren’t adequate enough to accommodate all students in the country. That’s why the private
investments are considered as the only answer to this requirement and thus turned vital. private
universities are autonomous institutions. These educational institutes follow the regulations laid down
by the UGC to maintain minimum standards for academic and physical infrastructure.

“Benchmarking” is a word that is now everywhere in the world of education. There’s even a Center on
International Education Benchmarking, a program of the National Center on Education and the
Economy, which over 20 years has benchmarked the education systems of more than 20 countries in what
is said to be an effort to find out what works and what doesn’t in educational practice. Benchmarking is
everywhere in education now. We benchmark students in relation to standards, schools in relation to each
other, or the educational performance of our own country against higher scoring competitors.

As in surveying, benchmarking in education should be about discovering where we stand and learning
about who we are and what we do by observing those around us. It should be about improving public
education, just as the sewer maps for my hometown contributed to public sanitation. Benchmarking
should not be about fomenting panics about performance in relation to overseas competitors. And it
should not be about dividing schools, families and communities from each other to create easy pickings
for the educational market.

Campus placement is a crucial component of growth strategies of many leading organisations. Universities
play the role of a facilitator by building expectations and bridging gaps between the job-seeking graduates
and the employers. Placement is an important component of growth strategies of many leading
organisations and universities play the role of a facilitator by building expectations and bridging gaps
between the job-seeking graduate and the employer.

http://www.focusquality.eu/sites/focusquality.eu/files/FOCUS_Benchmarking%20%28web%29.pdf

https://www.nirfindia.org/Docs/Ranking%20Framework%20for%20Universities%20and%20Colleges.pdf

http://www.oecd.org/education/skills-beyond-school/Benchmarking%20Report.pdf

http://donau.booktype.pro/human-resource-management-in-higher-education-cases-studies-and-
future-scenarios/human-resource-management-and-university-performance/

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