Need for multifaceted approach to improve higher education enrolment: Raichur MP G. Kumar Naik

Raichur MP G. Kumar Naik has urged the Centre to adopt a multifaceted approach to improve higher education enrolment warning that financial incentives alone are not adequate to tackle the systemic crisis facing India’s universities and colleges.

In a media note released here on Wednesday (August 20, 2025), Mr. Naik pointed out that the national Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) stands at just 24.3%, a rise of only 5% since 2014-15, as per the information provided by Union Ministry of Education. Provisional data also showed a marginal decline in the number of pass-outs in States such as Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, he added.

“This stagnation should worry us all. If we truly want to move towards the 2035 vision for higher education, we need to address not just affordability but also availability, infrastructure and quality of teaching,” Mr. Naik said.

He noted that private institutions account for nearly 78% of all colleges, making financial aid essential for socially disadvantaged groups. Yet, excluding doctoral fellowships, spending on student aid has fallen by over ₹1,000 crore in the recent years.

“Between 2019 and 2023, 25% of students dropping out were from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. That is not just statistics, it is a national failure,” he observed.

Mr. Naik also criticised the inefficiencies in government schemes, including chronic delays in releasing funds and the limited reach of the Vidyalakshmi loan scheme.

“Barely 10%-12% of its beneficiaries are Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes students. On an average, loans amount to ₹10 lakh-₹15 lakh, far below the realistic needs of students from socially backward families,” he said.

The MP emphasised that supply-side constraints are equally critical. College density has barely improved from 27 in 2014 to 30 in 2022, with stark regional disparities, he added.

“Karnataka has a density of 66 colleges, while Bihar remains at just 7. As many as 50 districts host 30% of all colleges, leaving rural areas underserved at just 58% since 2014-15. Without addressing this skew, enrolment cannot improve meaningfully,” he said.

Mr. Naik also flagged shrinking resource flows. “Spending under PM-USHA, meant to upgrade infrastructure, is now 51% lower than budgeted. Science funding under the FIST scheme is being cornered by a handful of States. Rural and backward regions are left behind,” he added.

Faculty shortages compound the problem, with one-third of posts in Centrally funded institutions vacant as of March 2023 and State universities facing shortages of up to 40%, he noted.

“These universities teach 81% of India’s higher education students. Yet only 10% have adequate research facilities, 32% have functional digital libraries and more than 60% lack proper hostels,” he said.

Calling for comprehensive reforms, Mr. Naik stressed: “India’s higher education system today rests on thin infrastructure, shrinking funds and a dangerously hollowed-out teaching workforce. Financial aid alone cannot drive enrolment, retention or job readiness. Like school reforms, higher education needs behavioural incentives, infrastructural upgrades and strong faculty support to turn the 2035 vision into reality.”