Why Being A Private Institution In India Is A Big Challenge

Higher education is achieving an upward significance for developing countries like India which is experiencing service-led growth. Higher education is all about generating knowledge, encouraging critical thinking, and imparting skills relevant to the society. The growth of India’s higher educational institutions has been outstanding, raising the number of private universities drastically. 

As compared to the US or UK, India has the highest number of students enrolling into private institutes. It has witnessed a growing CAGR of 4% over the last five years which is just the beginning. Following the trend, India could be a hub of nearly 1, 30,000 private institutions.

Scope for Private Institutions

India holds huge potential in terms of possibilities opening up before a private institution. It is so, since higher education largely remains inaccessible to a greater section of the youth in this billion-plus country. There are almost 262 private universities in India which can award degrees as specified by the University Grants Commission (UGC).

Challenges before Private Institutions

The maddening race has emulated competitors to pose various challenges for the private institutions like quality of faculty, resources, and research funds and so on.  “For new universities, raising consultancies especially from the corporate sector, is also a challenge,” said Zora Singh, Vice Chancellor, Desh Bhagat University, Mandi Gobindgarh, while mentioning about the university located in rural region. “Raising finances and grants for project and research from government bodies is a challenge.”

The economical and relevant fee structure of government colleges is another challenge for the private universities.

Push for Research

Understanding resources for pursuing research is highly essential. Creating Knowledge which leads to publication and innovation shouldn’t be based on whether a university is public or private rather on the research capacity of the universities.

Independency

Many universities have started to feel that they can’t emerge as world class institutes with government departments forcing their authority over them. Private institutions are nurtured when faculty members, students, or other stakeholders take decisions about the institution, independently and transparently. It’s mandatory to be relevant in the era of high-tech competitions as absence of quality can lead to its failure.

Innovations

Major innovations are reflected in the latest curriculum, industry tie-ups, and globally practiced pedagogy in a lot of private institutions in India. 

“Survival of the fittest, and fierce competition also drive the will at private universities to being innovative and sustainable. Innovation has always been an agenda unlike state and central universities,” shares Madhu Chitkara, Vice Chancellor, Chitkara University, Punjab.

Introduction of new courses can also be counted to help students become more employable, imparting professional skills for knowledge economy and imparting high quality education among other prominent challenges. Despite constant challenges, private institutions are able to raise the number of students being educated along with providing good infrastructure and variety of educational opportunities.