Higher education

18 Nov 2010

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Short description of the higher education system

In India, higher education is provided by 369 universities, thirteen world-class Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and over 16,000 colleges. Around 15,000 of the colleges are affiliated with a larger university, through which they are officially recognized. The affiliated colleges primarily provide undergraduate education, while postgraduate education and research take place at the main university. Of these, 100 “deemed universities” were originally private institutions specializing in a specific field such as medicine or technology. India also has a long tradition of open universities.
  

Types of degrees

Universities offer a range of programmes leading to the following degrees:

  • General bachelor’s (a three-year programme focusing on between three and five subject areas)
  • Honours bachelor’s (a three-year programme more focused in one field)
  • Professional bachelor’s (four to five-year programme in e.g. engineering, medicine, agriculture)
  • Postgraduate bachelor’s (e.g. a one-year Bachelor of Education or a three-year Bachelor of Laws, for which a bachelor’s degree is an admission requirement)
  • Postgraduate Diploma (a one-year post-bachelor’s degree programme that is professionally oriented)
  • Master’s (two-year programme)
  • Doctor of Philosophy (normally a five-year PhD programme)

Higher education colleges and polytechnics offer two to three-year Post Diplomas and Advance Diplomas, which average 1.5 years but vary in duration. There are major differences in the names of the various certificates and diplomas awarded.
 

Quality assurance and accreditation

By law, all universities must be accredited. Unaccredited institutions are not entitled to call themselves universities or to award degrees. Accreditation falls under the jurisdiction of independent bodies set up by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Indian universities are accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). The UGC operates a number of accrediting bodies that are concerned with regulated professions.
 

Recent reforms

The 2009 Central Universities Act provided for the establishment of fifteen new “central” universities in Indian states that did not have a central university previously. This was done in an effort to increase access to higher education, improve quality and remove regional imbalances in the availability of central higher education institutions in India. In addition, a (long-awaited) foreign providers bill is awaiting Cabinet approval. Once approved, foreign higher education providers will for the first time be legally allowed to offer programmes and to establish campuses in India. Provided that the Cabinet passes the bill, the central government is also planning to establish a National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER), which is expected to work as a single regulatory body and will determine, coordinate and maintain standards and promote higher education and research. 

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