HIGHER EDUCATION-BEFORE AND AFTER INDEPENDENCE
The following table is important as showing the progress of higher education (which at one time included the Intermediate Stage) in India during the last 80 years :-
Particulars 1883 1928 1947 1961-62
Number of Colleges 139 307 591 2,282
Enrolment 16,088 90,677 2,28,881 11,77,245
2. After Independence, there has been a remarkable increase in the number of universities, colleges and other institutions of higher education. The following table will give a clear picture of the progress achieved in the direction of expansion of education in the various parts of the country during the last 16 years.
Year No. of Universities No. of other institu-
tions of higher edu-
cation (colleges)
1947-48 16 591
1948-49 19 520*
1949-50 26 719
1950-51 26 798
1951-52 29 834
1952-53 29 899
1953-54 30 953
1954-55 31 1054
1955-56 32 1170
1956-57 33 1300
1957-58 38 1454
1958-59 40 1588
1959-60 40 1881
1960-61 45 2099
1961-62 47 2282
*The decrease in the number of colleges was more apparent than real as the Intermediate colleges in U.P. were reclassified as Higher Secondary Schools during the year.
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We have now 55 universities and eight institutions of higher learning deemed to be universities under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956. Besides these there are six other institutions of higher education declared as institutions of national importance under the Acts of Parliament.
3. We have endeavoured to survey the existing situation in higher education in our States. The total expenditure on higher education in India during the previous years is given below :-
Year Rs.
1957-58 36,32,33,945
1958-59 41,82,59,468
1959-60 47,70,06,230
1960-61 54,46,93,590
1961-62 *61,22,43,246
These figures, however, represent the expenditure on higher education met from all sources, viz. public grants, fees, endowments and other sources. In 1963-64, the Central Government spent 0.50 per cent of its budget on universities and arts colleges. During the same year, this percentage for the Central and State Governments taken together was 0.84.
4. The number of scholars in our institutions of higher educa- tion including the universities within the last five years is given below :-
Year No. of Scholars
1957-58 8,62,075
1958-59 9,57,651
1959-60 10,44,918
1960-61 10,94,991
1961-62 *11,77,245
*Figure is provisional.
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It will be apparent that the number of scholars total 10,94,991 in a population of 430 million in 1961 or 2499 students per million of the population. It cannot, therefore, be said that the output of qualified persons is adequate for this vast sub-continent. Obviously, higher education is not only necessary for enabling us to hold our own place among the advanced nations of the world, but it is also the most important requisition for the formation, growth and sustenance of developing socialistic democracy like ours. A more strenuous effort than has been forthcoming so far is needed for increasing both our educational output and its efficiency.
A comparison of the figures of the recipients of higher education in our country to those in certain other parts of the world may be helpful to us to estimate the importance that is placed upon higher education in more advanced countries like the U. S. A., the U. K., the U.S. S. R., France, Canada and Japan.
Enrolment Per Thousand of Population
(Higher Education Stage-1958)
2 Total enrolment Enrolment per thou-
Name of the country (000's) sand of population
U.S.A. 3,236 19
U.K. 103 2
U.S.S.R. 2,179 10
France 226 5
Canada 93 5
Japan 636 7
India 833 2
Our position in higher education is, as the tables given above will show, much less favourable than that of the more advanced coun- tries of the world. We may also mention that our output in research is comparatively poor. Our research institutions including univer- sities' research departments award doctorate degrees. Opinion on the question as to the quality of those who hold doctorate degrees in our universities is somewhat divided. What can, however, be said with certainty is that the standard of higher education and research is not uniform in all the universities concerned. In some of these the standard is higher and can compare favourably with that demanded at any other university or place of learning in the world.
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In others, there is a noticeable tendency to lower standards and attach more importance to the quantity rather than quality. Little regard is being paid to the fact that a highly qualified personnel, in the scientific and the technical world, is necessary both for manning and increasing the efficiency of our industrial and agricultural output. It is obviously imperative for us to attach importance to the development of research and research facilities in our country. Our total expenditure on higher education and research was Rs. 54,46,93,590 in 1960-61. Compared to the corresponding expenditure of f 219.6 millions in the U. K. and $ 5,529 millions in the U. S. A., it is low.
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