NITI Aayog Releases Policy Report on Enhancing Quality Higher Education in States and Public Universities.

National

In February 2025, the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) released a policy report titled 'Expanding Quality Higher Education through States and State Public Universities', marking the first-of-its-kind policy document in the higher education sector focusing specifically on states and State Public Universities (SPUs).


      - The report provides a detailed quantitative analysis of key indicators such as Quality, Funding & Financing, Governance, and Employability over the past 10 years across various themes.

     

     

Main Point :-   (i) The report was prepared in consultation with state government officers from Higher and Technical Education departments of over 20 states and Union Territories (UTs), Vice Chancellors (VCs) and senior academicians from 50 SPUs, and heads of State Higher Education Councils (SHECs).

      (ii) Considering higher education expenditure as a percentage of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), Bihar ranks highest at 1.56%, followed by Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) at 1.53% and Manipur at 1.45%. The mean per youth expenditure on higher education increased from Rs. 2,174 to Rs. 4,921 between 2005-06 and 2019-20.

(iii) As per the report, India has 495 SPUs, accounting for 81% of total student enrolment among Indian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). States with the highest number of SPUs are Karnataka (43), followed by West Bengal (WB) and Uttar Pradesh (UP) with 38 each.
About National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog

CEO : B.V.R. Subrahmanyam
Headquarters : New Delhi
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