Financial Insights Operational Insight    Overview of Central Public Sector Enterprises Preface| Foreword| Executive Summary|Methodology| Sector Update| Insights|Talent Study |Interview Section| University Listing| Editorial Team Alphabetical Listing Number of Students Number of Teachers City Offerings Global Perspective Trends in Higher Education in India Future Outlook Academicians’ Perspective

The role of higher education has grown gradually in the past decade and is now considered a vital component of economic development. As a mark of recognition of the role played by the institutes of higher learning, Dun and Bradstreet India (D&B India) has launched ‘Universities of India 2008’ to document the achievements of prominent universities across the country. A total of 167 universities and university level institutions that fall under the purview of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and/or governed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), GoI have been covered in the publication. These comprise of 40% State Universities, 28% Deemed Universities, 17% Institutes of National Importance, 8% Central Universities, 4% Private Universities and 2% Open Universities. Of all the respondent Universities, around one third of the total that provided sufficient information was chosen for analysis. D&B India also conducted a talent study based on a survey of 125 BSE listed companies in which senior management from the human resource department voiced their opinions about the education system and the employment situation in India. Some key findings of the analysis and talent study include-

• The total number of enrolled students in the surveyed Universities grew by 81% for the academic sessions of 2006-07 and 2007-08. However the study also showed that faculty recruitment has not been able to keep pace with the growing number of students. The teacher to pupil ratio changed from 1:15 to 1:22 and lags behind in comparison with some of the developed economies such as the US and UK.
• Interestingly, among the Universities surveyed, quality of education and retention of faculty emerged as key concerns – thus moving beyond the traditional concern of lack of funds.
• Among the Universities surveyed, the number of students with work experience grew by 53% for the academic session of 2007-08 over the previous year indicating that higher education as a medium of updating skills and knowledge is gaining traction among professionals.
• Over the years, governments have been promoting women’s education. These measures to promote women’s education seem to have culminated in positive results. Our study shows that women enrolment accounted for nearly one fourth of the total enrolment and increased by around 100% in the academic session of 2007-08 over the previous session.
• Increasing use of Information Technology has added a new dimension to the method of imparting education in India. Our study shows that around 20% of the surveyed universities offer e-learning content and have the capacity to offer the full programme online. This percentage is expected to increase significantly over the next few years.
• Our survey also revealed that student enrolment Ph. D programmes grew by 17% for the academic session of 2007-08 over the previous year.

As the education sector gears itself for the next level and is poised for a complete makeover, D&B India will continue to support the growth efforts and development activities of the education sector through its future endeavours.

Kaushal Sampat
Chief Operating Officer
Dun & Bradstreet India