An Exploratory Study of Supply Side Issues in Indian Higher Education

The paper explores the trend of supply of professional education institutions. The secondary data is analyzed to investigate the reasons for large number of vacant seats in professional colleges. The last two decades had witnessed unprecedented growth in institutes of higher education primarily due to private sector participation. The private sector is expected to provide useful contribution in achieving the target of 30% GER by 2020 set by government of India. Though the private institutes have grown in number they are not able to attract the high ranking students. The issues of quality, access, equity, inclusiveness require urgent attention of the stakeholders. Unemployability of graduates is a cause of concern. Large number of vacant seats in self financing colleges is threatening the financial viability of these institutions. Proper regulatory framework supported by mutual trust and accountability is important for the establishment of vibrant global private higher education institutions which can ensure quality, access, and inclusiveness