India’s investment in higher education is quite low in comparison to that of several other countries. For example, of the $565 billion that China has spent on education in 2016-17, $145 billion was solely on higher education, said NITI Aayog member V.K. Saraswat.
“In contrast, India spent $12.5 billion on education, reserving only $4.5 billion for higher education,” said Mr. Saraswat at the inauguration of two-day national workshop on ‘Accreditation, Quality Improvement and Ranking in Higher Education - Road Map Ahead’ that began here on Monday.
The workshop was jointly hosted by Telangana State Council of Higher Education, Commissioner of Collegiate Education, Telangana, and Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abiyan. Education Minister G. Jagadish Reddy inaugurated the event.
Mr Saraswat spoke about challenges faced by higher education system, scope for improvement, Central government’s plans for higher education, and ways to boost research and innovation. He listed enrolment, infrastructure and representation of men and women from all sections of society as problem areas that need attention.