Private universities are growing three times faster than government ones

The state-wise numbers sharpen this picture further. In 2013-14, Rajasthan led the country with 39 private universities, followed by Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat and Haryana tied at 16 each. By 2023-24, the leaderboard had been reshuffled entirely. Gujarat shot to the top with 67 private universities, followed by Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra.

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No state added more private universities over the decade than Gujarat. It went from 16 private universities in 2013-14 to 67 in 2023-24, an addition of 51 institutions. Madhya Pradesh comes a distant second, adding 41 over the same period. No other state added as many private universities during the decade as Gujarat, according to the AISHE data.

Government universities followed a steadier, more familiar map. Uttar Pradesh stayed at the top across both years, rising from 35 to 58 government universities. Karnataka held second place throughout, growing from 32 to 51. West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh entered the top five in 2023-24, replacing Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, which had featured in the 2013-14 list.

Government universities still enrol most students

However, a rise in the number of universities does not automatically mean that students are following. That is why enrolment numbers matter, and here the AISHE data tells a different story.

In 2013-14, government universities accounted for 51.9 lakh students, or 81.3 per cent of total university enrolment. Private universities accounted for just 11.9 lakh students, or 18.6 per cent. By 2023-24, government university enrolment had risen to 73.9 lakh students, a growth of 42.5 per cent. Private university enrolment, meanwhile, nearly tripled to 34.6 lakh students, a growth of 191.8 per cent.

Government universities continue to educate the majority of India’s university students, and by a comfortable margin. However, their share has declined over the past decade–from nearly four-fifths of total enrolment to just over two-thirds. In the same period, private universities have increased their share from about one in five students to nearly one in three. While public institutions remain dominant, the gap is steadily narrowing.

Put together, the AISHE data point to two parallel trends. Private universities are not only being established in greater numbers than government institutions, but they are also expanding at nearly three times the pace.

Further, the report also showed that the expansion of universities coincided with rising participation in higher education. India’s Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for the 18-23 age group increased from 23.0 in 2013-14 to 30.0 in 2023-24. Female GER stood at 31.2, higher than the male GER of 28.9 for the seventh consecutive year.