Beyond feel-good GER data
According to the latest AISHE, gross enrolment ratio has exceeded 30 percent for the first time. If the objective is to increase enrolment, the latest AISHE report recounts a success story. But high enrolment is only the beginning…
S.P. MISHRA
India’s higher education system has crossed an important milestone. According to the latest All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE), gross enrolment ratio (GER) has exceeded 30 percent for the first time. Student enrolment has reached nearly 45 million, and women have outnumbered men in higher education for seven consecutive years. These achievements deserve recognition. They represent years of sustained policy effort to make higher education more accessible and inclusive.
But they also raise a more fundamental question. What is the ultimate purpose of higher education?
If the objective is to increase enrolment, then the latest AISHE report undoubtedly recounts a success story. If, however, the national ambition is to build a globally competitive India powered by innovation, productivity and skilled human capital, high enrolment is only the beginning of the conversation.
For much of the past two decades, India’s higher education agenda has rightly focused on expanding access. Millions of young people who once had little opportunity to pursue higher education are now entering colleges and universities. This expansion has been one of independent India’s significant social achievements. Yet access is an input, not outcome.
Universities do not fulfil their purpose merely by admitting students and awarding degrees. Their true contribution is measured by what graduates are able to accomplish after graduation. Do they solve complex problems? Do they innovate? Do they promote enterprises and employment? Do they strengthen institutions, improve public services, advance scientific knowledge and contribute meaningfully to society?
These are the questions that determine whether higher education creates value. Viewed through this lens, the latest data presents encouraging signals and reasons for alarm.
Youth participation in higher education continues to rise, but the pace of growth has begun to slow. More importantly, capacity expansion tells us very little about whether graduates are prepared for the economy they are entering.
The India Skills Report 2026 highlights this challenge. While humanities continue to account for the largest share of undergraduate enrolment, graduates in technology-oriented disciplines generally demonstrate stronger employability outcomes. This should not be interpreted as a verdict against any particular discipline. Every field of knowledge has an important role in a modern society. Rather, it points to a broader question: are universities equipping students regardless of discipline, with the analytical, digital, communication and problem-solving capabilities that today’s economy increasingly demands?
That question has become more urgent with the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence. Across industries, AI is no longer a future possibility; it is already reshaping recruitment, workplace processes and business models. Employers are placing greater emphasis on adaptability, critical thinking, collaboration and continuous learning — capabilities that complement technology rather than compete with it.
In this environment, the value of a degree is determined less by the information it certifies and more by the capabilities it develops. Higher education must therefore evolve beyond knowledge transmission. It must transform into a system that develops adaptable learners, leaders, effective communicators, innovative researchers and entrepreneurial problem-solvers who can create value in a rapidly changing economy.
There are reasons for optimism. India’s doctoral enrolment has expanded significantly over the past decade, particularly among women, strengthening the country’s research capacity. This is precisely the kind of long-term investment that can enhance India’s innovation ecosystem and global knowledge contribution.
But research, like employability, is not an automatic outcome of capacity creation. It requires sustained investment in faculty development, interdisciplinary collaboration, international partnerships and institutional excellence.
India today stands at an important transition. The first phase of higher education policy was about opening the doors of universities to more people. That objective remains important, and the country has made commendable progress. The second phase must be about what happens after students walk through those doors. Can universities produce globally competitive graduates? Can they nurture entrepreneurs who create jobs rather than merely seek them? Can they prepare professionals capable of working with artificial intelligence instead of being displaced by it? Can they stimulate researchers who generate new knowledge, innovators who solve complex problems and citizens who strengthen democratic institutions?
These are the questions that will determine India’s future rather than feel-good enrolment statistics. Crossing a GER of 30 percent is a milestone worth celebrating. But the true success of India’s higher education system will not be measured by how many students enter universities every year. It will be measured by what those graduates proceed to create for themselves, their communities, India’s economy and for the world.
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