Karnataka’s investment in higher education trails other states: Report

A recent NITI Aayog report, “Expanding Quality Higher Education through States and State Public Universities,” reveals that Karnataka ranked third-last in terms of spending on higher education.

Despite being a prominent educational hub, the state allocated just 2.01% of its GDP to this sector in 2020-21.

According to the report, Jammu and Kashmir spent the most, accounting for 8.11% of the GDP, followed by Manipur (7.25%), Meghalaya (6.64%), and Tripura (6.19%). Telangana (2%) and Delhi (1.67%) are placed behind Karnataka.

Karnataka additionally set aside ₹5,129 crore for higher education within the same time frame. According to the study, Tamil Nadu contributed ₹7,237 crore, Bihar contributed ₹9,666 crore, and Maharashtra contributed ₹11,421 crore.

“The Karnataka government is allocating only 12% of its State Budget for the education sector every year. Out of this, 70% of the funds are allocated for school education, while the remaining 30% is allocated for higher education. This will be a setback for the development of the higher education sector, especially when government colleges and public universities are facing a shortage of funds. The State government should allocate 26% of its Budget for the education sector,” said educationist Sripada Bhat.

Nonetheless, Karnataka had more than twice the national average of 30 colleges per one lakh eligible individuals (18–23 years old), making it the state with the highest college density in India.

India made progress in raising the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in higher education, although not all States had the same level of improvement.

According to the report, Karnataka had a GER of 36.2%, which was significantly higher than the national average of 28.4%, while Tamil Nadu had demonstrated the greatest progress with a GER of 47%.

“Between 1950-51 and 2021-22, GER in India increased 71 times.The National Education Policy (NEP-2020) aims to achieve GER of 50% by 2035,” the report said.

Karnataka had one of the highest student-teacher ratios. In Karnataka, it was 15:1 compared to the 23:1 national average. With a 14:1 student-teacher ratio, Tamil Nadu was in first place.

Tamil Nadu topped the list with 22% of the nation's top 100 universities, while Karnataka had 11%. Karnataka leads India with 43 State Public Universities (SPS), followed by West Bengal with 38 and Uttar Pradesh with 38.

In the meantime, Karnataka's 2024-launched "English Skills for Youth" program has received commendation from NITI Aayog.

“The Government of Karnataka launched four programmes in 2024, aimed at advancing higher education, enhancing language proficiency, and improving employability for students while fostering their seamless transition into the workforce,” the report said.

“The ‘English Skills for Youth’ programme, in partnership with Microsoft India, targeted 5,795 students across 16 government engineering colleges, enhancing their English proficiency and workplace readiness through blended learning modules,” it added.

The report added, “The initiatives included the ‘Scholars for Outstanding Undergraduate Talent (SCOUT)‘ programme which offered international exposure through a two-week immersive learning experience at the University of East London for deserving students from six universities, focusing on UNSDGs, critical thinking, and innovation.”

It added that 28 universities' internationalization initiatives were aided by the Capacity Building for International Officers program, and that Bengaluru City University's Freemium Digital Library Wall increased access to online learning materials.