Higher Education Development: 10th Five Year Plan Proposal

Abstract

The end of the 9th Plan period and the beginning of the 10th Plan period is inevitably a time for stock taking. The first thing that comes to one’s attention is that India’s enrolment or prticipation rate in higher education is still well below that in the better known developing countries and far below that in the developed countries. Current estimates are that about 6-7 percent of the relevant age group (18-23) are enrolled in higher education and that for India to play its rightful role as a lead player in the knowledge century, this percentage has to increase to^about 15% in the next decade. The immediate aim would be to take t to 10% during the Xth Plan period (2002-2007) and use both the conventional and open learning systems to reach this goal. Use of information and communication technology and maximum use of existing infrastructure would help in building up a more inclusive higher education, scenario. Access is not merely a numbers game. It has to be seen that these socially or economically disadvantaged get their fair share of the higher education pic.