NITI Aayog’ Report on Strengthening State Public Universities

On 10th February 2025, NITI Aayog released a policy report titled Expanding Quality Higher Education through States and State Public Universities, offering insights into the standards of state public universities (SPUs) across India.

Key Points

Comprehensive Analysis of SPUs: The report examines key indicators such as quality, funding, governance, and employability trends in SPUs over the past decade.
Stakeholder Consultations: It incorporates insights from higher education officials across 20+ states, vice-chancellors from 50 SPUs, and state higher education councils.
Higher Education Enrollment Targets: By 2035, NEP 2020 aims to double higher education enrollment to nearly nine crore students, with around seven crore in SPUs.
Budgetary Support & Reforms: ₹13,000 crore has been allocated under PM-USHA from 2023-24 to 2025-26, with ₹100 crore per SPU for their transformation into Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERUs).
Key Challenges & Recommendations: The report identifies funding constraints, governance reforms, and capacity building as major challenges, offering 80 policy recommendations for improving research quality, pedagogy, industry-academia collaboration, and financial sustainability.