Education in India has a history stretching back to the ancient urban centres of learning at Taxila and Nalanda. Western education became ingrained into Indian society with the establishment of the British Raj. Education in India falls under the control of both the Union Government and the states, with some responsibilities lying with the Union and the states having autonomy for others. The various articles of the Indian constitution provide for education as a fundamental right. Most universities in India are Union or State Government controlled.
India has made a huge progress in terms of increasing primary education attendance rate and expanding literacy to approximately two thirds of the population.[1] India's improved education system is often cited as one of the main contributors to the economic rise of India.[2] Much of the progress in education has been credited to various private institutions.[3] The private education market in India is estimated to be worth $40 billion in 2008 and will increase to $68 billion by 2012.[3] However, India continues to face challenges. Despite growing investment in education, 40% of the population is illiterate and only 15% of the students reach high school.[4] As of 2008, India's post-secondary high schools offer only enough seats for 7% of India's college-age population, 25% of teaching positions nationwide are vacant, and 57% of college professors lack either a master's or PhD degree.[5] As of 2007[update], there are 1522 degree-granting engineering colleges in India with an annual student intake of 582,000[6], plus 1,244 polytechnics with an annual intake of 265,000. However, these institutions face shortage of faculty and concerns have been raised over the quality of education.[7]
Although no Indian university made to the top 300 of the Chinese-conducted Academic Ranking of World Universities in 2006,[8] three Indian universities were listed in the Times Higher Education list of the world’s top 200 universities —...