Changing Market Trends in Higher Education in India

Higher education in India is undergoing a transformative shift, changing the market trends rapidly. The Indian education system is in a continuous process of adapting itself to the demands of the job industry as well as global advancements across all fields.

There are multiple factors driving changes in the higher education market of India, including not only academic and technological growth but also unprecedented events such as pandemics. These changes are shaping the landscape of higher education, offering new opportunities and challenges for institutions, students, and stakeholders.

The HEART report by CollegeDekho brings forth some key changing market trends in Higher Education in India for overall as well as digitally enabled enrolment.

Also Read: CollegeDekho Launches India’s First Higher Education Trends Report - 'HEART'

Student Migration

India has over 54,000 colleges but not all are aligned with the student population geographically. This has been a major reason for students migrating to other states for their higher education. However, there has been a change in this trend in the past few years, owing to the increased number of HEIs in populous states.

As per the report, the number of students preferring to stay within their state has increased from 31% to 42% in the last 3 years. Uttar Pradesh is a significant part of this with a growth of 6%, followed by Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Gujarat. Student intent of relocating to a different state fell from 36% to 28% which can be attributed to better opportunities available within the state colleges.

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Course Trends

Going by data, it is evident that the popularity of B.Tech and MBA is not decreasing anytime soon. Students opting for digital enrolment through guidance by CollegeDekho continue to choose engineering, management, and science courses, reflecting a career-oriented mindset.

In overall enrolment, Arts has emerged as the leading stream in the past 3 years with a rate of over 33%. Commerce courses are also popular in this category but rank 8th in “Digitally Enabled Enrolments”, hinting that most admissions are done offline directly with the institution. Other popular streams among students are Education and Humanities. However, the number of applications for Pharmacy courses has receded in recent years.

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Top Specialisations

New specialisations are constantly being introduced across streams with the rapid evolution of the industry. Computer Science has been consistently leading among the top specialisations chosen by students across the past three years.

Nursing has also gained rapid popularity ever since the government’s initiative towards Nursing colleges and making it mainstream. Other leading specialisations include Finance, Computer Applications, and Commerce. Civil Engineering has resurfaced among the sought-after courses by students.

International Collaborations and Global Exposure

India is increasingly collaborating with international universities for higher education to offer student exchange initiatives, joint programmes, and research partnerships. Through these, students receive global exposure and opportunities to learn from diverse academic environments.

Some leading HEIs in India such as the IIMs, IITs, Ashoka University, OP Jindal, etc. have established global connections which lead to more opportunities for their students.

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Policy Reforms

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has transformed the higher education landscape of India. It is a huge initiative by the government to enhance the quality of higher education by focusing on several aspects such as multidisciplinary education, course flexibility, fostering innovation, etc. It also aims to increase the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) from 26.3% to 50% by 2035.

Furthermore, the establishment of the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) is set to replace existing regulatory bodies, aiming for a more streamlined and efficient governance structure. This reform is expected to reduce bureaucratic hurdles and promote greater autonomy for educational institutions.