HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIAN PUNJAB: EVALUATING ITS STATUS AND KEY ISSUES

This study explores the growth of higher education institutes, student enrollment, and faculty growth in Indian Punjab during the post-reform period by analysing secondary data and calculating the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR). The findings reveal a significant rise in higher education institutions and student enrollments, particularly in professional and technical programs. However, employability of faculty has not increased with the growth in student enrollment, especially in technical and medical courses, which has affected the overall quality of education. The study recommends that there is need to increase the public expenditure, provide financial incentives to the marginalised sections especially in technical/professional courses for their better participation, monitor the performance of the private colleges and their fee structure, and teachers’ recruitments on regular basis to improve the quality and higher education standards in Punjab.