Telangana’s performance in higher education has improved significantly over the last three decades. Its gross enrollment ratio (GER) in higher education reached 40% in 2021–22, one of the highest among Indian states. The state also has the third highest number of higher education institutions per lakh of undergraduate population, after Karnataka and Puducherry, according to the report ‘Higher Education in Telangana: Facts and Figures’, a report by the Center for Economic and Social Studies (CESS).
However, the report highlights two key concerns: the small size of institutions and increased privatization. Almost two-thirds of universities have fewer than 500 students, and many of them are single-majors. Telangana also has the highest proportion of privately run colleges or enrollments among all states.
The report was released on Wednesday and was discussed by CESS founding member Sukhadeo Thorat, Jandhyala BG Tilak of the Social Development Council in New Delhi, former National Commission for Protection of Child Chairman Shanta Sinha and CESS director E. Revathi.
The most fundamental concern raised by the report is the allocation of state financial resources to education in general and higher education in particular. While the average expenditure on education of all states is equal to or above 3% of GDP, Telangana’s expenditure on education is around 2%. Simply put, Telangana’s per capita GSDP and total budget expenditure are among the highest in India, but per capita education expenditure is among the lowest.
As a result, private costs and expenditures on education are rising and are among the highest in India. There are also concerns about governance and the burden of affiliation at several universities, and the quality concerns this raises are glaring.
According to Mr. Thorat, the overall objective of higher education is to impart scientific and quality knowledge and inequality and access to quality education are key factors that Telangana needs to address. There are a number of vacant faculty positions at universities, he pointed out.
Mr. Tilak, who presided over the discussion on the report, said that the quantitative expansion or higher education was remarkable in the state, but increasing privatization was a problem. “Telangana is still one of the states with the lowest literacy rate of any state in the country. The disparities in higher education between the rich and the poor are widening,” he said.
Ms. Sinha also said that the privatization of education in Telangana is undemocratic, exclusionary and unfair.
Published – 11 Dec 2025 0:02 IST
