Noting that the gross enrolment ratio (GER) is "abysmally low" in the country, a senior HRD ministry official said India should achieve 30 per cent GER in higher education by 2020, as against the current 11 per cent.
"There is no denying that we are abysmally low in terms of GER. We are half of the world's average in terms of the enrolment in higher education, but its not unachievable. Till 2020, we must aim for 30 per cent GER," Sunil Kumar, additional secretary (higher education), said.
Stressing on the need for raising the GER, Mr Kumar said, "We need 500 odd universities, 15,000 colleges, 10,000 technical institutions, 75,000 engineering colleges to reach the target. This, however, requires a budget of over Rs 80 lakh till 2020, without the running expenses."
Addressing 'National Summit on Higher Education', he said in the higher education, the contribution of state governments is nothing more than "maintaining the existing" higher education colleges or institutes.
Pointing that private investment should not be done just for the sake of increasing the infrastructure, he said that infrastructure should not be equated with quality education.
"Education is not just like any other commodity. It requires investment of a different kind. The investors (companies or individuals) should be passionate about education," he said.