Private universities have grown 6-fold in 15 years

Nowhere has the proliferation of private universities been as dramatic as in Gujarat

- Shradha Chettri

In the last 15 years, Gujarat has seen the sharpest growth in the number of private universities. Since 2010, 58 private institutions have come up in the state which enacted a law, the Private Universities Act, in 2009, much later than states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Gujarat has a total of 66 universities.

As per the University Grants Commission's records, there are around 510 private universities in the country. As per the All All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2010-11, there were just 87 private universities by then, implying an over 480% growth in 15 years. But their proliferation has been far from even. Karnataka was one of the forerunners, enacting a law in 2001. As per UGC data, the state now has 29 private universities.

In terms of the number of private universities added in the last 15 years, Gujarat is followed by Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Each one has seen the count shoot up, indicating that the sharp growth is concentrated mainly in the western and northern parts of the country.

Although Uttarakhand enacted the Private University Act in 2023 - it was cleared by the Governor in 2024 - the state has had private universities since 2010 and its count now stands at 23.

Dominance of private universities

As per the UGC data, about 47% of the total number of universities in the country are private.

The table below shows the number of universities by management.

Of the total of 510 private universities, 25 are eligible for government grants under section 12B of the UGC Act; 50 are deemed-to-be universities – standalone institutions that were not set up through a university act, central or state; and 267 are state private universities.

The table below shows which states added the most private young universities, here defined as universities that are 15 years old or less.

Gujarat growth story