Karnataka spent only 2.01% of GDP on higher education sector: NITI Aayog policy report

Karnataka was third last in terms of spending on higher education, according to a recently released NITI Aayog policy report of ‘Expanding Quality Higher Education through States and State Public Universities.’

Karnataka was third last in terms of spending on higher education, according to a recently released NITI Aayog policy report of ‘Expanding Quality Higher Education through States and State Public Universities.’

According to the data for 2020-21, despite being a major hub of higher education in the country, Karnataka spent only 2.01% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on higher education. Jammu and Kashmir spent the highest - 8.11% of the GDP, followed by Manipur (7.25%), Meghalaya (6.64%), and Tripura (6.19%) according to the report. Below Karnataka were Delhi with 1.67% and Telangana with 2%.

In the same period, Karnataka also allocated ₹5,129 crore in its Budget for higher education. Maharashtra led in funding with ₹11,421 crore, followed by Bihar ₹9,666 crore, and Tamil Nadu ₹7,237 crore, the report said.

“The Karnataka government is allocating only 12% of its State Budget for the education sector every year. Out of this, 70% of the funds are allocated for school education, while the remaining 30% is allocated for higher education. This will be a setback for the development of the higher education sector, especially when government colleges and public universities are facing a shortage of funds. The State government should allocate 26% of its Budget for the education sector,” said Sripada Bhat, an educationist.

However, Karnataka led in college density in India with with 66 colleges per one lakh eligible population (18-23 years of age), which was more than twice the national average of 30.

Though India advanced in terms of improving the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER,) in higher education, the progress was not uniform across all States. Tamil Nadu had shown maximum improvement with a GER of 47%, while Karnataka had 36.2% GER, which was considerably higher than the national average of 28.4%, the report said.

“Between 1950-51 and 2021-22, GER in India increased 71 times.The National Education Policy (NEP-2020) aims to achieve GER of 50% by 2035,” the report said.