Private higher education is recently new to India. However, it faces a host of problems. The presentation also provides strategies for the effectiveness of private universities.

1. Anup K. Singh, PhD

2. Private Universities
 Private higher education was prevalent in Southern
India and Maharashtra for a long time
 In the 90s onwards, private higher education became
a pan-India phenomenon
 Today India has more than 150 private universities and
more are being established
 In their mission, private universities are not different
from public universities
 Just as there are good and bad public universities,
there are good, bad and even some ugly private
universities

3. Private Universities
 For more than 50% of private universities, the UGC
has not acknowledged inspection report
 About 10% of them are mono-subject universities
 Accredited universities are also around 10%
 Mostly promoted by a family

4. Government Regulations
 Private universities are largely regulated by state
governments
 In turn, state governments differ in their regulatory
alacrity and commitment
 In highly regulated states, both admission and fees are
regulated
 The UGC regulates faculty service conditions and pay
and perks
 Professional bodies also regulate professional course,
often limiting innovation in course development

5. Challenges for Private Universities
 Reputation
 Financial health
 Merit-n-means scholarship to students
 Cross-subsidy across faculties and programmes
 Governance
 Support from industry
 Global competition

6. How Can They Respond
 Developing a vibrant quality academic culture
 Attracting, developing and rewarding faculty talent
 Student centricity
 Working for scholarship
 ICT
 Looking beyond fees based model