How Telangana became one of India’s top states for higher education
HYDERABAD: Telangana has emerged as one of the leading states in access to higher education, recording the second-highest college density among major states, according to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2023–24 released by the Union Ministry of Education on Wednesday. The ministry also released the AISHE 2022–23 report.
The reports underline Telangana’s strong higher education network, with universities and professional institutions in engineering, pharmacy, management and other disciplines continuing to attract students from across the country. The state has also maintained high female participation in higher education over successive AISHE surveys.
College density improves steadily
According to the AISHE 2023–24 report, Telangana has 56 colleges for every one lakh people in the 18–23 age group, second only to Karnataka, which has 69. The state’s college density has improved steadily from 53 in 2019–20 to 56 in 2023–24, reflecting the expansion of higher education infrastructure.
During the 2023–24 academic year, Telangana recorded 9,347 PhD scholars, including 5,528 men and 3,819 women. The state also had 56 MPhil students.
Women lead undergraduate enrolment
Undergraduate enrolment stood at 1,84,990, comprising 77,703 men and 1,07,287 women, indicating higher participation by women.
The AISHE 2022–23 report showed Telangana recording a Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of 42.7%, significantly higher than the national average of 29.5%.
Nationally, higher education enrolment increased to 4.46 crore in 2022–23 from 4.33 crore in 2021–22, while the GER rose from 28.4% to 29.5%. Female enrolment reached 2.17 crore, accounting for nearly 48.7% of all students.
Scope for research expansion
The reports indicate that Telangana has scope to further strengthen postgraduate education and research opportunities to match its expanding undergraduate base.
