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India’s Higher Education: A Gap Between Cost and Outcome

India’s higher education landscape, while being one of the largest globally, is encountering an expanding rift between increasing tuition fees and disappointing outcomes. Numerous private institutions, particularly those providing degrees in engineering, management, and medicine, impose substantial charges yet frequently fail to fulfill their placement commitments.

Apart from prestigious establishments like the IITs and IIMs, many graduates are left with costly qualifications and limited job chances. As worries intensify regarding the quality, relevance, and accessibility of higher education, voices within the community are highlighting the existing flaws with increasing urgency.

Criticism of Private Colleges

Akshat Shrivastava, a financial expert and CEO of The Wisdom Hatch Fund, has strongly condemned the condition of private education in India, asserting that 99% of private colleges are fundamentally flawed.

In a recent post on X (previously known as Twitter), Shrivastava stated, “99% of private colleges in India are a scam. The average placement rate in private colleges is: (1) 2021-2022: 60-80%, (2) 2023-2024: 20-40%.”

Concerns Over Practices

He elaborated on this situation, noting that despite these statistics:

• These colleges promote inflated ‘CTC’ (which is questionable from the start).
• They continuously raise their fees.
• There is a persistent push for students to take on excessive debt.

“They cultivate an environment where most educators lack teaching skills, and many students are disinterested in attending college. Yet, the management continues to profit significantly. As the world shifts towards rewarding skills-based results, this approach is becoming obsolete,” Shrivastava stated.

His comments gained significant traction online.

One user responded, “I largely agree. There is a mismatch between industry needs and education: the skills being taught do not align with market demands. Students often seek degrees for credentials rather than genuine interest. Solutions must involve updated curricula for practical skills, enhanced training, and career counselling for meaningful choices.”

Another individual commented, “Currently, there’s a trend of organising short courses in digital marketing, AI, and data analytics lasting six months, with job guarantees at a CTC of 6-10 lakhs; this all tends to fall under the category of a scam.”

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