Too many colleges in Telangana deny it economies of scale
Resource allocation and utilisation, including teaching faculty and other resources, is lost due to the excessive number of small colleges in the state. It has also caused a heavy burden on universities in regulating too many such affiliated colleges. Also, in Telangana, it is not feasible to transform all existing small institutions into large, multidisciplinary institutions because the number of eligible students is already saturated
Telangana state’s performance in higher education is remarkable, with one of the highest GERs (40 per cent) among Indian states and the second-highest college density (52). Diversity in enrolment across STEM and other professional courses is another feature of higher education in Telangana. The major portion of the increase in college density owes to private sector participation in the field following the economic reforms of 1991 and liberalisation and privatisation policies. Additionally, the state government’s policy of reimbursing tuition fees (RTF) has also contributed to the rapid growth in colleges and enrollment.
However, with such a high density of collegesin the state, the average enrolment per college (~600) is one of the lowest. Small colleges in size of enrolment are most prevalent in the state. As the ‘Higher Education in Telangana’ report by CESS reveals, around two-thirds of colleges in the state have an enrollment of fewer than 500 students. Moreover, there is a huge gap between the intake capacity of the colleges in the state and their actual admissions. Such a gap is higher among private colleges compared togovernment colleges. Nearly half of the seats in private degree colleges in the state remain unfilled.
According to the Union Ministry of Education’s All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) registry, there are approximately 2,200 colleges of all types in Telangana, excluding standalone institutions of around 500. Of the total colleges in the state, more than 1,000 are degree colleges, and the remaining 1,200 are colleges offering professional courses, including engineering, management, pharmacy, medicine, law, education, nursing, and others. Of the total Degree Colleges in the state, nearly 800 are private unaided, and a few are aided; the rest,around 230, are government colleges.
At the time of state formation, there were approximately 1,300 degree colleges in the state. More than three hundred degree colleges, mostly private ones, have become non-functional for various reasons. Meanwhile, the number of government degree colleges (GDCs) and welfare residential degree colleges (WRDCs) has increased from nearly 120 to 230. Although the total number of degree colleges has been reduced, the intake capacity of the functional degree colleges has increased, almost doubling within four years after the state formation. The total intake capacity of all the degree colleges in the state has increased to nearly five lakh at present. Actual admissions in degree colleges in the state reached 2.5 lakh only in the post-COVID-19 scenario, but it is unlikely to be sustained.
In the case of colleges offering professional programmes in the state, their number also drastically reduced after state formation. Although the number of medical, nursing, and agricultural colleges has increased, the reduction in the total number of professional colleges is drastic due to a significant decline in the number of engineering, management, and other professional colleges. Unlike the scenario of degree colleges, with the decline in the number of professional colleges in the state, their total intake capacity of professional programmes has also declined from three lakh to less than two lakh.
The total intake capacity of institutions offering post-secondary education programmes in the state exceeds 6.5 lakhs. The higher secondary graduates are the eligible candidates for any post-secondary education programme. If we examine the size of higher secondary graduates in the state, it is far less than the intake capacity created. Enrolment in 12th class (second year of intermediate) in the state is less than 5 lakh. However, the students who appear for the 12th Class Board Exam annually are around five lakh. The pass percentage among those who appeared for the 12th class Board Exam in the state has varied between 50 per cent and80 per cent since state formation, except in the Covid-19-affected years. The number of eligible graduates in the state has not exceeded four lakh annually, except in the Covid-19-affected years.
Therefore, our intake capacity in higher education institutions is 6.5 lakh, and the eligible student strength in the state is four lakhs, resulting in a huge unutilized capacity. Moreover, not all 12th-class graduates are likely to take admission in post-secondary education. Furthermore, the migration of students to higher education institutions outside the state, in other states, or abroad reduces the pool of eligible students in the state.
The strength of eligible students is unlikely to increase. Due to the demographic transition witnessed in the state, the population below 5 years of age, school age (6-17 years), and the college age (18-23) have begun declining. School participation among the higher secondary age group is near saturation, and the pass percentage in higher secondary education is not more than 80 per cent.
Given the constraint on the strength of eligible students in the state, attracting eligible students from other states may help fill the vacant intake capacity, to some extent, if not entirely. However, the extent to which Telangana is attracting students from other states is far less than the number of students leaving the state.
Hence, while nearly one-fourth of the intake capacity created in institutions offering professional programmes in the state remained unfilled, half of the degree colleges’ intake capacity is not filled. The proliferation of small colleges and the oversupply of seats have created a problem in higher education in Telangana. It poses the underutilised capacity and small size of the colleges in the state.
The economies of scale effect regarding resource allocation and utilisation, including teaching faculty and otherresources, is lost due to the excessive number of small colleges in the state. An increase in the cost of operating small institutions may dilute quality if not allocated appropriate amounts of resources required. Most importantly, colleges,especially private ones with underutilised capacity, may not allocate the required amount of resources. Additionally, the efficiency and effectiveness of the regulatory system also suffer from too many small colleges. A heavy burden on universities in regulating too many small, affiliated colleges.
Further, in the case of colleges offering professional programmes, most of them offer programmes in a single discipline or specific field of study. Hence, multidisciplinary programmes are missing in many such colleges. Cross-learning and peer learning among students within a discipline and across disciplines are also missing.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has, in fact, acknowledged andproposed transforming the small number of large institutions into larger ones and single-discipline institutions into multidisciplinary ones. In Telangana, it is not feasible to transform all existing small institutions into large, multidisciplinary institutions because the number of eligible students is already saturated. Consolidation or clustering of small, single-disciplinary institutions is a possible policy action.
(The authors are with Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad)
