Advancing Education & Colleges in India: Key Priorities

7 min readNov 4, 2024

The India Rankings 2024 report highlights a strong regional presence of ranked institutions from South and North Indian states in the Overall category. South Indian states lead with the highest representation, accounting for 36% of the Top 100 institutions, 46% of Top Research Institutions, 51% of Engineering Colleges, and 70% of the Top 300 Colleges reflecting a significant concentration of higher education institutions in this region.

**NIRF 2024, Ministry of Education, Govt of India, August 2024**

In particular, South Indian institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras in Tamil Nadu, and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Karnataka have maintained top ranks, indicating a robust academic and research ecosystem in these states. Meanwhile, prestigious institutions in the North, such as IIT Delhi and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, also rank highly, illustrating the competitive academic standards upheld by Northern institutions.

Let’s delve into the distribution of higher education institutes across various regions of the country. These institutions serve as the backbone of sustainable economic growth and should be a top priority for any government. Starting with the traditional colleges ranked from the Top 100 to the Top 300, these institutions focus primarily on the Arts, Humanities, and Sciences, which are critical in shaping India’s intellectual and cultural landscape.

This study aims to identify areas that require greater emphasis in the country’s Higher Education System.

Traditional Colleges India — Top 100, Top 200 & Top 300

In Indian colleges, Humanities, Arts, and Science cover a broad range of subjects aimed at providing foundational knowledge, specialised skills, and interdisciplinary insights.

Humanities and Arts

The Humanities and Arts stream explores the complexities of society, culture, human behaviour, and creative expression. Key areas of study include Languages, Social Sciences, Fine Arts, Law and Governance, as well as Religious and Cultural Studies.

Science

The Science stream emphasizes empirical, experimental, and theoretical understanding, paving the way for advanced research and real-world applications. Core subjects include Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Environmental and Earth Sciences, Medical and Health Sciences, as well as Interdisciplinary Sciences.

**NIRF 2024 — National Institutional Ranking Framework, Ministry of Education, Govt of India**

Excluding Delhi from the Top 100 (27 Colleges), Top 200 (41 Colleges), and Top 300 (46 Colleges) lists reveals a stark reduction in the representation of Northern India among the top-ranked colleges. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu and Kerala show a markedly higher concentration of colleges in the Arts, Humanities, and Science disciplines within these ranks, highlighting the strong educational infrastructure in these southern states.

**NIRF 2024 —** **College Ranking Top 100, 200, 300**

It’s essential to consider regional demographics before evaluating the distribution of top-ranked colleges across India. Although South India accounts for just 19% of the population and contributes 31% of the nation’s GDP, its dominance in higher education rankings is evident.

Among the Top 100 Colleges, Tamil Nadu alone has 37 institutions and Kerala 16 — surpassing the entire North Indian region, which has only 42. This trend continues at larger scales: in the Top 200, Tamil Nadu boasts 74 colleges, Kerala 42, while North India collectively has just 69.

The pattern is even more pronounced in the Top 300, where Tamil Nadu and Kerala account for 113 and 71 colleges, respectively, compared to only 89 in the entire North. Remarkably, 70% of the Top 300 Colleges are located in South India, underscoring the region’s substantial educational infrastructure and commitment to quality higher education.

Professional Colleges — Top 100, Top 200

Professional colleges specialise in fields such as Medicine (including General Medicine and Dentistry), Engineering (such as Civil, Mechanical, Electronics, and Computer Science), Law, Management, Pharmacy, and other focused disciplines.

The trend is consistent here as well: Southern states account for 36% of the top 100 All Colleges nationwide, with their contribution rising to 40% when we expand the scope to the top 200.

Next, we’ll explore the leading professional colleges across key disciplines, including Medicine, Dentistry, Engineering, Law, and Management Studies.

The trend persists across disciplines: 55% of the top dental colleges are located in South India, along with 36% in medicine, 28% in law, 26% in management studies, and 48% of the top 200 engineering colleges.

Institutions across disciplines

The table below presents the regional distribution of institutions across various disciplines as featured in the India Rankings 2024 by the National Institutional Ranking Framework.

**NIRF 2024, Ministry of Education, Govt of India, Page 4. August 2024**

The disciplines highlighted in red emphasize the disproportionately high concentration of institutions in the Southern region relative to its population share (19%), underscoring a relative scarcity of key institutions in the North, which accounts for 81% of the population.

Column D displays the percentage of Western institutions relative to the total percentage of institutes in the Northern region, underscoring the disparity between the Northern and Eastern regions.

The chart above illustrates that over 50% of institutions excelling in Innovation and Engineering, more than 40% in Research and Medicine, and 38% in Architecture and Planning are located in the Southern region. Efforts are needed to replicate this performance consistently across other regions (North, East, and West).

The following chart of India shows the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) distribution across all states. Southern states, with only 19% of the population, contribute 31% of the GDP — a result of the strong educational and healthcare infrastructure developed over the past 6–7 decades. Tamil Nadu and Kerala, in particular, have led this growth, with Kerala being ranked the top state in the NITI Aayog report for six consecutive years.

State Share of National GDP 2023–24

The western and southern regions of India have performed notably better than other parts of the country. The southern states have significantly outpaced others after economic liberalization, with the five states collectively accounting for approximately 31 per cent of India’s GDP. Source: Relative Economic Performance of Indian States — 2024: p 17

The transformation of Southern states (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana) and Western states (Maharashtra, Gujarat) from the 1960s, particularly following the economic liberalization in 1991, is a significant development. This evolution is detailed in a paper from the EAC-PM Working Series titled “Relative Economic Performance of Indian States” (September 2024) by Sanjeev Sanyal & Aakanksha Arora. Source: https://eacpm.gov.in/reports/

Read more in detail > 2024 — The Economic Rise of Southern States.

What India needs to do

When comparing the top-performing states with those at the bottom, it’s evident that economic growth is closely linked to factors like quality education, healthcare, gender equality, poverty reduction, and infrastructure development. Southern states, particularly Kerala and Tamil Nadu, have successfully implemented these goals, significantly improving the quality of life for their citizens.

**Source:** **Govt of India — Niti Aayog Report 2018–2024**

Kerala and Tamil Nadu have consistently secured the #1 and #2 positions over the past six years in the Niti Aayog report and for the last two decades in various government and private assessments, including India Today’s rankings. This highlights that the economic progress in Kerala and Tamil Nadu has translated into tangible benefits for their populations, improving the overall Human Development Index (HDI) and placing them at the forefront of achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In the Northern region, a substantial portion of the population still lacks access to quality education and essential skills, which are vital for enhancing employment prospects. Bridging this gap remains a significant challenge. The path forward involves focusing on three priority areas over the next 5–10 years:

Integrating education with practical, job-ready skills
Empowering women
Reinforcing healthcare systems

Let me conclude with the statement by Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address in 1863.

Government

Of the people — The government is elected by the people and is accountable to them.
By the people — In a democracy, people have the right to express their views, participate in the decision-making process, and hold their leaders accountable.
For the people — The government should work towards improving society by providing basic amenities, social welfare, and economic development. The government should ensure that the people’s basic needs, such as food, shelter, and healthcare, are met.