India's Higher Education Ecosystem is Elitist. Expels the Poor

OUR ASPIRATION TO EMERGE as a developed economy must reflect in investments in higher education. It hasn't.

- Vikas Singh

Education drives societal development, strengthens the inclusive index, and is key to the upward mobility of the individual. A graduate has a higher prospect of a 'regular job' and earns about 1.9 times more than undergraduates. Returns are even higher for women as it reduces the gap largely attributable to bias, discrimination, and circumstances. For the poor and the less affluent it is the only avenue to an opportunity of a livelihood.

Changing criteria. It's cost over credentials, affordability over quality

The cost of higher education is widening socio-economic gaps. It's essentially unaffordable for most working families, leading to the 'expulsion' of youngsters from the higher education system.

Investment in an engineering degree' in a government institution is about Rs 3 lakh. Less than 10 percent of the applicants make the cut, the rest pay multiple times to private institutions. As an example, engineers pay Rs 20 lakh to graduate from a top quartile private institution. Most from this pool will be 'snapped' up by top-notch organizations and may well 'earn' the investment, fructifying the effort.

Cohorts from the bottom quartile of the colleges pay about Rs 9 lakh. However only a fourth acquire a regular' job. Payback' (time taken to 'recover' the investment) is five years. A third end up working in the unorganized sector with no job security, no benefits, and earning lower than the per capita income.

The rest remain unemployed. There is a negative ROI (rate of return). There are several other intangible costs borne by the educated but unemployed.

Poor break the bank, borrow, mortgage