CollegeDekho Introduces India’s First Higher Education Trends Report: HEART 2024 showcasing Digital Accessibility Impact on Education

CollegeDekho, India's largest higher education ecosystem, today unveiled its inaugural HEART (Higher Education Analytics and Regional Trends) report for India, offering a comprehensive analysis of the current trends, preferences, and dynamics shaping higher education in India. This comes at a time when the country is witnessing a pivotal transformation in its education sector, driven by digitalization, demographic shifts, and evolving economic landscapes.

As India aspires to become a top three economy globally, the nation's higher education system must be the fuel for that dream. Ensuring equitable distribution of colleges and universities is crucial for this vision to come alive. Despite 11 million students enrolling in colleges annually, India continues to grapple with a Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of 28.3% in higher education. Mental health concerns remain to be an alarming issue as students across the nation still face heightened anxiety due to lack of professional guidance for college selection and choosing career paths.

CollegeDekho, a leader in the space has guided over 1.2 million students through their academic journeys. It has become an indispensable tool for students seeking the best and most personalised guidance for college education opportunities in India. Highlighting the growing influence of digital access on career orientation, the HEART report underscores CollegeDekho's vision of empowering the nation's higher education system through a tech-enabled college guidance and enrolment platform besides helping Universities and Colleges in India offer future-skill oriented degrees under its CollegeDekho Assured offering. It aims to identify and address key pain points using robust data analytics and a student-centric approach, setting new benchmarks in this space.

Commenting on the report launch, Ruchir Arora, CEO and Co-Founder of CollegeDekho said "The HEART report originates from the core of CollegeDekho's vision to empower the future of India's youth by providing a stable and end-to-end support system for higher educational needs. With over 52.4% internet penetration benefiting more than 750 million Indians, digital empowerment is transforming access to college guidance for higher education. We are privileged to serve the nation through our discovery, guidance, enrolment, and learning ecosystem. Our efforts are directed towards bridging the gap between aspirations and opportunities. The report explores trends that could help shape policies and products to drive higher Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) and outcome-oriented higher education, fostering a brighter future for India and its citizens. Our goal is to unlock the full potential of India's youth and contribute to a brighter tomorrow by being a data and tech-driven catalyst of change."

HEART report highlights:

Positive trends on Higher education landscape in India:

• Positive Trends in Higher Education Infrastructure: Encouragingly, the last five years have shown an improvement in India's higher education ecosystem, with the more populous states beginning to establish a more appropriate number of Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs). This progress signifies the seeds of a more balanced educational infrastructure being sown.
• Trends in Migration for Higher Education in India: There has been a significant increase in the number of students preferring to stay within their state for higher education (Intra-state migration), rising from 31% to 42% over the past three years. Inter-state migration among digitally enabled students has declined from 36% to 28%, due to well-established private universities and expanding higher education ecosystems in states like Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.

Trends highlighting challenges in higher education in India

• College Penetration in India: India has over 54,000 colleges and universities spread across its 28 states and 8 union territories. However, the distribution of these institutions is not always aligned with population density, leading to disparities in higher education infrastructure.
• College Density vs Population: Compared to the United States, which has one college for every 7,750 people, India has one college for every 3,240 people. However, college density varies significantly at the state and district levels. Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of colleges, while Bihar and West Bengal lag despite their substantial youth populations.
• Lack of awareness caused by lack of guidance is still an issue: Contrary to expectations, despite greater internet penetration, India's youth are not predominantly searching for job-oriented courses and still seeking safety. The HEART report reveals that 'Education' is the top searched stream among digitally empowered students but "IT" and "Science" following at 2^nd and 3^rd respectively

Course selection trends:

• Digital enablement drives Career orientation: For digitally enabled enrolments, there is significant preference for Technology (BTech) and Management (MBA) degrees built and continuing. This contrasts with overall enrolments where Commerce and Humanities are more prevalent.
• Staying ahead of job market trends: While Computer Science courses continue to lead the graph by a huge margin, reflecting its continued popularity and the high demand for tech professionals in the digital age. Civil Engineering is making a notable comeback, mirroring India's focus on infrastructure and logistics development as part of its ambitions to become a top 3 economy in the world.
• Rapid Growth in Nursing: Nursing, while being a niche specialization, ranks 2^nd and is growing rapidly. This surge is also fuelled by the Government of India's push for Nursing Colleges and efforts to mainstream the profession which also offers the potential to work abroad and send remittances back to the country.

CollegeDekho remains committed to guiding students to the right colleges and helping educational institutions enhance their offerings, building a better future for the country. Through the HEART report, by fostering dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders, CollegeDekho aims to shape a future where every student in India can access high-quality education and realize their full potential.

To read the whole report, please visit https://bit.ly/3RqHEZK