Deepak Nayyar, Emeritus Professor of Economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said on Wednesday that India’s higher education system is in crisis because of political interference, underfunding and lack of autonomy.
Speaking at the BG Deshmukh Memorial Lecture 2025 in New Delhi, Nayyar also criticised the University Grants Commission (UGC), saying it has stripped institutions of independence and imposed “one-size-fits-all” regulations that stifle excellence and diversity.
“The fortunate few who do well in the Class 12 examinations take up limited seats in public universities. Most others make do with expensive, low-quality private institutions. And a growing number now simply go abroad,” he said, noting that nearly $27 billion was spent by Indian students overseas in 2023 alone, roughly equal to India’s foreign exchange earnings from tourism.
“It is no accident our universities have not produced any Nobel laureates. And I think they never will in the next 25 years, the way we are going,” he said.
Nayyar argued that without high-quality education and research, India risks falling into the “middle-income trap” that has afflicted many Latin American and Asian economies. “India has the potential to attain upper-middle-income status by 2035, but reaching high-income status by 2047 is close to negligible unless higher education is transformed,” he said.
Nayyar emphasised an urgent need to restore autonomy, encourage academic freedom, and overhaul governance structures if universities are to reclaim their role in nation-building.
