10F Higher Education Institutions

Higher Education in India (1784–1947) and developments in independent India.

• 1784: Asiatic Society of Bengal

  • Location: Calcutta
  • Founder: Sir William Jones

• 1800: Fort William College

  • Location: Calcutta
  • Founder: Lord Wellesley

• 1817: Hindu College

  • Location: Calcutta
  • Founders: Raja Ram Mohan Roy, David Hare

• 1818: Serampore College

  • Location: Serampore (Bengal)
  • Founders: William Carey, Ward, Marshman

• 1822: Anglo-Hindu College

  • Location: Calcutta
  • Founders: Raja Ram Mohan Roy, David Hare

• 1825: Vedanta College

  • Location: Calcutta
  • Founder: Raja Ram Mohan Roy

• 1828: Academic Association

  • Location: Calcutta
  • Founder: Henry Vivian Derozio

• 1830: Scottish Church College

  • Location: Calcutta
  • Founder: Alexander Duff

• 1835: Medical College, Calcutta

  • Location: Calcutta
  • Founder: British Government

• 1836: Kalakshetra (Kala Bhavan)

  • Location: Santiniketan
  • Founder: Rabindranath Tagore

• 1840: Deccan Education Society

  • Location: Pune
  • Founders: Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, Tilak

• 1840: Tattvabodhini Pathshala

  • Location: Calcutta
  • Founder: Debendranath Tagore

• 1847: Thomason Civil Engineering College (IIT Roorkee)

  • Location: Roorkee
  • Founder: British Government

• 1880: New English School

  • Location: Pune
  • Founders: Tilak, Agarkar

• 1881: St. Stephen’s College

  • Location: Delhi
  • Founder: Cambridge Mission

• 1882: Punjab University

  • Location: Lahore
  • Founder: British Government

• 1885: Fergusson College

  • Location: Pune
  • Founders: Dr. Ranjan, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Agarkar

• 1886: Dayanand Anglo Vedic College

  • Location: Lahore
  • Founders: Lala Hans Raj, Arya Samaj

• 1887: Nizam College

  • Location: Hyderabad
  • Founder: Nizam's Protection

• 1887: Allahabad University

  • Location: Prayagraj
  • Founder: British Government

• 1900: Christian Medical College

  • Location: Vellore
  • Founder: Dr. Ida Scudder

• 1901: Shantiniketan (Brahmacharya Ashram → Visva Bharati)

  • Location: Santiniketan
  • Founder: Rabindranath Tagore

• 1906: Jadavpur University (National Council of Education)

  • Location: Calcutta
  • Founders: Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray, Aurobindo Ghosh

• 1906: Bengal Technical Institute (now part of Jadavpur Univ.)

  • Location: Calcutta
  • Founder: Indian National Education Council

• 1909: Indian Institute of Science (IISc)

  • Location: Bengaluru
  • Founders: Jamsetji Tata, Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV

• 1916: Mysore University

  • Location: Mysore
  • Founders: Maharaja Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV, Visvesvaraya

• 1916: Banaras Hindu University (BHU)

  • Location: Varanasi
  • Founder: Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya

• 1916: SNDT Women’s University

  • Location: Mumbai
  • Founder: Dhondo Keshav Karve

• 1917: Patna University

  • Location: Patna
  • Founder: British Government

• 1918: Osmania University

  • Location: Hyderabad
  • Founder: Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan

• 1918: Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha

  • Location: Madras
  • Founder: Mahatma Gandhi

• 1920: Aligarh Muslim University (AMU)

  • Location: Aligarh
  • Founder: Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (from MAO College)

• 1920: Rangoon University

  • Location: Rangoon (Myanmar)
  • Founder: British Government

• 1920: Jamia Millia Islamia

  • Location: Aligarh/Delhi
  • Founders: Hakim Ajmal Khan, Mohammad Ali Jauhar

• 1921: Visva-Bharati University

  • Location: Santiniketan
  • Founder: Rabindranath Tagore

• 1921: Lucknow University

  • Location: Lucknow
  • Founder: Raja Sir Mohammad Ali Mohammad Khan

• 1921: Kashi Vidyapeeth

  • Location: Varanasi
  • Founder: Shiv Prasad Gupta

• 1921: Dhaka University

  • Location: Dhaka (Bangladesh)
  • Founder: British Government

• 1922: Delhi University

  • Location: Delhi
  • Founder: British Government

• 1923: Nagpur University

  • Location: Nagpur
  • Founder: British Government

• 1925: Loyola College

  • Location: Chennai
  • Founder: Society of Jesus (Jesuits)

• 1926: Andhra University

  • Location: Visakhapatnam
  • Founder: British Government

• 1927: Agra University (now Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University)

  • Location: Agra
  • Founder: British Government

• 1929: Annamalai University

  • Location: Chidambaram
  • Founder: Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiar

• 1930: Bengal Engineering College (now IIEST)

  • Location: Howrah
  • Founder: British Government

• 1937: Travancore University (now Kerala University)

  • Location: Thiruvananthapuram
  • Founder: Maharaja Sree Chithira Thirunal

• 1938: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

  • Location: Mumbai
  • Founder: K. M. Munshi

• 1943: Utkal University

  • Location: Bhubaneswar
  • Founder: British Government

• 1944: Bharatiya Jnanpith

  • Location: Varanasi
  • Founder: Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain

• 1945: Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR)

  • Location: Mumbai
  • Founders: Homi J. Bhabha, Tata Trust

• 1945: All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)

  • Location: Delhi
  • Founder: British Government

• 1947: East Punjab University

  • Location: Chandigarh/Lahore Partition
  • Founder: British Government

• 1947: Rajputana University (now Rajasthan University)

  • Location: Jaipur
  • Founder: Rajputana States

• 1864: Reid Christian College

  • Location: Lucknow
  • Founder: Church Missionary Society (CMS)

• 1886: Forman Christian College (Common College)

  • Location: Lahore
  • Founder: Dr. Charles W. Forman

• 1872: Muir Central College

  • Location: Allahabad
  • Founder: William Muir (Lt. Governor)

• 1875: Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College (later AMU)

  • Location: Aligarh
  • Founder: Sir Syed Ahmad Khan

• 1932: Lady Irwin College

  • Location: Delhi
  • Founder: Lady Irwin (wife of Viceroy Lord Irwin)

Development of Higher Education and Research Institutions in Independent India

• After independence, the Government of India considered education as the backbone of nation-building. The expansion of higher education was not confined to degree-granting universities but was integrated with science, technology, agriculture, and industrial development. Various commissions were set up, new universities were established, and research institutions grew rapidly.

• 1948–49: University Education Commission

  • Chairman: Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
  • Main Objectives:
    • Evaluation of the quality of university education
    • Promotion of research and innovation
    • Education enriched with Indian culture and national spirit
    • Improvement in teacher-student relationships
    • Emphasis on moral and value-based education
  • Major Recommendations:
    • Universities should be granted academic autonomy
    • Promotion of research and experimental work in education
    • Undergraduate education in colleges and postgraduate education in universities
    • Special emphasis on women’s and vocational education
    • Establishment of a national funding body (→ led to creation of UGC in 1953)
    • The objective of universities should be to prepare responsible and capable citizens
    • Teacher recruitment process and adequate pay must be ensured
    • Admission to universities should be based on the standard of Intermediate examination
    • Medium of instruction: Higher education should use federal language (English/Hindi) along with regional languages

• 1952–53: Secondary Education Commission (Mudaliar Commission)

  • Chairman: Dr. A. Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar
  • Main Objectives:
    • Evaluate defects in secondary education
    • Make education more practical, useful, and life-oriented
    • Develop democratic outlook and sense of responsibility in students
  • Major Recommendations:
    • Secondary education should be for children aged 11 to 17 years
    • Curriculum should be diversified and flexible according to students’ interests and abilities
    • Vocational education should be introduced at secondary level
    • Focus on both general and specialized education
    • Emphasis on co-curricular activities such as NCC, sports, music, and arts
    • Improvement in teacher training and service conditions
    • Education should not be exam-oriented only but should focus on character-building and responsible citizenship
    • Craft should be made a compulsory subject in village schools
    • Recommendation to start a 3-year degree course
    • Secondary education should extend up to Class 11
    • Class 12 should be merged into the first degree course at the university
    • Recommendation to open vocational training centers and technical schools and colleges

• 1953: University Grants Commission (UGC)

  • Main Objectives & Functions:
    • Provide financial assistance to universities and higher education institutions
    • Maintain and improve the quality of education in universities
    • Promote research and innovation
    • Set and enforce academic standards
    • Formulate national-level plans and policies for higher education

• 1956: University Grants Commission (UGC)

  • Details: In 1956, UGC was given statutory powers through an Act of Parliament. UGC received the authority to grant funds to universities and set standards for higher education.
  • Education Minister: Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
  • First Chairman: Dr. Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar
  • Objective of UGC:
    • Maintain and improve the quality of education in universities
    • Promote research and innovation
    • Formulate national-level plans and policies for higher education

• 1958: Durgabai Deshmukh Committee

  • Main Objectives & Recommendations:
    • Give priority to women’s education and make education an effective means of women’s empowerment
    • Open special schools and colleges for women in rural and urban areas
    • Ensure flexibility and practicality in medium and curriculum to enhance learning capacity
    • Increase the number of women teachers and ensure proper training
    • Formulate plans to remove social and economic barriers to women’s education
    • Under the chairmanship of Durgabai Deshmukh, the National Council for Women was established in 1985
    • Priority should be given to ensuring educational equality between boys and girls

• 1961: Emotional Integration Committee (Bhavanatmak Ekta Committee)

  • Chairman: Dr. Sampurnanand
  • Main Objectives:
    • Promote national unity and emotional harmony
    • Develop moral and emotional integration among students in schools and higher education institutions
    • Emphasize equality, brotherhood, and social harmony in educational programs
    • Strengthen national integration while respecting linguistic, cultural, and regional diversities
    • Recommended the introduction of school uniforms
    • Ensure the maintenance of discipline standards in schools and educational institutions

• 1961: National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)

  • Main Objectives & Recommendations:
    • Ensure research and curriculum development in education across India
    • Develop textbooks, teaching materials, and teaching methods for schools
    • Promote teacher training and professional development
    • Provide guidance and advice for educational reforms and new education policies
    • Improve the quality of education at national and state levels
    • This committee was established by the National Council for Women’s Education

• 1962: Hansa Mehta Committee

  • Chairman: Hansa Mehta
  • Main Objectives & Recommendations:
    • Evaluate policies and programs for women’s education and empowerment
    • Ensure equal educational opportunities for girls and women
    • Suggest measures to increase women’s participation in schools and universities
    • Recommend increasing the number of women teachers and their training
    • Formulate plans to remove social and economic barriers to women’s education
    • Integrate the importance of women’s education into the national education policy
    • Adequate representation of women should be ensured in textbook committees
    • Girls should be provided facilities like scholarships, travel allowance, and stipend

• 1963: Bhakt Vatsal Committee

  • Chairman: Dr. Bhakt Vatsal
  • Main Objectives & Recommendations:
    • Promote women’s education by providing schools and educational materials in rural and urban areas
    • State governments should increase public awareness about women’s education
    • Establish pre-primary education facilities
    • Increase the number of women teachers in primary schools

• 1964: Kothari Commission / National Education Commission (Kothari Committee)

  • Chairman: Dr. D. S. Kothari (Current Chairman – UGC)
  • Established: 1964 | Duration: 1964–1966
  • Report Title: "Education and National Development: Report of the Education Commission 1964–66"
  • Four Main Themes:
    • Increase in Productivity: Utilize education as an effective tool for national development
    • Promoting Social and National Integration: Promote equality and understanding among different castes, religions, and languages
    • Education and Modernization: Promote science, technology, and vocational education
    • Developing Social, Moral, and Spiritual Values: Promote social responsibility, ethics, and spirituality among students
  • Key Recommendations:
    • Standardize the education system across the country into a 10+2+3 pattern
    • Make education free and compulsory up to the age of 6 to 14 (A-21A & DPSP-A=45)
    • Extend the duration of teacher training and improve their socio-economic status
    • Integrate work experience, social service, and value education into the curriculum
    • Establish special schools and hostels for women’s education
    • Spend 6% of GDP on education (currently about 4%)
    • Central government should review education every 5 years and provide development guidelines
    • Prepare a National Education Policy (NEP)
    • Enact State Education Act in each state
    • Make degree courses 3 years and general courses 4 years long
    • Establish an Indian Education Service for administration of education
    • Give more powers to CABE (Central Advisory Board of Education)
    • Establish an Education Department in every university
    • Promote literacy and productive education for democracy and employment programs
    • Provide educational facilities for differently-abled children
    • Promote social integration and national unity through the school system without affecting minors’ rights under A-30
    • Promote research and development (R&D)
    • The Kothari Commission (1964–66) recommended the Three Language Formula, adopted in the National Education Policy 1968, to promote national integration, respect linguistic and cultural diversity, and prepare students for global communication
    • Make greater efforts to promote education among backward classes, especially tribal communities

• Three Language Formula- 1968:

  • First Language: Mother tongue or regional language
  • Second Language: Hindi or another Indian language
  • Third Language: English or any other modern foreign language
  • Objectives:
    • Promote national integration
    • Respect linguistic and cultural diversity
    • Prepare students for global communication