As many as 90 government colleges closed down in 2023-24 across Karnataka. In 2022-23, there were 701 government colleges in the State, which decreased to 611 in 2023-24, according to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) report.
The Union Ministry of Education has released the AISHE report for 2022-23 and 2023-24 recently. According to the report, in 2022-23, there were 4,220 colleges, including 3,035 private, 484 aided, and 701 government colleges. In 2023-24, there were 4,280 colleges, including 3,175 private colleges, 494 aided, and 611 government colleges.
GER up
The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in Karnataka increased by 3.7% and 2.3% in 2022-23 and 2023-24 respectively – from 36.2% to 39.6% in 2022-23 and to 41.9% in 2023-24.
The GER was 28.4% in 2021-22, 27.3% in 2020-21, 24.6% in the year 2017-18% and in 2014-15, it was 23.7%.
In 2022-23, the States/Union Territories with highest GER were Puducherry (64.0%), Chandigarh (61.7%), Delhi (55.7%), Tamil Nadu (49.1%), Himachal Pradesh (44.1%), Uttarakhand (43.3%), Telangana (42.7%), Karnataka (39.6%) and Kerala (39.1%).
The States with the highest GER in the year 2023-24 were Tamil Nadu (52.3%), Delhi (53.0%), Uttarakhand (48.5%), Telangana (46.6%), Himachal Pradesh (46.4%), Sikkim (42.5%) and Karnataka (41.9%).
The female GER increased in Karnataka from 28.5% to 39.9% in 2023-24 and to 42.8% in 2023-24.
The GER of Schedule Caste (SC) and Schedule Tribe (ST) students in higher educational institutions also increased by 4% and 4.7% respectively for the years 2022-23 and 2023-24. In 2021-22, the SC/ST students GER was 31.2% and 30.5% and in 2023-24, it was 32.5% and 33.3% respectively.
Student enrolment
In terms of student enrolment, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka are in the top. They constitute 52.8% of the total student enrolment in the year 2022-23.
The top seven States in terms of student enrolment are Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar and Rajasthan. They constitute 59.0% of the total student enrolment in the year 2023-24.
Number of colleges
Karnataka ranked third in the country in terms of the number of colleges, with 4,524 colleges in 2022-23 and 4,529 in 2023-24. Uttar Pradesh had the highest number of colleges, followed by Maharashtra. Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana, and West Bengal also figured among the top States in both years.
Density of colleges
Since 2017-18, Karnataka has reported the highest college density in the country. In the latest survey, it recorded 66 colleges per lakh population. The figure was 51 in 2017-18, 53 in 2018-19, 59 in 2019-20, 62 colleges in 2020-21, 68 in 2022-23, and 69 in 2023-24.
Speaking to The Hindu, K.R. Venugopal, former Vice-Chancellor of Bangalore University, said, “If the GER increases, the number of colleges should also increase. However, the closure of government colleges is a serious issue. The State government is not providing adequate financial assistance to higher education. The lack of permanent faculty and basic facilities is making students hesitant to join government colleges. Most students in government colleges come from economically and socially disadvantaged backgrounds.”
Most colleges in Bengaluru
Bengaluru Urban district has maximum number of colleges across the country. The district had 1,107 colleges in 2022-23, followed by Jaipur 664, Pune 505, Hyderabad 485, Prayagraj 387, Nagpur 374, Rangareddi 354, and Ghazipur 339. It also had the maximum number of colleges with 1,148 in 2023-24, followed by Jaipur 742.
Published – July 10, 2026 12:54 am IST
