Private Universities' Participation in Open and Distance Learning for Enhanced Access to Higher Education Among Underserved in India

2. History And Development Of Higher Education

With its internationally renowned centres of higher learning like Nalanda and Takshshila, Vikramskila (Bihar), Vallabhi (Kathiawad), Kanchi (Tamilnadu) and Nadia (Banal) India has a rich history of Higher Education. The systems of higher education were quite well developed even in ancient India in the form of Gurukuls. However, such systems were largely based on human urge for religious enlightenment and served the educational pursuits of a very privileged section of the society. Modern systems of Higher Education largely geared up by the economic policies of the Government have their roots in the colonial and post colonial period. The successive five year plans of the Government have influenced the growth of Higher Education in India. As the forces of globalisation are shaping the policies of national economies across the world, Indian higher education has been reorienting its policies to be internationally competitive.

During the British regime, the period 1835-1852 is marked by a few colleges in different places in the country including colleges of engineering and medicine. University at Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras have been established in 1857. The first Indian education commission under W.W. Hunter’s Chairmanship was constituted to deal various aspect of education including university education. After the education policy of 1913, almost all provinces were blessed with Universities. Banaras Hindu University in 1916 and Mohammedan Anglo Oriental College at Aligarh in 1920 now popularly known as Aligarh Muslim University were the first in the country to be established in tune with the needs of modern education. Later on, university also started functioning at Mysore, Hyderabad and Patna.