The eighth edition of CII ASHE report -- Annual Status of Higher Education in States and Union Territories of India -- was released at CII Education Summit on Thursday. The uniqueness of this report is that it provides educational profiles of each state and UT separately which are mapped against their demographics and the number of educational institutions. The report relies on data on number of higher education institutions and student enrolments from Ministry of Human Resource Development’s All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE). The ministry’s annual AISHE report presents a national level picture while CII ASHE report provides a value-added picture from individual state’s perspective.

CII conceptualized this report in 2012 and came out with its first edition then in partnership with the Planning Commission (Now Niti Aayog). The 2019 ASHE report is also divided into two sections – part 1 provides commentary on major developments in higher education space in the year and part 2 gives a national level overview as well as profiles of states.
Part 1 of this year’s CII ASHE report contains two chapters – one on the fourth industrial revolution and the future of Indian higher education and second on the profiles of states.

The chapter on fourth industrial revolution or industry 4.0 as it is popularly referred to as cites WEF’s Future of Jobs report which envisages that 65 per cent of children entering primary school today will ultimately end up working in completely new job types that don’t yet exist. In such a rapidly evolving employment landscape, it says, the ability to anticipate and prepare for future skills and expertise requirements is critical for the education system. 

Commenting on the report, Mr Sunil Munjal, Chairman of CII Education Council said, “I am happy that ASHE 2019 takes a look at the draft education policy and provides a commentary on important areas. This report continues to be an important document for policy makers at the Central as well as at the state level.”

Partner at Deloitte India, Mr Anindya Malick said, “The education system will need to transform in terms of course curriculum design, pedagogy to meet the challenges of the future of workplace as well as the aspirations of youth entering the education system.”

18 November 2019 

New Delhi