SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has 184 government colleges, according to the latest All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2023-24 data tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, placing the Union Territory among the states and UTs with a significant public higher education network.
Replying to an unstarred question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Education Dr Sukanta Majumdar said the country currently has 7,944 government colleges, including government degree colleges, as per AISHE 2023-24. Jammu and Kashmir accounts for 184 of these institutions, while neighbouring Ladakh has six government colleges.
The minister said higher education is a subject in the Concurrent List and that most higher education institutions are managed by state governments. He added that the Centre and states are jointly working to improve higher education infrastructure, particularly in underserved and disadvantaged regions.
The government informed Parliament that the total number of registered higher education institutions in the country has increased from 51,534 in 2014-15 to 64,756 in 2023-24, while enrolment has risen from 3.4 crore to nearly 4.5 crore during the same period.
It also highlighted that the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) has been restructured as the Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA), with an outlay of ₹12,926.10 crore for 2023-24 to 2025-26. The scheme has since been extended until March 31, 2028, with priority given to educationally underserved districts for infrastructure development, including hostels, laboratories, smart classrooms and academic buildings.
In a development significant for Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre also noted that the Union Budget has approved expansion of academic and infrastructure capacity, including the creation of a Research Park at IIT Jammu as part of a ₹11,828.79-crore initiative covering five newer IITs. The project is expected to support additional student capacity across these institutions.
