Etiology of rural exclusion in higher education: A case of Punjab

The Indian education sector witnessed phenomenal changes during the last decade. The most noticeable development occurred in the sphere of higher education. Presently, there are eleven universities, 232 general colleges and 475 professional colleges in Punjab as compared to 1991, when there were only four universities and 199 professional colleges. The number of students in these institutions has increased. Today, 318301 students are enrolled in higher education. However, it is unfortunate that rural students are not visible in these institutions. The present paper is an attempt to identify factors responsible for the rural exclusion in higher education. The findings are based on the secondary data as well as the group discussions with villagers of Ludhiana district. The poor quality of education and hefty fee structure of higher educational institutes emerged as the main factors of rural exclusion in higher education while other factors are only the upshots of the main factors. It is suggested that improvement in the school education system by bringing about some structural changes as well as revisiting the policy for higher education is must for the inclusion of rural students in higher education.