Issues and challenges of affiliation system in Indian higher education

The paper explores the issues and challenges of the affiliation system in Indian higher education system. India has the one of the largest system of higher education in the world with 33,023 institutes (UGC,2012) compared with 6,742 in the US and 4,297 in China(FICCI, E&Y Report, 2011). However in terms of quality only one Indian university, IIT Bombay (317^th rank) appear in top 400 universities of the world according to Times Higher Education 2012. Several committees and experts have argued that affiliation system needs to be reformed to reduce the burden on affiliating universities and improve quality. Reforming affiliation system requires an alternative which promotes autonomy, innovation, and better management. The paper concludes with recommendations for promoting clusters, information and communication technology (ICT), reducing political influence, autonomous colleges and streamlining regulatory framework.