IIT Madras director warns: at 30% enrolment, India must reach 50% by 2035
By TUF News Desk · Published 26 October 2026 · 3 min read
Fact-checked against 2+ independent sources · Editorial policy
Only three in ten young Indians are enrolled in higher education. That 30% figure was the starting point for a warning from Indian Institute of Technology Madras director V Kamakoti at an event in Nagpur on Monday: if the ratio does not rise over the next decade, India could end up among the most uneducated countries in the world.
Kamakoti said India has the largest population in the 15 to 35 age group, and that inadequate access to quality education remains a major concern. The National Education Policy sets a target of raising the gross enrolment ratio to 50% by 2035. Kamakoti added that citizens must also contribute, alongside government policy, to reaching that goal.
The numbers behind the warning
The official data comes from the All India Survey on Higher Education, run by the Ministry of Education. Enrolment rose from 3.42 crore in 2014-15 to 4.50 crore in 2023-24, a rise of 31.5%. Over the same period the gross enrolment ratio moved from 23.7% to 30%.
In plain terms, the ratio is the share of young people in the college-going age group who are actually enrolled. At 30%, seven in ten are not.
The system itself has grown fast. Universities increased from 760 to 1,289 in a decade, and colleges from 38,498 to 48,246. Female enrolment grew from 1.57 crore to 2.24 crore, faster than overall enrolment, and the gender parity index improved from 0.92 to 1.08.
What IIT Madras is doing
Kamakoti also spoke about the institute’s own work. IIT Madras began developing indigenous microprocessors in 2012 and booted its first processor on 21 September 2021. He said news of another processor being booted reached him just before he arrived in Nagpur.
With the Tamil Nadu government, the institute is setting up a semiconductor training centre for chip design and packaging. Training will cover engineering graduates and diploma holders. More about the institute is published on the official IIT Madras website.
At a scholarship event in Chennai this week, Kamakoti made a related point about reach: getting to 50% will need students in villages to hear about scholarships and financial help. Twenty students from construction worker families, each from a household earning under 6 lakh a year, received scholarships covering education costs up to 1 lakh a year, along with free laptops.
What it means for students
For students, the practical point is scale. The system added 529 universities and 9,748 colleges in a decade. Students comparing institutes can use our guide to choosing a university in India to weigh programmes, intake and placement records, and our guide to scholarships for Indian university students covers funding routes for students who need them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the gross enrolment ratio?
It is the share of young people in the college-going age group who are enrolled in higher education. In India it stood at 30% in 2023-24.
What is the 50% by 2035 target?
It is the National Education Policy target for the gross enrolment ratio: half of young people in higher education by 2035.
Why did the IIT Madras director raise this warning?
Speaking in Nagpur, V Kamakoti said India has the largest population aged 15 to 35, and warned that without better access to quality education the country could end up among the most uneducated countries.
How much has higher education grown in a decade?
Enrolment rose from 3.42 crore to 4.50 crore between 2014-15 and 2023-24, universities from 760 to 1,289, and colleges from 38,498 to 48,246.
Frequently asked questions
What is the gross enrolment ratio?
It is the share of young people in the college-going age group who are enrolled in higher education. In India it stood at 30% in 2023-24.
What is the 50% by 2035 target?
It is the National Education Policy target for the gross enrolment ratio: half of young people in higher education by 2035.
Why did the IIT Madras director raise this warning?
Speaking in Nagpur, V Kamakoti said India has the largest population aged 15 to 35, and warned that without better access to quality education the country could end up among the most uneducated countries.
How much has higher education grown in a decade?
Enrolment rose from 3.42 crore to 4.50 crore between 2014-15 and 2023-24, universities from 760 to 1,289, and colleges from 38,498 to 48,246.
Sources: ET Education, IANS, The Hindu BusinessLine