A social media post that claims that India tops the list of countries with the most universities is being widely circulated. The post puts India on top of the list with 5288 universities, followed by USA & Indonesia. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: India with 5288 tops the list of countries with most universities.
Fact: As per the UGC, there are a total of 1078 universities in the country. Further, according to the All-India Survey on Higher Education 2020-21, there are totally 1,113 Universities/ University like institutions in the country registered under AISHE. The viral data is mostly collected from Webometrics ranking of World Universities in its June 2021 edition. The methodology of this analysis by webometrics is questionable, as it involves the online presence of a university and its content. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Webometrics Ranking of World Universities :
Webometrics ranking of World Universities in its June 2021 edition listed countries based on the number of universities. As per the website, ‘Webometrics Ranking of World Universities, is an initiative of the Cybermetrics Lab, a research group belonging to the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), the largest public research body in Spain.’
This list categorizes universities in a country based on their world rankings. With 56 universities in the top 100, the USA tops the list. Though India did not find any mention under the top 500 universities, as per the list, the total number of universities in the country stands at 5288.
Most likely, the viral list of countries with the most universities could have been from this list. Because, according to these rankings, the total number of universities in India stands at 5288, followed by the USA (3216) & Indonesia (2595).
However, it is unclear as to how the survey concluded the total number of universities in India. The methodology of this analysis by webometrics is questionable, as it involves the online presence of a university and its content.
What does the UGC data say?
According to University Grants Commission, as on 31 March 2023, there is a total of 1078 universities in the country out of which 464 are State Public universities, 128 are Deemed to be universities, 54 are Central Universities & 432 are State Private Universities.
Further, there are 398 such universities that fall under section 12(B) of The University Grants Commission Act, 1956. This section deals with the prohibition of certain universities with respect to receiving grants, declared fit by the Commission receive such grants.
AISHE 2020-21:
Even according to the Department of Higher Education, the total number of universities in the country is not as high as claimed in the viral post. According to the All-India Survey on Higher Education 2020-21, there are a total of 1,113 Universities/ University like institutions in the country registered under AISHE.
Further, there is no representation of Indian institutions amongst the global top 100, in the QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) ranking of world universities for the year 2023. Indian Institute of Science with global rank of 155 is the top Indian institute to feature in the list. Following IISc are the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and IIT Delhi securing the 172nd and 174th positions globally.
To sum it up, according to University Grants Commission, there are total of 1078 universities in the country.
