India, March 7 -- On the surface, a college education is a nice concept. Students pick the subjects they love, learn from the experts and emerge job-ready and future-perfect, armed with relevant degrees. This academic culture also gels well with the higher education landscape in India. The country's higher education system ranks among the largest globally, and its gross enrolment ratio (GER) for the 18-23 age group stood at 28.4%.

According to the Economic Survey 2024-25, India serves 24.8 Cr school students, a near-universal GER at the primary level (around 93%). But the number significantly drops when one goes up the academic ladder (77.4% and 56.2% at the secondary and the higher secondary levels, respectively). While the government p...