Higher Education and Sustainable Development in Uttarakhand

The description of Higher Education can be found in the primitive literature of Vedic India. In India, the Higher Education flourished and developed along with the time. The temples of Higher Education in India play an important role in shaping the development of the society as well as the economic development of the nation. Ancient India had realised the importance of Higher Education right from the Vedic age, but with the invasion and foreign attack and skirmish the traditional foundation of Higher Education got disturbed and destroyed. By the end of 17th century, the indigenous system of Higher Education was on the verge of extension. British took initiatives to revive the system of Higher Education in India, but this had both positive as well as negative impact on the traditional Higher Education. The traditional indigenous system suffered heavy loss as the new system which was being introduced benefited only that section of the society which served the English government. Higher Education in Uttarakhand was established on July, 2001. At the time of the establishment of Directorate there were only 34 government degree colleges. At present, there are 28 Universities, 7 Institutions of National importance, 1 Central University, 11 State Universities, 3 Deemed Universities and 14 Private Universities. According to the AISHE report (2016-2017) there are 33815947 students enrolled in Higher Education in India, out of those 380654 students belongs to Uttarakhand which is only 1.125%. This research paper discusses the quality assessment and possibilities of Higher Education in Uttarakhand. It examines both governmental as well as individual solution to the prevailing problems faced by the state in Higher Education. This research paper then discusses the argument that targets the incompetence of Higher Education system of Uttarakhand in producing quality research. Further it discusses the role of Higher Education in sustainable development in Uttarakhand.