A Centre for Policy Research in Higher Education (CPRHE) has been set up recently in Delhi as a constituent unit of the National University of Educational Planning and Administration.
The proposal for setting up the CPRHE was mooted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) in recognition of the need for ushering reforms in the higher education sector through a long-term perspective and a consistent policy framework supported by planning at the systemic and institutional levels. The CPRHE is operating in close collaboration with the Dept of Higher Education, University Grants Commission and Planning Commission.
The setting up of the CPRHE is in the backdrop of a considerable expansion in the Indian higher education system, which, with over 46,000 institutions and enrollment of nearly 26 million students, is the second largest in the world after China. The challenge for the higher education sector is to expand the system, on the one hand, while achieving excellence and global standards on the other.
The main objective of the CPRHE is to institutionalise the kind of research that will shape sound policy making in higher education, factoring in the complex dynamics involved. The CPRHE is engaged in higher education policy research focusing on the current national priorities in the four inter-related areas of expanding and improving the provision of higher education and increasing efficiency and effectiveness of governance and management.