Education

India - Education overview

Country profile

• The Indian government has allocated 124638 crore for educational expenditure in 2024-25. 
• According to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2020-2021, India’s higher education system comprised approximately 56,000 institutions, including more than 1,100 universities, 43,8700 colleges and 11,200 stand-alone institutions. The system enrolled 41 million students in 2020-21, increased from 38.5 million in 2019-20. India’s higher education system is one of the largest in the world.
• According to Educational Statistics at a Glance, India’s school education system comprised over 1.5 million schools in 2015-2016. While universal participation has been achieved at the primary school level, the GER in senior secondary school was 56% in 2015-2016. By 2018, the system enrolled 250 million students, making it one of the largest in the world.
• India’s formal skills development sector is, by contrast, much smaller, notwithstanding efforts to incorporate vocational education and entrepreneurship skill development into school and higher education. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship reports that 2.2% of India’s 15-59 year olds had received formal vocational training, and 8.6% had received non-formal vocational training by 2011-2012.

Policies and Initiatives

• The National Education Policy 2020 (NEP) is a comprehensive framework which aims to transform India’s school and higher education system by 2040. As aspects of the NEP are progressively being implemented over the period 2020-2040, reforms will impact India’s school and higher education system in governance, structure, funding, size, teaching, research and outcomes.
• With the intent of catalysing research across India, the Government of India is establishing a National Research Foundation. Existing Government of India research schemes include the Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC) which facilitates international collaborations, the Scheme for Transformational and Advanced Research in Sciences (STARS), the Scheme for Trans-disciplinary Research for India’s Developing Economy (STRIDE), and the Impacting Research Innovation and Technology (IMPRINT) program. The Global Initiative for Academic Networks (GIAN) attracts international talent to India for teaching-related collaborations, and in doing so, create avenues for possible research collaboration.
• India’s skills development agenda reflects a range of policy developments, most notably including the National Skills Development Mission, the National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship launched in 2015, and the National Skill Development Policy of 2009.
• The Government of India launched an India Report Digital Education in June 2020 identifying key remote learning initiatives in the school and higher education sectors. Across India, learning technology-related initiatives include the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT), the Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA), the National Digital Library of India, and the SWAYAM MOOCs portal, amongst others. Remote learning is also facilitated by education-focused TV channels (e.g., Swayam Prabha) and radio broadcasting.
• Issues of education access, equity and equality are being supported by schemes including Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) (program for transformational rural development), Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) (a scheme enabling education for girls), National Means-cum-merit Scholarship Scheme, the Samagra Shiksha (Centrally Sponsored Integrated Scheme for School Education) and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009.
• To promote innovation for the manufacturing and design industry, the Government of India introduced several programs, including the Uchchatar Avishkar Yojana and National Initiative for Design Innovation.
   

Governance structure

As education is a shared responsibility under the Indian Constitution, both the central and state governments have authority on education matters. The peak central authority is the Government of India’s Ministry of Education, however, states have education ministries and departments. Other bodies involved in regulating and maintaining education centrally include the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE). The All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) presents statistics regarding the status of higher education and the National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF) was established by the Government of India to rank higher education institutions.

Australia - Education overview

Country profile

• According to the OECD, Australia spent on average 6.2% of GDP on primary to tertiary educational institutions in 2020.
• According to the OECD, the proportion of the population of Australia’s 25-34 year-olds with tertiary education qualifications was 55.9% in 2022.
• Australia’s higher education system comprises 42 universities and 145 non-university higher education providers (NUHEPs). The higher education system (including NUHEPs) enrolled 1.62 million students in 2020, of which 490,000 were international students. According to the World Bank Development Indicators, the GER (Gross Enrolment Ratio) in higher education in Australia was 108% in 2018.
• Australia’s school education system comprised 9,614 schools in 2012, enrolling more than 4 million students.  

Policies and initiatives

• Universal Access to Early Childhood Education, ensures that a quality preschool program is available for all children in the year before full-time school. Various schemes such as the National Early Childhood Development Strategy (2009),  and the English Language Learning for Indigenous Children (ELLIC) have played a significant role in bridging inequalities.
• The Disability Standards for Education 2005, were developed under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, and came into effect in August 2005. The Disability Standards for Education 2005 clarify the obligations of education and training providers, and seek to ensure that students with disability can access and participate in education on the same basis as students without disability.
• The Higher Education Support Act (HESA) 2003 is the primary legislation governing Australia’s universities. The Higher Education Standards Framework provides the basis for the regulation of Australia’s higher education system. The Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) legislative framework governs international education provision.
• The Tuition Protection Service is an initiative of the Australian Government to assist international students and eligible domestic students when education providers are unable to fully deliver their course of study.
• Research funding schemes are administered by the Australian Research Council and National Health and Medical Research Council. The Australian-India Strategic Research Fund (AISRF) supports STEM-focused Australia-India research collaboration. 
• Various skilling and training initiatives support vocational education and training, and encourage partnerships between education and industry.

Governance structure

The Commonwealth Government maintains responsibility for higher education, notwithstanding the role of state and territory governments in establishing enabling legislation for each university (excepting the Australian National University). The states and territories have primary responsibility for school education and vocational education and training. 

The Commonwealth Department of Education is the primary central administrative department for education and training. The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) specifies standards for educational qualifications, while the higher education sector is regulated by the Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency (TEQSA). The vocational education and training sector is regulated by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA).

Bilateral frameworks for cooperation between India and Australia

• A Partnership for the Future – Australia’s Education Strategy for India will guide and strengthen the bilateral education partnership. The strategy sets out a range of different steps Australia will take to deepen its relationship with India, including through closer research partnerships in areas of shared benefit.
• The Australia-India education and research relationship has been recognised as an engagement priority by Australia’s India Economic Strategy, the Foreign Policy White Paper (2017) and the Australian Strategy for International Education.
• The bilateral relationship resulted in a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) in the June 2020 Australia-India Leaders’ Virtual Summit. The CSP identifies education, skills and research as central components of the bilateral relationship.
• The sixth India-Australia Ministerial Dialogue on Education Cooperation between the Honourable Jason Clare, Minister for Education, the Honourable Brendan O’Connor, Minister for Skills and Training, the Government of Australia and the Honourable Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Education and Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, was held in Sydney in 2022.
• The annual Australia India Education and Skills Council meeting (formerly Australia India Education Council) is co-chaired by the Australian and Indian Education ministers. It is the principle platform for bilateral engagement on policy and operational issues across the education, training and research agenda.
• Australia and India signed the first ever Mechanism for the Mutual Recognition of Qualifications between the two countries in 2023. The agreement means that an Indian student can be sure that an Australian University degree will be recognised in India. 
• Australia and India entered into a Migration and Mobility Partnership Arrangement (MMPA) in 2023. The Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early-professionals Scheme, established under the MMPA, enables the temporary mobility of Indian university graduates and early career professionals.
• Universities Australia and the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) renewed their formal partnership to boost bilateral education and research ties in 2023.
• A Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Vocational Education and Training was signed under the auspices of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership agreement in June 2020.
• A Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Australia and the Government of India was signed in 2003 for Cooperation in the fields of Education, Training and Research. The MoU was renewed in 2015 in New Delhi.
• A Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of India and the Government of Australia was signed in 2012 for Cooperation in Student Mobility and Welfare.
• Key bilateral initiatives that promote student and researcher exchange and collaborations include the New Colombo Plan and the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund (AISRF).

Trade and investment opportunity

• The Australia-India Economic Cooperation Trade Agreement (AI ECTA) outlines a number of measures supporting higher education, including the recognition of professional qualifications, licensing, and registration procedures between professional services bodies in both countries.
• The Confederation of Indian Industry has identified opportunities for education cooperation in its Australia Economic Strategy (2020), including greater institutional partnerships and curriculum development.
• The 2019 India Reference Group’s Positioning for Deeper Engagement: A Plan of Action in India welcomes increased education-based collaboration, notably including research collaborations addressing challenges facing both countries.
• The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) have been actively working in the areas of public-private-partnerships in school and higher education, the right to education, accreditation, and improving education quality. In Australia, the Australia India Business Council (AIBC) and the Australia India Chamber of Commerce (AICC) support Australia-India engagement. 

Cooperation and collaborations

• In 2024, Deakin University became the first university in the world to open an international branch campus in India's Gujarat International Finance Tec-city (GIFT City). The University of Wollongong will become the second Australian university to open a campus in India.
• Mapping Higher Education Engagement between Australia and India is a compendium which provides a ‘stocktake’ of the growth and activities through formalised partnerships between Australian and Indian higher education institutions (HEIs).
• In 2022, Deakin University and the Indian Government's Ministry of Education and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship announced a first-of-its-kind government-university-industry partnership.
• The longstanding IITB-Monash Research Academy is recognised as a leading model for joint Australia-India PhDs, and research collaboration more broadly.
• In recent years, similar joint PhD programs have been established including:
  • the IITH and Swinburne University of Technology (IITH-SUT) partnership;
  • the Asian Smart Cities Research Innovation Network (ASCRIN) involving La Trobe University, IIT Kanpur and Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani;
  • Curtin University’s engagements with IITs (Kharagpur, Madras, Guwahati, Kanpur, Dhanbad, Bombay) in Western Australia;
  • the Deakin India Research Initiative (DIRI);
  • the Australia-India Research Centre for Automation Software Engineering (AICAUSE), involving RMIT and the ABB Group; and
  • the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology-Delhi (IIIT-D) and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) collaborative PhD program.
  • The University of Western Australia (UWA) and The Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) joint PhD program. 
  • The Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS) and RMIT have partnered to deliver a dual degree program.
• Other models have emerged. For example, the University of New South Wales and the Manipal Academy of Higher Education established a partnership involving articulation pathways and transnational education. The Melbourne-India Postgraduate Program involves the University of Melbourne, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and several IITs (Madras, Kanpur, and Kharagpur), while the University of Melbourne’s Bachelor of Science (Blended) initiative involves the Indian Institute for Science Education and Research, Pune (IISER Pune), and Savitribai Phule Pune University.
• The Centurion University of Technology and Management, Odisha and Western Sydney University established a partnership to promote collaborative research and PhD student exchanges.
• O.P. Jindal University has signed agreements with a number of Australian universities to deepen educational and cultural connections. 
• In 2022, Symbiosis International University launched the Symbiosis Centre for India Australia Studies (SCIAS). The first of its kind in western India, it will play an important role in strengthening the Australia-India partnership in education and research.
• The Australia-India Education Researcher Forums, hosted by the Australia India Institute, was a series of webinars designed to showcase education research from Australia and India and build future collaborations.