India’s higher education system faces a major faculty crunch, with 34% of teaching posts vacant in centrally funded institutions. A recent SBI Research report released on September 30, 2026, showed that while universities and student numbers grew significantly over the last decade, the shortage of professors remains a persistent concern.
Over the past decade, India’s higher education system has expanded significantly. The number of universities, colleges and students has increased in the last few years.
However, the growth in institutions has also been accompanied by a persistent shortage of teaching staff, with around one-third of sanctioned faculty positions vacant across centrally funded higher education institutions, according to a recent SBI Research report.
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The report titled ‘The State of Higher Education in India since 2014’ states that in FY24, India had 1289 universities, 48,246 colleges and 15,221 standalone institutes, taking the total number of higher education institutes to 64756. The number of academic institutions grew by 47% compared with FY14.
Student enrollment has also increased over the last 10 years. For FY24, the total enrolment is 4.5 crore, of which 15.5% belong to SC, 6.4% belong to ST, 40.1% are from OBC, and the remaining 38.0% are from other communities. The Arts stream had the highest enrolment at 32.1%, followed by Science at 13.5%, Engineering and Technology at 12.9%, and Commerce at 12%.
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The number of teachers in higher education increased from around 13.7 lakh in 2013-14 to 17.3 lakh in 2023-24. Women accounted for 45% of teachers in FY24, compared with 39% a decade earlier.
But despite the increase in the number of positions, SBI research highlights a significant gap between sanctioned and filled teaching positions in centrally funded institutions. Based on data from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, the report states that 14,042 of 41,351 sanctioned positions were vacant, representing a vacancy rate of 34%.
The maximum sanction position and vacant position are at IIITs, with a vacancy rate of 54% in IIITs, 39% in Central Universities, 33% in IIMs, 29% in NITs, and 7% in IISER.
At the level of individual positions, the shortage is particularly pronounced among professors. The report cites a vacancy rate of 56.2% for professor posts.
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The SBI report was released on September 30, 2026. The report's findings highlight that India’s expanding higher education system, with increasing numbers of institutions and students, needs to be accompanied by sufficient teaching capacity, research support, and funding to ensure that this expansion translates into meaningful educational opportunities for students.