AISHE 2023-24 report highlights gap between healthy PTR and vacant faculty posts

The All India Survey on Higher Education 2023-24 released in July 2026 reports a national pupil-teacher ratio of 22:1 across higher education institutions in regular mode.

While smaller territories and southern states report favorable ratios like 14:1 in Tamil Nadu, university faculty associations report severe shortages with 65% of posts vacant at the University of Madras.

Academics point out that national averages combine private and public institutions, masking wide disparities across disciplines and management types due to reliance on self-reported data.