A case for public funding of higher education

Abstract

Financing of higher education is a crucial issue both in India as well as outside. It has policy implications for the State and Central Government. On the one hand, costs in education have risen keeping with generally higher levels of inflation in third world countries. On the other hand. Governments have generally refrained from hiking budgetary allocations to higher education in particular. We have tried to look at these issues in this paper; specifically it has been argued that higher education, too, is a Merit good and deserves to be funded by the State. This study highlights the role of Government in financing higher education. Spending by Government has positive impact on equity and accessibility-two of the most important parameters of global growth of higher education.