Healthy pupil-teacher ratio masks vacant faculty posts in colleges

India's higher education system spans about 1,200 universities, 50,000 colleges and 15,000 standalone institutes, with nearly 4.5 crore students and over 17 lakh teachers, according to AISHE 2023-24. The national pupil-teacher ratio of 22:1 sits within the 15:1 to 25:1 norm, but may mislead because it does not separate private and public institutions or disciplines, even as faculty posts lie vacant.