Title: Factors affecting higher education demand in India: an interpretive review

Authors: Jan e Alam

Addresses: Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110016, India

Abstract: India's higher education system is vast, diverse, complex, and experiencing growing demand which is influenced by multifarious factors. This study identifies 10 factors influencing this demand from literature review and expert opinion and develops a conceptual framework through modified total interpretive structural modelling (TISM) to interpret significant causal and hierarchical linkages. Although the findings indicate all identified factors to be critical, the variables family educational background and globalisation are found to have the most influence on higher education demand in India. The study also reveals several links that are not clearly visible using plain observation. The study breaks fresh ground considering that the existing literature has investigated the subject at the institutional or sectoral level, while this study examines it at the national level. The study provides fresh insights into the interrelationships of these factors while untangling the logic behind their linkages. The results are of value to policy planners and scholars alike.

Keywords: demand; higher education; critical factors; TISM; total interpretive structural modelling; Indian education system; globalisation; family education background; MICMAC analysis.

DOI: 10.1504/JGBA.2020.112819

Journal for Global Business Advancement, 2020 Vol.13 No.5, pp.536 - 560

Received: 20 Aug 2020
Accepted: 20 Aug 2020
Published online: 04 Feb 2021 *

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