Chennai: India needs to raise its higher education enrollment rate to 60% to attain the status of a developed country, VIT University Chancellor Dr. G. Viswanathan said on Sunday.

He was speaking at an orientation programme for 102 students selected under the university's STARS (Support the Advancement of Rural Students) scheme, which offers free higher education to meritorious students from government higher secondary schools. This year, 90 students have been admitted to the Vellore campus and 12 to the Chennai campus under the initiative.

“The STARS scheme, which began in Arcot and Dharmapuri, has now been extended across Tamil Nadu and is being implemented in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh as well,” Viswanathan said.

Pointing out the disparity in education spending, he said, “The Union Budget stands at ₹55 lakh crore, yet only 2.5% is allocated to education. In contrast, state governments allocate around 12-14%. If the Centre even matches half of what states spend, universal access to higher education would be achievable.”

He noted that India's current gross enrollment ratio (GER) in higher education is around 28%, whereas developed nations range between 60% and 100%. “Even China, which was on par with India three decades ago, has now surpassed 60%. To achieve developed nation status, India must target 60% GER. The National Education Policy has set a goal of 50%, and this requires both the Centre and states to significantly increase funding,” he added.

Speaking at the event, VIT Vice-President Shankar Viswanathan assured that Tamil medium students would receive adequate English language support and urged them to stay focused on academics.

District Collector Subbulakshmi, School Education Director Kannappan, STARS Project Coordinator Meenakshi, University Registrar Dr. Jayabharathi, Vice Chancellor Dr. Parthasarathy Malik, and Director of Student Welfare Dr. C.T. Naiju were among those present.