A Study on Challenges in Higher Education Accessibility in India and Its Impact on Economic Development

Ashwath Yadav G S

A Study on Challenges in Higher Education Accessibility in India and Its Impact on Economic Development

Author(s)	Dr. Ashwath Yadav G S
Country	India
Abstract	Higher education in India is central to inclusive growth, skill formation, and regional competitiveness, yet access to higher education is uneven across social and economic locations. The paper investigates whether higher education accessibility varies across low-income, middle-income and high- income groups, and whether higher education accessibility is related with enrolment, employability opportunities and selected economic development indicators. Using a novel survey-style dataset of 720 higher-education eligible respondents. Accessibility was defined by a combination of affordability, physical closeness, digital readiness, institutional support and perceived academic inclusion. Statistical methods included one way ANOVA, Pearson correlation, ordinary least squares, and multiple regression. The results show a significant difference in accessibility among socio-economic groups, F(2, 717) = 628.60, p < .001, eta squared = .637. In terms of means, low-income respondents had the lowest mean score while high-income respondents had the highest mean score. The enrolment index was strongly and positively correlated with accessibility, r = .679, p < .001. Based on regression analysis, the variable accessibility was a significant predictor of employability opportunities after controlling for enrolment, internship, skill development, location and first-generation status. According to multi regression, accessibility was a positive predictor of the economic development index even after controlling for enrolment and employability. The findings highlight that access is not just a problem of entry. It is an interlinked development pathway connecting opportunity, skills, labour-market exposure and local economic capacity. The report by members of NEPON recommends that there should be training system at the interface of government and private level.
Keywords	higher education accessibility; socio-economic inequality; enrolment; employability; economic development; India; ANOVA; regression
Field	Sociology > Economics
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 3, May-June 2026
Published On	2026-06-18

View / Download PDF File

E-ISSN 2582-2160

doi

CrossRef DOI is assigned to each research paper published in our journal.

IJFMR DOI prefix is
10.36948/ijfmr

Downloads

Research Paper Format Copyright Permission Form and Undertaking Form Cover Page Vol 8 Isu 3 Cover Page Vol 8 Isu 2 Cover Page Vol 8 Isu 2

All research papers published on this website are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, and all rights belong to their respective authors/researchers.

CC-BY-SA

About IJFMR Fees & Payment Current Issue Publication Archive	Submit Research Paper Track Submission Status Publication Guidelines Publication Ethics Peer Review & Plagiarism	Join as a Reviewer Editors & Reviewers Reviewer Referral Program Get Reviewer Membership Certi.	Website/Journal Policies Usage Policy Content Policies Privacy Policy

Contact Us		+91-9687-828-838	editor@ijfmr.com

International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research

A Widely Indexed Open Access Peer Reviewed Multidisciplinary Bi-monthly Scholarly International Journal

A Study on Challenges in Higher Education Accessibility in India and Its Impact on Economic Development

Share this