“JUSTICE AND EQUITY IN INDIAN HIGHER EDUCATION: A CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM AGENDA“

AUTHOR – REENU DIPTA, RESEARCH SCHOLAR, K R MANGALAM UNIVERSITY, SOHANA ROAD, GURUGRAM, HARYANA.

BEST CITATION – REENU DIPTA, “JUSTICE AND EQUITY IN INDIAN HIGHER EDUCATION: A CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM AGENDA”, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 5 (10) OF 2025, PG. 195-200, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

Abstract

India’s higher‑education landscape, though the world’s third largest, remains marred by stark socio‑economic, regional and caste‑based inequities. This article argues that incremental policy tweaks are no longer sufficient; a constitutional overhaul is needed to guarantee justice and equity in access, quality and outcomes. After tracing the historical expansion of universities and examining constitutional provisions that currently stop at elementary education, the paper details persistent gaps in gross‑enrolment ratios, representation of marginalised groups, urban‑rural divides, and the unchecked commercialisation of private institutions. It then proposes constitutional reforms. Anchoring these reforms in the Constitution, the paper contends, would create justiciable obligations that compel the State to act, curtail profiteering, and align national development with the constitutional ideals of equality, justice and fraternity. Drawing on comparative insights from jurisdictions where higher education is constitutionally protected the paper advances a rights‑based blueprint that would elevate higher education to a justiciable entitlement, recalibrate public‑funding obligations, and impose transparent, equity‑centred duties on all providers, public or private. By hard‑wiring enforceable equity benchmarks into the constitutional fabric, India can move beyond enrolment targets toward genuine inclusion, quality improvement and social mobility. Such a recalibration is critical if the country is to leverage its demographic dividend, nurture innovation‑led growth, and realise the constitutional ideals of equality, fraternity and social justice envisioned by the framers.

Keywords : Higher education reform, Constitutional amendment, Equity and inclusion, Fundamental right to education , Educational institutions.