As universities grapple with serious challenges including inadequate funding, staffing and infrastructure, the total enrolment has just crossed the 700,000 mark, putting a heavy burden on the higher education sector.
This is, indeed, a significant challenge that has raised concerns about maintaining teaching quality under extreme resource constraints. It is the institutions that the country is banking on for the training of the high-level manpower it needs for national development and prosperity.
Public universities absorbed most of the new students, exerting pressure on the existing facilities, including lecture halls, laboratories and libraries, lecturers and the provision of essential services such as accommodation.
As student numbers have sharply increased, the growth in teaching and support capacity has stagnated. The enrolment rose by 78,718 to 707,150 last year. According to the University Statistics Report of the Commission of Higher Education (CUE), this was a 12.5 per cent rise from 628,431 in 2024. This sharp influx of students has severely pressured already strained university resources.
In contrast, the staff numbers grew by only 6.4 per cent from 15,382 to 16,434. This has worsened the student-to-lecturer ratios, leaving the institutions overwhelmed by teaching and supervision demands. This is compounded by a 7.5 per cent decline in non-teaching personnel, which is hampering administrative efficiency.
The report warns that continuing expansion without growth in staffing and facilities could adversely affect the quality of teaching and learning. The private chartered universities recorded slower growth, with enrolment increasing by 9,092 or 6.3 per cent from 144,007. The increase in student numbers demonstrates a strong demand for university education.
The staffing and the facilities in the leading public universities should be expanded as the enrolment increases. The capacity of the other institutions should also be enhanced.
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