Disparity of Higher Education Attainment in India

This paper examines disparities in higher education attainment in India in the post- massification period, focusing on how economic status, social identity, gender, and spatial location jointly shape access. Using nationally representative data from the Comprehensive Annual Modular Survey (CAMS) of the National Sample Survey Office, the analysis covers individuals aged 18 and above. Inequality in attainment is assessed using descriptive evidence, predicted probabilities, and the Fairlie non-linear decomposition technique, which allows the observed gaps between groups to be decomposed into contributions from observable characteristics. The results reveal that economic status, proxied by household wealth quintiles, is the single most powerful determinant of disparity in higher education attainment. While caste, religion, gender, and rural?urban location remain significant axes of inequality, their effects are deeply intertwined with economic deprivation. Membership in the richest wealth quintile explains a substantial share of observed gaps across nearly all group comparisons, often outweighing the influence of other socioeconomic factors. Gender patterns indicate a modest female advantage in aggregate enrollment, but this conceals sharp internal stratification, with rural, poor, and marginalized-caste women remaining severely disadvantaged. Spatial divides further amplify inequality, with rural residence compounding caste- and religion-based exclusion.