New Delhi: Four years after the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 set out to reshape undergraduate education, research, credit mobility and industry linkages, AISHE’s first stocktake of the implementation of the NEP reveals an uneven map of reforms. Of the universities participating in the survey, only 56% offer four-year undergraduate courses, 49% offer multiple entry and exit services, 55% participate in the NIRF and only 7% have apprenticeship units.The Union Education Ministry on Wednesday released the All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) report for 2022-23 and 2023-24. AISHE collects data on student enrollment, faculty, infrastructure, examination results and other parameters from higher education institutions through a web-based data collection format and is considered the primary source of official higher education statistics.In 2023-24, 1,289 university/university level institutions, 48,246 colleges and 15,221 independent institutions were registered. Of these, 1,278 universities, 46,468 colleges and 11,787 independent institutions responded. The number of universities registered with AISHE increased from 1,043 in the 2019-20 academic year to 1,289 in the 2023-24 academic year.For the first time, AISHE is collecting data through a dedicated NEP module to track implementation across universities. “The following data points collected by AISHE provide important insights into the progress of NEP-2020 reforms across universities,” the report said.The data show some progress in curriculum reform. While 56% of universities have introduced four-year undergraduate programmes, 58% have adopted the National Undergraduate Curriculum and Credit Framework. About 49% of universities offer multiple admissions and exits to academic courses, while 69% are registered with academic credit banks. However, only 43% of companies have adopted SWAYAM regulations.Uptake in research and innovation structures has improved, but industry-related risks remain weak. Some 65% of universities have established research and development groups, 58% have entrepreneurship and innovation groups, and 58% report memorandums of understanding for industry linkages. But only 41% have internship groups and only 7% have apprenticeship groups.International prospects are also limited. Only 15% of universities participate in international rankings, 26% report collaboration with foreign higher education institutions, and only 4% collaborate with other institutions on joint degree programs. Only 30% of the respondents reported offering courses related to Indian knowledge systems.The broader system continues to grow, albeit slowly. Total enrollment will increase by 370,000, or 0.8%, from 4.46 billion in 2022-23 to 4.5 billion in 2023-24. Enrollment has increased by 31.5% since 2014-15. The message from AISHE is clear: higher education is expanding, but implementation of the New Economic Policy remains uneven.