New Delhi: Four years after the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 restructured higher education, research, credit flows and industry linkages, AISHE’s first assessment of the implementation of the NEP shows an unchanged map. Only 56% of the universities that responded have introduced four-year courses, 49% offer multiple entry and exit routes, 55% have participated in the NIRF, and only 7% have study cells.The Union education ministry released the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) reports for 2022-23 and 2023-24 on Wednesday. AISHE collects information from higher education institutions through a web-based data collection system on student enrollment, faculty and staff, infrastructure, exam results and other fields, and is considered the primary source of higher education statistics.For 2023-2024, 1,289 universities / group universities, 48,246 colleges and 15,221 representative organizations were registered. Of them, 1,278 universities, 46,468 colleges and 11,787 private institutions responded. The number of universities registered with AISHE has increased from 1,043 in 2019-20 to 1,289 in 2023-24.For the first time, AISHE has collected data through a dedicated NEP unit to track trends across all universities. The report says, “The results collected by AISHE provide important information on the progress of the NEP-2020 reforms in all universities.”The data shows little movement in educational reform. While 56% of universities have introduced four-year courses, 58% have adopted the National Curriculum and Credit Framework for Undergraduate Programs. About 49% offer multiple visits and opt out of academic programs, while 69% enroll in the Academic Bank of Credits. However, only 43% adopted the SWAYAM rules.Research and innovation activities show a positive trend, but the industry-related outlook remains weak. About 65% of universities have established Research and Development Cells, 58% have Entrepreneurship and Innovation Cells, and 58% reported MoUs related to industry. But only 41% have Internship Cells and only 7% have Apprenticeship Cells.The internationalization picture is also limited. Only 15% of universities participate in international rankings, 26% report cooperation with foreign institutions of higher education, and 4% just cooperated with other institutions to enter degree programs. Only 30% said that they are providing education related to the Indian Knowledge System.The big plan continues to grow, albeit slowly. Total enrollment rose to 4.50 crore in 2023-24 from 4.46 crore in 2022-23, an increase of 3.7 lakh, or 0.8%. Since 2014-15, enrollment has increased 31.5%. The message from AISHE is clear: higher education is growing, but the implementation of the NEP has not been uniform.