ABSTRACT
The role of the private sector in university education in India is a matter of debate. At one extreme of ideological frontier are votaries for for-profit educational institutions. On the other is opposition to any role for the private sector in higher education. The chapter focuses on the private sector specifically in university education. This is a particular segment that seems likely to grow, and requires a transparent and enabling policy framework within which to locate its ambitions. At the heart of the university is a shared respect for academic endeavour, dignity of learning, along with the socio-economic and democratic values that a university must take care to nourish. This applies to the private sector as much as to the public, but particularly for the private sector as they shape their visions of a university. There is a clear need for institutional exemplars that can help demonstrate such a vision of private sector university education for public and social good.
