Open Forum

New Delhi, 2 June 2016           

Privatizing Education

DO THEY BENEFIT THE MERITORIOUS?

By Dhurjati Mukherjee

The recent Supreme Court order underscoring the demand for capitation fees by educational institutions as illegal, has come at the right time, when commercialization of education has spread to the far corners of the country.

Whereby, the five-judge Constitution bench emphasized that the objective of setting up educational institutions must not be to make profit. Further, it asked the Government to step in, curb malpractice and regulate this to promote merit. The judgment also highlighted, “It has to be ensured that the admission process meets the triple test of transparency, fairness and non-exploitativeness”.

Surprisingly, education has been commercialized wherein no one thinks of it in ‘no-loss-no-profit’ terms. A section which has for long been advocating privatizing various types of services, including education, now finds that profit making is the only objective of these private institutions.

Worse, the lack of Government monitoring has resulted in private sector education emerging as an area where high profits without any risks are ensured.

Arguably, the Government must have been aware of the role of the private sector in education as lakhs of students flock to these institutions only to turn away when capitation fees is demanded. Interestingly, most of these establishments are backed by well-known political leaders and, as such, the Government does not want to interfere.

An example, a Kolkata private medical college is demanding around Rs 60-70 lakhs for admission through a manipulated entrance examination. Obviously, the Medical Council of India is involved in the racket; or else how can the academy make this demand.

Undeniably, privatization has been increasing at a fast pace in education but is concentrated in urban areas, big cities as the rich stay there. According to a survey, in the 5-10 age group and among below poverty line families, only around 14 per cent attend private schools, most of whom are from rural areas.

As regards teachers, their qualifications are quite high in Government schools but they not only lack sincerity but also absenteeism is high, though this has been checked to a considerable extent.

Besides, except for a few religious or missionary organizations, by and large the fees charged by private educational institutions is very high, most of which are beyond the means of even the lower middle class.

Therefore, it is surprising that some educationists advocate the need for expansion of education through the privatization route, knowing that such growth would benefit the rich and upper middle class.

This is unrealistic as the private sector is not for charity. True, though we talk of our tradition of benevolence, the present CSR spending is not up to the mark. Despite the Government urging corporates to set up educational institutions in rural areas for the impoverished and economically weaker sections, not much has happened. 

True, the quality of education in private schools might be higher compared to its counterparts in the Government sector, but in institutions of higher learning, the performance of private sector is not at all encouraging. Of course, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, the Manipal group and a few others are exceptions.

Further, as reflected in international surveys Indian colleges, universities and professional institutes do not match the standards in many other emerging economies and Third World countries. Moreover, the state of institutions in semi-urban and rural areas is neglected thereby standards suffer considerably. 

Undoubtedly, the strategy for improving quality education at all levels is not difficult. Selections should be fair and transparent and merit should be the only criteria. Though there are reservations for Scheduled Castes and Tribes, wherever suitable candidates are not found, this should be opened to general candidates.

Additionally, there has to be a difference between outstanding teachers and those who are poor performers. The process of automatic promotion should be done away with and only those promoted who are above the benchmark in all respects

Consequently, the onus for development in the educational sector lies totally with the Government with the private sector making a contribution, wherever there is potential for profits. Towards that end, more funds need to be allocated for expansion, which has not been done so to the desired extent.  

Pertinently, the 12^th Plan echoed this and suggested a target of public spending of one per cent of GDP on higher education and 0.5 per cent on technical education. The Narayana Murthy Committee Working Group on Higher &Technical Education for the 12^th Plan too projected a resource requirement of Rs 413,367 crores which would require innovative and newer avenues of funding.

This apart, there is need for a lot of resources to spread primary education across the country. Regulation and a strict monitoring mechanism of the state of private academic institutions is another crucial aspect, which unfortunately is lacking.

Not just the quality of teachers, most of whom after retirement join private institutions, but also the fees charged must be regulated. One needs to find out whether the institution is committed to inducting students from poorer sections in return for land which they receive at subsidized rates. 

Sadly, quality higher education has become profit-oriented which means that lower income groups and the economically weaker sections cannot afford it. During the last decade or more, 70 to 80 per cent of capacity created has been done by the private sector, especially in the field of engineering and management.

It is paramount that these deemed universities concentrate on quality teaching and recruit teachers with requisite qualifications. While the quality of well-known private institutions cannot be doubted, the question remains: What will happen to the poor, especially those who are not so brilliant and cannot get admission in State universities?  

In sum, an integrated educational plan needs to be worked out where the private sector should be allowed to open institutions but the quality of its teaching should be strictly monitored. However, if education is treated as a ‘no loss, no profit’ basis, corporates would not be interested in entering this field and some might even exit this sector.

Furthermore, the fee structure should be such that there are different pay-outs for the EWS and lower income groups, middle income sections and the rich class. Only then would people from the bottom tiers of society get an opportunity to enter the private deemed universities and colleges.

The admission pattern should also be strictly monitored and the ‘management quota’’, where capitation fees are demanded, needs be totally abolished. ---- INFA                        

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)