Comments on: The Indian Education System – Part 8

By: S

Mon, 21 May 2007 05:35:20 +0000

Livemint.com released a report stating Maharashtra and Haryana laws permitted “for profit” schools.

Of course, most schools in these states still choose to operate as “non profit” institutions to avail of the discounts on land and income tax exemptions.

Other states too might actually permit such schools.

Any idea?

By: Revathi

Revathi — Fri, 11 May 2007 14:28:05 +0000

I am in my forties. I was educated at a govt school and went to govt medical clinics for free when i was a kid. Ok, I was in an urban area and so I was well provided. They tell me that rural areas didnt have this facility. These days, no one in their right mind with a the means goes to a govt school or a hospital. It seems that the govt is suddenly incapable of providing any service with accountability. Is it that the number of customers increased uncontrollably and the govt didnt keep up with this expansion?
I dont think this is just a privatisation issue. Govt services not only stagnated but also deteriorated. What was the reason for this? Was it the lack of accountability? Why was it that there was accountability before and it is not there now? Any comments?

By: shiv

shiv — Thu, 10 May 2007 09:02:26 +0000

Virtually everyone in my circle went to a private school. I am sure that most of the readers of this blog are of similar educational background. Most if not all these schools are quite profitable, though they are all registered as non-profits. I am not aware of any impicit ban though i do know that everyone gets it registered as such for taxation management. Maybe scrapping the HR ministry (as you have recommended) is the only solution as there is a strong politico nexus in this. For the record most private professional colleges in south india are owned by sitting MLA’s or MP’s. The land for these institutions is typically given free (or close to it) by the gov (this includes the IIM’s) hence the political angle.. I think that the gov understands the economics of your argument quite clearly. Its just being monopolised by the political class (entrepreunarial class ??). Is this a case of taking coal to newcastle ?

By: dipanjan

dipanjan — Thu, 10 May 2007 00:18:23 +0000

Atanu,
This has been an excellent series. Eagerly waiting for the consequences segments. I guess it will have something to do with “chitto jethA bhayshunyo, uchcho jethA shir,. jnan jethA mukto” (where mind is fearless, head is held high and knowledge is set free). And that is precisely why they will try their hardest to keep education under control. Or else where will the next generation of brainwashed teachers, lecturers and cadre-employees come from?

1980 is a personal landmark for me. Six-year-old, I was admitted to the first grade of a West Bengal government high school in a small town in the suburbs of Calcutta. The admissions process was brutally selective as that was the only half-decent public (“free”) school in a very densely populated area of about 40 square miles. After a tough entrance test, about 5% of students were selected and some of them had to commute two-three hours daily using a wretched public transport system. Later I came to know some of the school teachers used to accept bribes to guarantee seats. A certain portion of seats were illegally reserved for highest bidders. Some of them — religiously against “privatisation” in theory — would rarely show up in the classes and would rather teach both the selected 5% and the rejected 95% in “private tuition” classes at their residence. Talk about monopoly and rent-seeking. I am sure nothing much has changed since then.

By: Ramesh

Ramesh — Wed, 09 May 2007 13:06:14 +0000

Girish,
Take a look at the “owners” of the “not for profit” professional colleges & you will see that they are all politically connected. In my opinion classical rent seeking behavior is what is preventing education from opening up. The other lobby at work is the one of “minority” colleges.

By: girish

girish — Wed, 09 May 2007 10:39:49 +0000

The government needs to take steps to release education from their control.

I am sure that competition in education would bring down the costs for students and also the teachers/professors would be paid well by the schools and colleges to retain good talent.

I wonder why the government is reluctant to liberalise education !

By: apu

apu — Wed, 09 May 2007 04:24:29 +0000

Totally agree. Its also possible, that by allowing players freely, market participants will no longer concentrate on one kind of education, i.e. acquisition of degrees. If people see an opportunity, they will launch various kinds of education, including vocational training, specialised training for specific industries such as retail, BPO etc. Ofcourse the government’s role could be to keep pace with these and put in place some common standards.