What you say is definitely correct. However, here is the thing. Initially, the institutions may slack and hence let their students get away without really learning anything. However, the population as a whole will soon figure out which institutions provide good education and which ones bad (for example, you’d choose someone who graduated from AIIMS over someone from a private college because experience has shown that doctors from AIIMS are more talented. It has nothing to do with whether or not AIIMS has recognition by a government body). Affiliation/Ratification by a government body (or otherwise) does not make a good institution, it is the other way round. The problem that can occur is that information about the good and bad institutions will be harder to come by. That is a secondary effect and can definitely be worked out (for instance, you already make such choices when choosing which hospital you go to, which school you send your kids to, where you buy your clothing).

Now, once industry, and the population at large figures out the good institutions from the bad ones, the good jobs will start going to the institutions providing better education (government recognised or not) because the industry cares more about getting work done than about certification (or atleast it should). Parents/people will observe which colleges give better opportunities and people will flock there. Colleges with lesser reputations will either have to improve their quality of education or perish.

The important point to keep in mind is that in a liberalized regime, success will be less dependent on what degree you hold than on what capabilities you have.

The indian education now it seem to be improving, but then it is improving at lowest 5% though our background to teaching fails to give better lesson . In india many student studing in english medium do not even have proper english. We can’t make responsible to student but to the principle and teacher, we have a school where teacher chew gutka and paanmasala in school, and not even that they even drink and teach Though they are B.Ed and D.Ed. You only tell if such situation is there the how the qualification will improve of student. The way we teach the we reap.

Let’s discuss: “who will bell the cat?”.

I wonder what are the reasons that prevent the release of control over education?

1. The amount of the rent collected?

2. The ability to determine the amount of rent to be collected?

3. Any other?

The first seems relatively easier than the second. One probably would just work out the figures and show that the amount can be more if the control is released.

The latter is more subtle. It isn’t the amount that is tempting to retain control. It is that the control permits me (as the State) to determine and collect whatever amount I please. If they don’t know what they need to know, how will they know what they loose? . I can even promise them any fictional heaven and get away!

Rhetorics that ask to tell how to bell the cat are useless. Better to ponder over the “chess” of self interest interactions between the rulers and the ruled . One way is to act locally and individually, and let the market forces determine the outcome statistically.

The cat purrs and rubs itself lovingly to entice, but snarls and puffs up it’s tail if one tries to bell it! The problem is not merely to bell the cat, but to transform it into an obedient, guarding dog .

I disagree with your theory that complete elimination of government control will improve the quality of education. I would chose an AIIMS trained doctor any day over the one trained in numerous donation based private colleges. In fact the quality of doctors and engineers trained in government owned institution far surpasses those from private colleges. If you look at the list of medical colleges facing derecognition from IMC (another government institution, BTW), you will notice that an overwhelming majority of these colleges are private colleges. No one wants to anatagonize their customers. For these private medical institutions, wannabe doctors are their customers and they don’t want to invite their wrath by failing them in examinations. Moreover, free market in education will mean that even those who lack basic competency in fundamental sciences will also be able to get admission in some or the other college. Is this what we want for ourselves?

Please read http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~muralidh/Public_and_Private_Schools_in_Rural_India_032206.pdf. This is a 2003 study by Harvard on the private sector, rural primary schools in India and its comparison with public schools. Would you consider this to mean that marketplace does exist in primary education? If so, how would you extrapolate the growth of this market?

The article also mentions the provision of voucher for weaker sections in private schools as part of Right to Education draft bill. I do not know if the bill is now a law.

Sharad

Your numbers for GDP seem off. For U.S, from the CIA fact book https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ is looks to be $13.22Trillion (Official Exchange Rate) and for India, $796Billion.

keep writing…

Ram