Normatively speaking, education is a right that should not be dependent on the ability to pay. This aspiration is correct. But how do you square that with the idea of private education, where ability to pay will determine what you can access to some degree? Our answer: We will impose more regulation, more price controls (as the All-India Council for Technical Education is now proposing), more control over selection mechanisms. So what we want is a private economy with extensive price controls? Price controls can work in some areas but as a generalised principle, a price-controlled private sector is a bit of an oxymoron — with probably moronic outcomes.

But what the state cannot get itself to honestly answer is why so many students are at the mercy of the private sector. The state is willing to put all its energies into running loss-making airlines, reviving defunct fertiliser plants. But it cannot commit itself to infusing new energy in public education, at all levels. If you destroy public university after public university, the private sector will laugh all the way to the bank. And then, in response to an outcry, we will pretend that regulation of the private sector can produce social justice. In retrospect, it is truly extraordinary how much energy, focus and moral piety has been expended on “regulating” private education in India.

Yet proportionately, so little political effort has been expended to improve public education. It is a pipe dream to think that we can build a good, equitable education system without a major revival of public universities and government schools. And a strong public system will automatically “regulate” the private system by reducing demand. But it is a sign of how warped our thinking on the public and private has become that we are happy to hollow out the public where we should not, and regulate the private in ways that are counterproductive.

The increasing confusion over the role of the public and private has many sources. Some of it is ideological mystification: We thought reform meant rolling back the state, not building it in some areas. This has become a self-fulfilling prophecy to the point where we do not recognise the potential within the public system. Some of it had to do with political economy. The whole logic of public-private partnerships was driven not entirely by the idea of efficiency gains but the creation of new forms for rent-seeking. This form of entanglement of state and capital ended up corrupting both.

Crony capitalism backed by the state delegitimised capital as well. The dividing line between an anti-corruption movement and an anti-private-sector sentiment became very thin indeed. The confidence that the Indian private sector, particularly its big players, was ready to play by anything other than crony capitalist rules has diminished.

For the full text of the must read column (emphasis added by me) by the redoubtable Pratap Bhanu Mehta, click here.

Tells you exactly where things have gone wrong. Do this government have the capacity to effect the necessary correctives, remains the important question.

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One big reason for corruption is the government’s no-profits allowed policy for private institutes. Every educational institution has to be incorporated as a non-profit trust. Technically, you cannot make money from the college. The government somehow believes there will be enough people who will spend thousands of crores setting up good colleges for the millions who need seats every year, just out of the goodness of their hearts. On this flawed, stupid assumption that people are dying to run colleges without ever making money rests the higher education of our country.
    
Of course, none of this noprofit business ever happens. What happens is that shady methods are devised to take money out from the trust. Black money, fake payments to contractors and over-inflating expenses are just a few ingenious methods to ensure promoters get a return on their investment. This ensures that none of the legitimate players ever enter the field. Ex-academics, world-class corporates and honest people will never touch private education, for they do not want to pay bribes at every stage and devise shady methods to bypass no-profit rules. Thus, people like local country liquor barons, sari manufacturers and mithai shop owners open technical colleges for engineering and medicine. And we hand over our kids and their future to them.
    
You don’t need to be an expert to realise that what is happening is seriously wrong. However, policymakers are doing little about it. Perhaps, much like the bootlegging industry, so many regulators and inspectors are making money that nobody wants to fix it. However, corruption in the education sector is not to be taken lightly. When you have corruption in infrastructure, you have pot-holed roads. When you have corruption in education, you have pot-holed minds. We are destroying an entire generation by not giving it access to the world-class education it deserves.
    
I have nothing against commercialisation of education. Commerce and business are a good thing. However, when it comes to education, it needs a sense of ethics and quality. Good people must be incentivised to open colleges. Say, by a simple policy fix like allowing private institutes to make a profit. This would mean companies like Infosys and Reliance might open colleges, perhaps on a large scale, as shareholders will approve the huge investment required. If these companies open colleges, at least they will be of a certain standard. Competition can ensure that the ability to make profits never turns into greed. But if the business model is sustainable, many good players would be attracted to this sector.
    
This can be done. This needs to be done. Indians care about education. We can have one of the best education systems in the world. It is a matter of collective will and a few good leaders who will make this happen. It should not require a fast or dharna or yatra or antipolitician slogans. When something is sensible, it should just be done. For, that is what educated people do. And we would like to call ourselves educated, won’t we?

For the full text of the column by Chetan Bhagat in the ToI, click here.

Doesn't Mr Kapil Sibal understand this? So, what has he been doing about it in the over two years that he has been the minister for Education? All we heard was about his tinkering around with the school exams system, reactions to which have been mixed amongst the academic circles. If he addresses the above issues, he could perhaps expect unanimous support from the academic circles, though there could be some bit of opposition from the purely business types. So, is he pandering to the diktats of such businessmen? 

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Is it correct to expect the Government to improve things in higher education when it is not able to do much in primary education? Imagine this scenario: All colleges to be treated on par with the present entities called tutorial institutes with absolutely no control whatsoever by the government. What will be the effect? Fees and capitation amounts will go sky-high? -- Hasn't it already even with so much control by the govt? Quality will go to the dogs without govt. control? -- Is quality at an acceptable level now? The industry has been constantly complaining about too many graduates being of unemployable quality. So, will somebody explain why the govt. should be there at all in higher education except providing employment and some destructive work to those in the ministry and departments?

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The four-page format sent to all colleges and universities mandates that institutions make public crucial data like approved intake, examination results, number and quality of teaching staff and physical facilities and infrastructure.

For more, click on
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IE120080809122625&Page=1&Title=Bangalore&Topic=0

Muralidhar Rao

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It is also important that private initiatives in the field of higher
education are not driven by the sole motive of profit. They should
not confine themselves only to ‘commercially viable’ sectors of
education, such as management, accountancy and medicine etc.
but should also encompass areas of social and natural sciences
by establishing comprehensive universities.

Above is extract from a report to the HRD ministry. Some good explanation of the current state of affairs here.  Wish newspaper reporters point to some authoritative source(s) like UGC's policy (section 2.1), than making blanket statements.

So, the problem is potential subversion of the system (as in all things Indian ;-)) to exploit profitable courses similar to computer institutes mushrooming when demand was high. Is that a bad thing? Won't demand and supply take care of themselves? Agree with the author that large, for-profit universities will get set up with long-term goals and would offer diverse course work. Tourism, education and hospitality have some of the biggest foreign income earning potential and should be fully encouraged.

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The system survives because of good institutions. It is corrupted by institutions, no matter how many or how few, in which seats and degrees even up to doctorate level could be purchased. At the other extreme, the Government expects private initiative on a large scale in education but with the hypocrite stipulation that profits shall not be earned!

Is it not the right time to insist that the Government comes out of its slumber, accepts the realities of the times and creates an environment in which transparency becomes possible and feasible?

For the full text of the article by J S Rajput, former director, NCERT, in the New Indian Express, click here.

Further reiteration from an expert in the academic field, if one was required.

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With a host of higher education reform bills awaiting Parliaments nod, the HRD ministry has decided to implement part of its reform agenda through executive order from the next academic session. - - - - As part of the initiative, every institution would be required to appoint an ombudsman who would be a person with judicial or legal experience.

For the full report in the ToI, click here.

A long overdue step that is very much required even as our higher educational institutions aspire to take on the best in the world in academics.

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I have two data points. First is a relative who recently graduated from one of the so called relatively decent engineering colleges in the city. One gets the impression of a degree shop with poorly qualified and ill experienced faculty, a focus on infantile discipline, terrible laboratory instruction and other bad practices. The second is a former boss who transitioned from the corporate to education sector. His experience was so terrible that he resigned from the job in 4 months.

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Murali, yes there are always exceptions to the rule.  There are definitely some fairly decent prrivate colleges.  However, considering the entire gamut of colleges out there (at least in engineeering), I have to say the same thing.  They are not really educating students and are thus failing in their main mission.

The fault is with the way education is managed. I did not mean to suggest that the fault lies with the fact that colleges are private  The whole non-profit concept, accreditation, quality of faculty etc. needs serious rethink.  In many cases, one hears that colleges are another racket to convert black money to white money.  That sort of motivation bodes poorly for the education sector.

My general view point is that the IITs which are held as a benchmark for engineeering education in India are themselves pedestrian, as reflected in their international rankings.  We need the whole curve to shift upwards.  

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