Beyond textbook solutions

Crisis brewing in school and college education

The recent suicide by three female students of a private medical college in Tamil Nadu leaving behind a note blaming their college for excessive fees, no proper classes or teachers and there being "nothing to learn" highlights the serious maladies afflicting private education in India. If the system remains unchanged, things will get worse over time. The Indian higher education system in particular is already the third largest in the world. It will seek to catch up with global levels - rising from its current 13.8 per cent gross enrolment ratio, against a world average of 26 per cent, according to a 2011 Ernst & Young study conducted on behalf of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Demand is likely to grow, thanks to the combined effect of rapidly rising incomes and demographic pressure. At both school and college levels, the state of private higher education is critical - state-run establishments will struggle to address this demand alone.

The EY study suggests a package of measures. Important among them are: simplifying regulation by moving away from input-based norms that stifle operational autonomy; creating enabling legislation at the state level to encourage setting up of private institutions; moving to student-side funding to provide a level playing field between public and private institutions; and encouraging the setting up of for-profit institutions along with a regulatory framework that ensures quality and transparency. It is the last point that captures the present dilemma, for both higher and school education: whatever regulatory systems currently exist to ensure quality are widely gamed. To cite one example, a few years ago the University Grants Commission ordered visits by peer groups on behalf of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) to be video-recorded as there were complaints of bribing officials, institutions bringing in ad hoc staff and faking reports of facilities, and unfair marking by NAAC.

India is thus faced with a Hobson's choice. On the one hand there is the populist reaction of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, ordering the abolition of management quotas in private unaided schools with just a 25 per cent quota for economically weaker sections. In words bound to please parents, he says a "mafia" has captured the education system and made it a "business", and management quotas are the "biggest scandal" in the country. On the other hand, there is the reality of any number of builders promoting engineering and medical colleges because they see attractive returns from it for their land, extracting the last paisa possible from the ventures without any concern for quality.

A mixture of policy initiatives is the best bet. The regulation of private schools and colleges should be minimal but transparent, with vigilance to ensure that the regulatory process is not corrupt. The public school system will need to be vastly expanded, with more local control of teacher choice and accountability, in tandem with the option of school vouchers being explored where feasible. Above all, a wide vocational training system with minimal entry qualifications and close links to the private sector must be created. Knee-jerk attempts to impose complete government control must be resisted, as they will create more problems than they solve.