For a developing nation like India,
which is poised to become one of the global superpowers, education remains one
of the most important tools to empower people at large. There are both public
and private players in this sector but due to globalization, liberalization and
modernization, there has been a phenomenal change in the industry. Requirement
of quality and affordable education being deployed by highly skilled teachers
has put pressure upon the public infrastructure which has been unable to
perform satisfactorily in many aspects. This has put forth a growing demand for
an increasing intervention of private players; however a complete absence of
government regulations and authority does not present a bright picture. This is
primarily because of the marked difference in the motive or objectives of both
sides.
Education not merely enables a person
to earn his livelihood, but is also an important tool to develop his conscience
enabling him to live with dignity and grow as an individual. The foundation
remains very vital, which is a sound primary education, accessible and
affordable to the masses. The private institutes, though enjoy an increasing
presence in urban and sub-urban territories, their near to absence in rural
mainland is a major point of concern. Public initiatives like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan,
tend to penetrate into the most remotest of regions providing the bare minimum
necessities for education. It is unlikely that the private sector shall take
such endeavors in such a large scale compromising heavily with their primary
objective of obtaining profits and sustaining their business.
The right to education enables an Indian
citizen of 6-14 years of age to attain free education. The central and state governments
have established numerous institutions at village, district, state and national
level to address the needs of the people. These offer highly subsidized education
taking account of the economic and social depravity of the student. Private
institutions though offering scholarships to the underprivileged have to
maintain an upper limit, they cannot go beyond that limit of subsidizing expenditure
lest they want to risk running their business. The high cost incurred while
attaining private education covers the profits as well the development and
expansion expenditure for the institution. It is through this money that the
private sector is able to invest upon itself to grow and sustain business.
Thus, private institutions will never be able to compromise on the cost of
education.
The public institutes may win over the
private ones on grounds of socialist and nationalist objectives of welfare and equanimity
however it loses in terms of competitiveness, efficacy and development. The
infrastructure of educational sector apart from IITs, IIMs and institutes of
national repute is more or less in a miserable condition. The state run schools
at village level do not have chairs, desks, blackboards, playgrounds and in
some cases even toilets. According to a World Bank report, teacher absenteeism
remains one of the most challenging problems to tackle within the Indian public
education system. The inflexible structure and operation of this sector by the
public office often hampers the quality giving way to the private players. Lack
of accountability, widespread corruption, rerouting of finances and very weak
implementation presents a very sorry state of affairs. No wonder a majority of
parents who can afford costlier schools would prefer avoiding state run
institutions, leaving them to use only by the most marginalized sections of the
society.
In a country like India, where a large
part of the population cannot afford basic needs a complete absence of public
regulations in the educational sector will turn out to be catastrophic. It is
required that a planned and well executed initiative is taken to provide
quality and affordable education to the masses even in the most inaccessible of
the regions. Private sector competition and their inclination towards
modernizing educational aids will prove very fruitful for overall development
of this sector. The public institutes should seek to collaborate on all fronts
to improve the skills of its teachers, build up the infrastructure as per the
latest trends in the global scenario and add value to the sector. Keeping in
mind the flaws and benefits of both sides, it would be unwise to endorse the
absolute presence or absence of any of these sides and it would be rather wise
to seek a symbiotic relationship aiming to expand and develop the educational
sector throughout India.
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