Fee schools and free schools: the wedge is widening

The Ministry of Human Resource Development recently constituted a committee to prepare the draft National Policy on Education.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development recently constituted a committee to prepare the draft National Policy on Education. The committee shall have the benefit of the nationwide consultations conducted earlier for around two years. Expectations from the committee would indeed be very demanding, as the crisis of quality in education is a matter of serious concern.  

While steps are necessary across the board, the process of quality enhancement in school education deserves top priority. With over 1.5 million schools and an enrolment of 253 million, the task would be stupendous in all of its dimensions.   Though only 25 per cent in terms of numbers, schools in private sector—generally referred to as public schools—enroll around 40 per cent students, and this is steadily rising. Private high-fee charging schools are the fond destination of ‘resourceful’ parents. They are joined in the race by the expanding middle class. Those who manage seats for their ward, begin to feel the pinch of the ‘ever-increasing’ fees. Of late, this issue has emerged in the shape of parental stirs, demonstrations, and a couple of states bringing up regulations to control this fee-rise.

On the other side, private schools have nothing to lose, there are takers and takers, and hence, there is no challenge to their ‘enterprise’. The fact remains that—exceptions apart—most of these schools are earning profits, and creating properties. In addition, they resent every effort from the regulatory authorities to bring in transparency. It is common knowledge that teachers in even the most well-reputed of such schools do not get salaries as per the formal provisions under the Pay Commission recommendations; though on each of such occasion, fees are enhanced ‘legitimately’! As per the present policy, schools are not supposed to earn profits.

The RTE provision of 25 per cent seats for children from weaker sections, is flouted by majority schools. This indicates the clout of private schools and inefficiency of the regulatory system.
Is there no way to redress this unacceptable mess? Should the state expect everyone entering education sector to do so for value-based altruistic considerations alone? The private entrepreneur has a point for consideration when s/he demands her/his right to make reasonable profits and pay taxes. At present, they do earn profits, but cannot pay taxes! Once the principle of equality of opportunity to access education of equivalent quality stands compromised, the logic of schools allowed to negotiate their teachers’ pays just can’t be ignored. As the state has, all along, pleaded its inability to accept full responsibility to provide ‘free and compulsory education to children till they attain 14 years of age’, the private sector has every reason to step in. Government schools have deteriorated such that states are closing them down, calling mergers, just to camouflage the system’s failure.

Over the last couple of decades, the state has contributed ‘effectively’ in the decline of quality and credibility of its own schools appointing para-teachers on a huge scale. By appointing teachers on low remuneration, state in fact is doing what private schools do by paying less than the stipulated salary. With over 90 per cent government schools falling short on the RTE norms, how could private schools be expected to follow ‘regulations’? Major policy issues in school education need clear guidelines to bring in transparency in private sector initiatives, and restore credibility of the public sector schools and regulatory mechanism. Any reform in higher education, or efforts to take advantage of the ‘demographic dividend’, would depend heavily on the credibility of the school education system and the quality of learning and skill acquisition. Facts, howsoever unpleasant, must be confronted with firmness. Strength for the same must emerge from the new education policy. 

J S Rajput

Former director of the NCERT

rajput_js@yahoo.co.in

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com