Nerve Endings Firing Away

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the Right of Children to
Free and Compulsory Education Act that enshrines education as a fundamental right for children. But how significant is this development? Indian Express tells us that India joined the league of 130 nations that provide legal guarantees to provide free and compulsory education to children. So probably it was long overdue and much-needed step in achieving tangible goals of actually providing education. But remember, 129 nations had already done it before so India isn’t doing anything pathbreaking.

While no one I know argues against granting children a fundamental right to education, the Indian government’s experiments in public education has been pathetic. The Congress government’s self-praise at introducing the 86th Constitutional Amendment is premature considering that implementation of truly extending this right to children is hazy at best. One of my objections to this act is the mandate that private unaided education institutions have to reserve 25 percent seats for children for weaker sections. While a noble goal, the schools will be reimbursed by the government at the rate it decides is necessary for educating a child. This rate may be far lower than the fees certain schools charge the other 75% of students. While I am not fundamentally opposed to reserving 25% of seats in a private school for children from ‘weaker sections’, it would be far less burdensome on the schools if the government pays them the fees it charges other students. Of course, how does the government plan to define ‘weaker sections’ or how does it plan to fund the act’s implementation are largely ignored aspects.

The government of course, is free to build and run public schools that give free education to all but we all know how that experiment has turned out. Even people from ‘weaker sections’ will not voluntarily send their kids to such government schools who are open to paying private school fees just because of the quality of education and the returns it guarantees post-graduation. The government must stop thinking of education as a solely non-profit field. Did you know that even for a private school, you cannot register your school as a profit-making institution? It should be registered as a non-profit or a charitable institution. Never mind, the fact that private schools are hardly run as such and is the direct result of such stifling regulation.

The government rightly understands that education is the core of development but errs greatly in its implementation. It should allow private players to unleash their entrepreneurial ideas and instead focus on accreditation to maintain standards. Legislate standards both academic and infrastructure-wise that schools must ensure it provides students and then get out of the way. More private schools will mean more opportunities for all sections of the society. Why spend tax payer money on building government schools when it is clear that they are not achieving their desired outcomes? Why hire teachers that never show up to work? Why build schools that are never maintained or upgraded? Let private entrepreneurs do the daily nitty-gritty and spend their money in exchange for a little premium for their hard work. Encourage charitable donations that give to such efforts and foster venture capital that funds primary education. This applies both in cities and villages.

Although I seriously doubt it, I hope this Act starts a national dialogue on reforming education and providing opportunities to all sections of societies without the micromanagement of the government.