Almost half (45 per cent) of Indian children study in private schools in India today. Almost 63 per cent of the students at higher education levels study in private institutions. These numbers are expected to grow. Estimates vary but experts argue that the total number of students in private schools will rise to more than 60 per cent over the next decade. At the university level, the numbers could be higher still.
Yet for some inexplicable reason, India has no autonomous regulator at the Centre for education. Why?
One reason has been the Centre's reluctance to take responsibility for a sector that - as per the Constitution -lies in the hands of the state. Often, when as a journalist, I asked senior government officials why this or that could or could not be done in the education sector, they had a stock reply. "This is a state subject. What can we do?"
The answer is: plenty. To start with, just as privatisation of the telecommunication sector necessitated the setting up of a regulator - neutral and impartial - it is high time the Centre looked at setting up a regulator to govern the mayhem in the private educational space. Separate the role of the service provider from the regulator. The government is heavily in the business of education. The private sector competes. Who mediates, manages and keeps an eye on both? Just like with telecommunication, we need something like an Education Regulatory Authority of India (Erai).
What would the Erai do? To start with, it could set standards for both the private and government schools and institutions. As things stand, schools, colleges and universities are certified based more on quantitative parameters rather than any kind of qualitative requirements. It is how many classrooms, number of teachers, how many laboratories, and so on instead of the pedagogy, the quality of teachers and research done.
Erai can verify claims made by universities and schools. Almost all the new private universities make tall claims with regard to excellence. Can everyone be the best or be world-class as they often claim? Should someone sift the genuine players from the fly-by-night operators? Do the affiliations claimed by different universities amount to anything? Are the placements real or imagined?
Erai can assess and rate all the private and government institutions - primary, secondary and higher education. Are the countless global, international and world schools actually delivering international quality education? Are universities delivering what they promise? A clear, transparent and fair rating would help parents sift through the maze.
Currently, the National Achievement Survey (NAS) by the National Council of Educational Research and Training attempts to do this but fails to be taken seriously since states such as Uttar Pradesh seem to perform better than most others - something most people find hard to swallow. And just like with the education system, even the privately done surveys - like Pratham's Annual Status of Education Report get taken more seriously than the publicly done NAS.
Erai can cull out the best practices among schools, colleges and universities and offer incentives to states that adopt these. If a certain portion of the Centre's yearly budget for education can be kept aside and allocated based on which states follow and change laws or practices as suggested - a practice followed by many countries - it could shape the way things develop.
In India's increasingly litigious environment, Erai can resolve disputes and deal with complaints against specific educational institutions that come up from time to time. There is no dearth of instances where parents and students feel cheated by the management of various institutions. Fraudulent, worthless degrees are handed out. There is virtually no accountability. Affiliations are claimed but amount to nothing. It is often hard to even discern who owns or runs the institution.
What should Erai refrain from doing? We don't need it to act as a licensing authority. We don't want interference in the governance or management of the institution. We don't want it to appoint board members or interfere in the fee charged - all of which will erode the efficiencies the private sector brings in.
And last, as with everything else, people matter. We need a "do-er" with credibility to head it - preferably non-IAS. So far, most regulatory bodies in India turn into parking grounds for retired IAS officers. Neither do we need the kind of nameless and faceless chiefs the University Grants Commission (UGC) has had since its inception. Can you name a single UGC head off the top of your head?
As Smriti Irani and the human resource development ministry mull over different aspects of India's new education policy, an Erai could be a good beginning.
Disclaimer: These are personal views of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of www.business-standard.com or the Business Standard newspaper
