Page 88 - Education World November 2022

Special Report

education a low priority of almost greenfield schools requires dozens of to appease middle class households
all political parties with perhaps the government clearances with bribes routinely validated by the apex and
exception of the Aam Aadmi Party payable at every stage of approval, high courts, tens of thousands of
(AAP), which has formed govern- and state governments routinely en- education entrepreneurs (aka edu-
ments in Delhi and Punjab states, act legislation to ‘regulate’ the fees of preneurs) have been dissuaded from
the target of increasing annual private schools which are subject to promoting education institutions
expenditure (Centre plus states) for regular ‘inspection’ by venal school providing globally benchmarked
public education to 6 percent of GDP inspectors. (therefore expensive) school and
set in 1967 has remained a distant J u dic ia l c on f u s ion & c on tra - collegiate education. As a result, even
dream for over 60 years. As a result, dic tion . Despite the mandate of as learning outcomes in government
government schools attended by 130 the Constitution to the State to schools and higher education institu-
million children countrywide, have provide good quality free-of-charge tions went from bad to worse, quality
acquired a notorious reputation for education to all child citizens, post- standards in private schools suffered
crumbling buildings, dilapidated independence India’s judiciary — erosion.
classrooms, unusable toilets, chronic globally infamous for its sloth and ortunately, even if belatedly,
teacher truancy, multigrade teaching time agnosticism — hasn’t exhibited a decade after the historic
and rock-bottom learning outcomes. notable judicial activism to trans- Fderegulation of industry in
Unsurprisingly, they are shunned form this constitutional mandate 1991, a new generation of judges of
by the middle class and an estimated the Supreme Court saw the light. In
120 million children are enrolled in Supreme Court a landmark judgement in TMA Pai
450,000 private schools, including of India F oundation vs. U nion of I ndia &
400,000 affordable budget private O rs (2002), an 11-judge bench of the
schools countrywide with an enrol- Supreme Court ruled that all citizens
ment of 60 million children, damn- have a fundamental right to engage
ing evidence that even low-income in the “vocation” of education with
families prefer fees-levying private the right to determine admissions
schools to free-of-charge government on merit and levy “reasonable” fees
primary-secondaries. to earn surpluses for re-investment
Ex e c u tiv e / g ov e rn m e n t m is - into a fundamental right. And while in education. However, the impact
m a n a g e m e n t. Parliament and state it has done precious little to ensure of this landmark judgement was
legislative assemblies’ under-pro- that government provides acceptable diluted two years later in the slamic
I
vision for education and slap-dash, quality of education to children from A cademy Case (2005), in which a
ill-considered legislation is com- socio-economically disadvantaged five-judge bench of the apex court
pounded by open, continuous and households across the country, it directed appointment of committees
widely tolerated mismanagement has remained steadfast in its belief chaired by retired Supreme Court
of public education institutions by that all private education providers or high court judges to adjudicate if
the Central and state governments. should necessarily be philanthro- admission processes of private col-
Instead of focusing official attention pists and that “commercialisation of leges are indeed fair, based on merit,
on contemporising and upgrad- education” — but not of food, shel- and whether tuition fees levied are
ing government schools, the neta- ter, healthcare — is reprehensible. reasonable.
babu brotherhood is overly focused For over 30 critical years in the With the Supreme Court not hav-
on dragging down the country’s history of independent India, the ing asserted the supremacy of the
450,000 private schools to the status Supreme Court, packed with judges TMA Pai judgement of the full bench
of dysfunctional government schools. committed to socialist ideology in over the ruling of the five-judge
The licence-permit-quota regimen the 1970s, condoned government bench in the Islamic Academy case,
of the neta-babu brotherhood which harassment and persecution of pri- private education institutions are
almost destroyed Indian industry un- vate school promoters and manage- continuously harassed by litigation.
til the liberalisation and deregulation ments, thereby denying millions of Simultaneously with most state gov-
initiative of 1991, has migrated to the citizens the fundamental right to ernments having enacted legislation
education sector. As a result admis- establish and administer education capping private school fees, private
sions, tuition fees and administra- institutions of their choice. school promoters and principals
tion of private schools and higher With licence-permit-quota and often spend more time in courts than
education institutions is closely regu- bureaucratic corruption becoming in classrooms. In sum, difficulties of
lated by government, especially state pervasive, and legislation to cap the establishing and managing private
governments. Promotion of private fees of privately-promoted schools schools have multiplied. Meanwhile

88 EDUCATIONWORLD NOVEMBER 2022