Page 256 - EducationWorld November 2020

Interview

“Private education should focus on ethical wealth creation”

An alumnus of IIT-Kanpur, IIM- In EducationWorld, we believe that
Calcutta and the top-ranked Booth universal literacy and high quality,
School of Business at the University especially primary-secondary education
of Chicago with work experience is a prerequisite of economic and national
at JP Morgan Chase, ICICI Bank development. To what extent do you agree
and Tata Consultancy Services, Dr. with this statement?
Krishnamurthy Subramanian is There is enough research in this
Chief Economic Adviser of the Union area, especially focused on develop-
government. Excerpts from an ing economies, which clearly shows
interview with Dilip Thakore: (For that return or bang for the buck in
full interview see www.education- primary education is significant.
world.in) However in the Indian context, it is
not so much the paucity of fund-
Mainly authored by you, the path-breaking ing for primary education as poor
Economic Survey 2019-20, for the first governance — especially in govern-
time in living memory, unambiguously ment schools — that is the cause
recommends that the Union government of India’s poor record in learning
and Indian society repudiate post- outcomes and education. It’s not
independence India’s socialist legacy and that government teachers are not
reverts to its ancient and very success- well paid. Yet their relatively good
ful traditions of free markets and free remuneration is not reflected in the
enterprise. What has been the reaction of learning outcomes of government
the BJP government at the Centre and the Thirukkural in Tamil that gener- schools. Therefore, the importance of
establishment to this recommendation? ated prosperity and doubled India’s good governance in the public educa-
It’s been unequivocally supportive. annual GDP growth rate after 1991 tion system, especially at the lower
Evidence of this support is seen when the economy was liberalised levels, is critical for achieving better
in several reforms that have been and deregulated. Unfortunately, after outcomes. While there may be a case
recently announced reducing the the subjugation of India by the Brit- for increasing budgetary allocations
role of State and enabling the private ish and later our “tryst with social- for primary education, I think ensur-
sector by efficiencies and reforms in ism”, we deviated from the timeless ing that the money being invested
factor markets. Research conducted principles of free markets and free is efficiently utilised by improving
by historian Angus Maddison, enterprise. But now we are coming governance, is more important.
clearly shows that for three quarters back to those principles and the new
of known economic history, that is reforms that have been announced In your path-breaking Economic Survey,
till 1750 AD, India accounted for are in that spirit. you have cited India’s ancient political
more than one-third or 33 percent scientists Kautilya and Thiruvalluvar, in
of global GDP. Just to give you a Would you say that the recent labour and support of the proposition that the invis-
sense of India’s dominance, the US agricultural reforms are reflective of this ible hand of the market, supported by
which has been the global economic new thinking? the hand of trust, is the prescription for
superpower for about half a century, Absolutely. Not only that, when national prosperity. Now, the moot point
accounts for 15-16 percent or there- announcing the prime minister’s Co- is, is this prescription valid for the educa-
abouts of world GDP. vid-19 relief package the government tion sector as well?
This magnitude of dominance clearly stated that except in a few It’s not only valid, it’s salient for the
that India had, didn’t happen by strategic sectors, government will education sector. Let me take an
accident. It was by design. And have no business being in business. example that people don’t talk about
when we examined the design we And even in these sectors, the num- very positively — the test prep coach-
discovered the timeless principles ber of state-owned enterprises will ing industry for the civil service,
that create economic prosperity. It’s be limited to four. As a statement of IIT-JEE, NEET and other public
the combination of free enterprise, intent, this is very important because entrance exams. If you think about
the invisible hand of the market it comes against the backdrop of the it, it’s a market solution. Ideally, one
propagated by pioneer economist socialistic past where wealth and would want an honours stream in
Adam Smith, supported by the hand wealth creation was tolerated as a classes XI and XII in every school
of trust. In the Economic Survey we necessary evil. Now for the first time, where the school itself prepares
provided evidence that it was the this government is liberally using students for these exams. There
marriage of modern economics with the word ‘privatisation’ instead of could be a curriculum that trains
time-honoured Indian philosophy euphemisms like divestment and dis- them for these examinations and
and literature — not scripture — con- investment. I believe that we are on as good teachers you get in the test
tained in ancient Indian texts such the cusp of a marriage between time- prep schools. But since this innova-
as the Arthashashtra in Sanskrit and tested Indian economic philosophy tion has not happened, we have the
with modern economic principles.

256 EDUCATIONWORLD NOVEMBER 2020