“Most Private Engineering Colleges are Real Estate Rackets”

V. Raghunathan, a former professor of finance, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, who currently heads a corporate foundation involved in social work and inclusive education, discusses the problems of the Right to Education Act and on the regulatory issues in higher education, with E. Kumar Sharma.

The hurdles in implementing the Right to Education Act: The Act says every child between six and 14 years should have the right to “free and compulsory education in a neighbourhood school”. It calls for local bodies to set up the requisite number of schools within three years. Given our birth rate, we add nearly 20 million babies every year. This calls for 60,000 new schools every year.

Why private schools are complaining: The definition of ‘school’ in the Act includes unaided schools that receive no government aid. Such schools also have to reserve seats for eligible underprivileged children and their fees are to be reimbursed by state governments. In Andhra Pradesh, we already have a scheme where the state pays the fees for students below the poverty line in engineering colleges. This amount runs into thousands of crores, and the state has no funds to pay.

Possible solutions: States could seek bids from CSR arms of the private sector or reputed NGOs to take over government schools, with committed capital expenditure and underwriting of operational expenses. These parties could be allowed full management control in return for free education to 40 per cent of those enrolled. The paying students could subsidise the non-paying students. The number of rural schools can be increased by insisting that for every urban school a private party sets up, it should have to start two rural schools as well of the same capacity.

The regulation of higher education: Our regulatory system in higher education leaves much to be desired. The real issue is not whether we replace the All India Council for Technical Education or the University Grants Commission with another umbrella body. Merely naming a new commission is unlikely to address the systemic flaws.

Why private engineering colleges are mushrooming: Private engineering colleges have mushroomed because they have been allowed to mushroom. Most such institutions are in fact real-estate rackets in the guise of educational institutions. A large majority of them are controlled by politicians and builders.

The way out: Institutions like the AICTE and UGC must have eminent public figures from all walks of life on governing bodies. There could even be an academic Ombudsman to whom institutions that feel they have been wronged, can appeal.