Private campus, public surrender

Context:  Greater push towards privatisation has implications for academic freedom and diversity in education institutions. 

Arguments for privatisation of education

• To be in a better position to ensure intellectual independence. 
• Brings profit motive in education: According to a recent report on private participation in schooling brought out by the Central Square Foundation, profit-making will attract investment and enable easy access to credit for schools.
  • Classifying private schools as micro, small, or medium enterprises could further credit availability.
• Potential to provide better transparency and accountability: By opening corporate governance structures to private schools.
• Better learning outcomes: by providing better exam “results”, English-medium teaching etc.
• Admission will be inclusive or diverse.

Arguments against privatisation of education

• Reduces intellectual independence, in practice: Private institutions ensuring intellectual independence is only true theoretically, not practically. Reasons-
  • Owners of private institutions may be dependent on the government to protect and enhance their business interests; thus, they are likely to bend to state pressure.
  • Academic freedom is not a part of the culture of the owners of most private universities; founders tend to choose weak Vice-Chancellors, who are often not part of the decision-making process,
• Exacerbate inequalities in society: due to increased profit motive in education and thus creates a sharp class divide in the education system: reasons-
  • The “elite” private schools are unaffordable for a large section of the Indian population.
  • Boys and students from upper-caste backgrounds are overwhelmingly represented in private institutions relative to public ones.
• Problems with “low fee” private schools: that seeks to bridge the class divide by attracting students from less-advantaged backgrounds.
  • They often have less than basic infrastructure and poorly qualified, underpaid teachers. 
  • Leave children stranded or forcing them to fall off the education map.
• Good performance of private institutions comes at the cost of diversity: They restrict admissions to those who are likely to shine in test scores and thus reduce the diversity.

Conclusion: Rehabilitate the role of the state in the university and school systems in India so as to ensure academic freedom and social responsibilities are fulfilled.