Unjustified Hikes & Loot in the name of Quality Education
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest”
-Benjamin Franklin
It seems this wonderful quote by Franklin has been taken too literally and figuratively, with a foul intent, by the Management Boards of Institutions of Learning. Unjustified Hikes and Loot has decreased the intensity and value of education at all levels in the country.
The importance of schooling with respect to the overall development of a child and careers in future cannot be understated. In fact, it would not be wrong to say that the standard of education that a child receives plays an important role in determining his future standard of living.
In India, Right to Education is a fundamental right i.e. everyone should get equal access to educational facilities.
The dream of our country being a superpower in the near future cannot be achieved without revamping our dysfunctional education system. The importance of quality education cannot be underestimated as it prepares the ground for the social-economic and political development of the country. Remember what Benjamin Disraeli said, “Upon the education of the people of country, the fate of this country depends.”
It’s not just that Education has turned into a business.
Private schools are increasing their fees every year. Every fee hike increases the gap between the rich and the poor. It discourages students from going for higher education.
It shouldn’t be left to the discretion of the schools to decide the charges.
Run by the education mafia, schools are looting, harassing and even threatening helpless parents. No one is stopping them!
Caught between inefficient government schools and expensive private schools, it’s the middle class that is suffering. Every March, private schools arbitrarily hike the school fee and other charges. Parents are left with no option, except to accept this rise.
More than half of all parents surveyed in a countrywide study have said that the school fees of their children were hiked between 11 to 20% this year, highlighting the mounting costs.
Records say that Every year School charges Rs. 20,000 to 25,000 in the name of Annual Charges & Rs. 5,000-10,000 towards Development funds, & so many other Charges in the name of quality education. The Annual Average fee being paid by Every parent for 2 kids is in the tune of Rs. 2.50 Lac to 3 Lacs per students & which is getting increased 10-15% Every year, the effect is in last 5 years the fee has been doubled in Pvt. schools. Every Pvt. School collect Crores of rupees, Every year, no other body (except their own management authorities) knows where this extra money apart from Tuition fee, is being spent.
Unjustified hikes are worrisome for those middle-class parents who want to admit their children to reputed public schools of the Trinity. The attitude and manner of functioning of private schools are akin to the working of corporates, who seek only profit. There is no system in place to check an arbitrary increase in tuition fee and other charges.
Forced to pay for an education which does not even guarantee the child’s safety. Like the case, we saw what happened in Ryan International school
Schools should be stopped from indulging in such profiteering.
There should be a regulator in place to take a call on the issue. A central legislation regarding regulation of the fee hikes is the need of the hour. An autocratic increase in fee by private schools is against the spirit of the Right to Education Act. The education sector is not for profit.
Schools have some social obligations too.
Higher Education, Higher Hikes
At the level of higher education also the condition is no different. The average running inflation rate is 10%. A 4-year B.Tech in a private college that costs Rs 8-12 lakh today is likely to set you back by Rs 17-24 lakh in 8 years’ time. By 2030, the same would cost more than Rs 40 lakh. For engineering and medical aspirants, the costs start even while the student is in school. Coaching institutes charge between Rs 80,000-1 lakh a year to prepare students for the entrance exam.
The private sector accounts for more than 76% of total institutions of higher education, data from the AISHE 2014-15 report shows.
Around 53% college students are enrolled in private institutions because there are not enough public higher educational institutions.
Private expenditure on education for general courses has increased from Rs 2,461 per student in 2007-08 to Rs 6,788 per student in 2014 (175.8% increase), according to the two NSS reports on education published in 2007-08 and 2014.
Fees at private institutions are more than double of those charged by government institutions.
Most of these institutions are nothing more than shops selling degrees. While there are a few (institutions) which can be identified as ‘Centres of Excellence’.
In both, the public and private sectors, there are a large number of mediocre colleges. Some of them could well be described as “degree shops“.
Private institutions keep the cost of education high, despite restrictions on profits.
Before ending, it would be pertinent to remember Babasaheb Ambedkar. He was vehemently against commercialisation of education & wanted the system to be inclusive in all ways. In his words, education authorities cannot be treated on the basis of quid pro quo. Rather it was something “ought to be cheapened in all possible ways to the greatest possible extent”.
