Deterioration of
Indian Higher Education from Public Good to For-Profit Market
Commodity- A Critical Evaluation.
Prof. Thota
Jyothi Rani - Kakatiya University,Warangal, Telangana.
The movement
towards value-based society will strongly be related to the nature,
pattern and availability of existing higher education. It plays a
strategic role in achieving social development as well as in
realizing social justice. Moreover, the higher education institutions
especially universities are known as the centres of knowledge and
pioneers of human civilization. Therefore, they are not expected to
confine to impart knowledge alone. They are to be articulated as a
space for sincere and serious debates to realize the aims of liberty,
equality, fraternity and social justice that are proposed in our
Constitution. The main function of universities should be to preserve
diversity, to question and analyse in order to end the inhuman forces
of discrimination, exploitation, oppression and violence which are
emerged on the basis of class, caste, religion, region and gender.
What is the
state and status of higher education in India at present, which is
expected to play a significant role to accelerate the process of
constructing the humane society? What is the state of higher
education in India in the present context of globlalisation which is
dictating and directing the socio-economic, political and cultural
structures of developing countries? How does the education sector is
being moulded to suit the needs of corporate investments? What is the
role of international pressures especially the World Bank and the
World Trade Organisation in the creation and establishment of this
process? What are the radical changes that are made in our National
Education Policies to strengthen this trend? How does it leading to
the deterioration in human values? All these issues are to be
discussed seriously. A clear awareness as to this trend in our
present education system is a necessary condition to think about the
construction of high value loaded alternative education system.
Private Sector in the Higher Education
It is significant to note that as early as in 1980’s, a favourable
environment started to emerge in India to transform education as a
marketable commodity and it is for profit only so as to enable
private sector to enter into this sector. This process has been
accelerated with the entry of globalisation on the name of New
Economic Policy in 1990-1991.
The services of Education and Health have been defined as public
goods as they are the basis for the achievement of human development
as well as social progress and social justice. Therefore, it is the
constitutional responsibility of the government to ensure equal
accessibility of education to all. Unfortunately, the globalisation
initiated the process of transforming education from public good to
marketable commodity.
The services of
education and health have been privatized first is really a great
tragedy.
Indian Higher Education System is largest in the world approximately
30 million students pursue their higher education. It is interesting
to note that the number of students in this sector is more than the
population of Australia and other 152 sovereign countries. As this
sector is in the public sphere till recently, many students from
oppressed classes and castes could get the opportunity to enter into
higher education system as first generation. This is the result of
the process of democratization of higher education system which
ensures accessibility to all.
Contrarily, this process has not been allowed to continue and
dismantled the ideal goal of “equal opportunities”through
privatization. Therefore, 75% of expansion in the higher education
system took place in the private sector for the past two decades.
With the growth of private institutions, the diversity in our
education system has been eradicated. No place can be seen for the
courses related to humanities, social sciences and pure sciences. No
space for critical thinking, social concerns, human and humane
values. The entire growth in the private sector is basically confined
to professional course especially medicine and engineering.
The enrolment
ratio in higher education system has been increased from 49 lakhs to
323 lakhs during 1999 and 2013-14. Out of which, 65 per cent growth
can be seen in the private sector only. Similarly, during the same
period, number of universities have been increased from 184 to 723
and in which as high as75 per cent is in private sector.
The issue
related to who are coming forward to make investment in higher
education definitely determines its state and fate. A wide range of
complex array of organisations and individuals from corporate
companies, religious organisations to politicians, hoteliers,
realtors and liquor barons. Moreover, the distribution of private
institutions is uneven and concentrated mainly in urban centres and
their fee structure will not give any scope for the poor to enter
into higher education system.
International
Pressures to Privatise Education
The strong
arguments were promoted during 1990’s that economic reforms are the
only means available to developing countries to come out from
economic crisis - There is No Alternative (TINA). In this context,
the World Bank could pressurize developing countries including India
to withdraw from the provisions of social services especially
education and health and they are to be privatised. The long run
vision of World Bank did not allows it to satisfy with the pressures
on India to adopt economic reforms. The arguments related to,
“privatization is necessary, inevitable and useful too” have been
popularized strongly with the creation of a powerful theoretical
basis which is favourable to ‘Neo- Liberalism’. From this
perspective, the World Bank has released a report entitled “Higher
Education: Lessons of Experience” in 1994.
The report, on the one hand appreciates the efforts of developing
countries in taking the responsibility of providing education to all
by assuming ‘Education as a Merit Good’. The report further
states that the progress achieved by these countries so far will be
the result of those efforts only. At the same time, the report argues
that the governments of developing countries must withdraw from this
responsibility is really a contradiction.
The report divides the education system into three parts – Primary,
Secondary and Higher Education and the first two parts are defined as
merit goods and therefore, the government can continue its
responsibility of providing them. As far as Higher Education is
concerned, the report states, that it is a ‘non-merit good’ and
individuals should purchase it on the basis of their ability to pay.
Thus, the report strongly recommends the withdrawal of government
from the provision of Higher Education. In addition, it states that
only the rich are entering into the Higher Education System and
appropriating the benefits of financial allocations and subsidies of
government. This naturally results in the widening of inequality.
Therefore, equality can be achieved only through the privatization of
this system. In fact, the privatization of Higher Education System
which deny its accessibility to oppressed classes is projected as a
means to achieve equality is a serious contradiction.
The school education is allowed to remain as a public good with the
intention of ensuring unlimited supply of unskilled and semi-skilled
cheap labour to the corporate sector. Now, the question is what will
be the effect of privatization of Higher Education?
The privatization has gradually been transforming into
corporatisation. Indian Higher Education System is being articulated
according to the requirements of corporate sector. At present, the
goals of higher learning are confined to learning skills and search
for employment in Multi-National Corporations and in foreign
countries at the cost of all important dimensions of education. Quest
for knowledge is substituted by acquiring/ learning skills for MNCs.
This resulted in the disappearance of critical thinking. In this
process, the students lost self-esteem, self-reliance, the higher
sense of liberty and freedom. They are skilled but blind and
brainless.
They serve global capitalism but do not have an idea about
capitalist exploitation, oppression and injustice. Thus, the result
of corporatization of higher education is the creation of man power
characterized by self-centered approach and slavish attitude. They
will not question the ruling and dominant class, exploitation,
oppression and violence. This is the ultimate goal of World Bank to
create a pro-corporate intellectual world for the sustenance of
corporate domination and imperialist exploitation in the long run
without any questioning and opposition. Further, international
pressures will not confine to the policies of World Bank only to
strengthen these structures. In addition, it utilises the support of
the Agreements of World Trade Organisation to make the pressures
stronger so as to intensity their trend.
Therefore,
during the period of release of World Bank’s report, the World
Trade Organisation started to encroach social service sectors such as
education, health and environment under General Agreement on Trade in
Services (GATS). This came into force on January 1, 1995 with a set
of binding rules and disciplines to promote liberalization in
services. The agreement would force developing countries like India
to make all their public services open to foreign competition and to
deregulate services and force them to undertake commitments which
cannot be reversed in future.This process will result in the
‘corporate takeover’ of social services by foreign multinationals
and force privatization of services.
However, the
secretariat of WTO states that sovereign countries will have liberty
to accept GATS agreement and further, the sovereign countries will
have power to take decision as to how many and what services are to
be brought under the scope of GATS. In reality, no developing country
can exercise any power to reject GATS proposal. It is ‘compulsory’
to accept under ‘voluntary’ conditions for developing countries.
Therefore, India signed on the GATS agreement as early as in 1995.
With this, all the service sector markets including the markets of
Social Services especially Education and Health have been made
accessible to Developed Countries and Dominant Countries. This
naturally leads to the deterioration in the Higher Education in India
from the State of public good to market commodity. Consequently, the
domination of corporate investments on this sector will be
established and strengthened.
The Classical
Laissez-faire system will not allow government intervention in
economic activities. But, ‘Neo Liberalism” popularizes the
argument that the organisation of public sector itself is weak and
private is efficient. Therefore, it is the duty of the government to
take measures to encourage private sector. Thus, the creation of
favourable environment for privatization is the responsibility of
government. The role of government has radically been transformed
from protecting and supporting the interests of depressed and
suppressed to encourage corporate sector which is the root cause of
all issues related to social injustice and economic exploitation.
Towards Privatization and Corporatization
In fact, this process has started in India in 1980’s. The social
development goal of education has disappeared with the conversion of
Ministry of Education into Ministry of Human Resource Development in
1985. What kind of change is necessary in the goal of higher
education? Now, the youth should learn the skills and knowledge that
are necessary for global market. Further, the youth are expected to
acquire slave mentality so as to accept the domination of corporate
power, its enormous profits and on the whole imperialist
exploitation. It is the responsibility of higher education system to
develop youth with these characteristics.
The National Education Policy, 1986 has been formulated with this
perspective only. It has stated clearly that Universities are not
expected to depend upon government allocations and therefore, it is
proposed to curtail their expenditures and take measures to earn
finances by introducing self-financing courses. This trend has taken
a clear form after the entry of globalisation process in 1990. Indian
higher education sector transformed into a large market for foreign
investments after the implemen-tation of GATS. It is converted into a
commodity for the profit maximization. Simultaneously, a basis
emerged for the deterioration of public educational institutions.
With the formulation of Private Universities Act, 1995,‘Privatisation
of Education’ has been legalized. Consequently, the authority and
domination of corporate powers on all the resources including human
resources has been started to emerge strongly.
The government allocations and subsidies to higher education system
has started to decline in 1997 and decided to reduce it from 90 per
cent to 25 per cent within five years. The MukheshAmbani – Kumara
Mangalam Birla Committee has been constituted by the Prime Minister
Council on Trade and Industry in 2000. This has submitted its report
entitled “Report on Policy framework for Reforms in Education”.
The committee is expected to give proposals and recommendations to
accelerate privatization of higher education. The report extended its
strong support to the arguments of government to privatise higher
education.
Therefore, the
recommendations have came into effect immediately without any delay.
The report strongly recommended that
i. the higher
education sector should be left to corporate investments
ii. this sector
has to be articulated as a profitable business activity
iii. removal of
entire subsidy system
iv.
implementation of user-pay principle
v. provision of
loan facility to the students whose economic position is low to bear
the educational costs
All these
changes are necessary to ensure profits to the investors and this
will attract them to make investment in this sector. Immediately, the
University Grants Commission took initiative to introduce reforms to
transform the higher education system into an industry and develop
corporate values. In order to accelerate this process, the World Bank
released a report entitled “Constructing Knowledge Societies: New
Challenges for Tertiary Education” in 2002. It is astonishing to
note that the report accepts that the higher education is a public
good but it will be supplied effectively and efficiently by the
private sector. Therefore, the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) will
be a solution. Further, it states the goal of higher education is to
create “Knowledge Societies”.
What should be the nature of that “Knowledge”? The higher
education should impart the knowledge which will be useful to the
corporate sector as well as to make it stronger. This will result in
the destruction of the goals of higher education to improve culture
and to achieve social justice “Progress in the human relation is
culture”. Therefore, Knowledge should be associated with culture to
construct of value-based society.
This will create a kind of’ ‘Key-Dolls’ with self-centred,
slavish mentality which do not possess the great characteristics like
self-confidence, self-esteem, self-reliance, fight against injustice.
These Key- Dolls will not question the increasing exploitation,
oppression, violence, inequalities and injustice and have been
declined to the level of instruments which work for the benefit of
corporates.
In order to explain the need and relevance of these recommendations
to India, our government constituted the ‘National Knowledge
Commission’ in 2007-08. This committee has given recommendations as
per the expectations of the government. It is inevitable to
articulate India as ‘Knowledge Society’ but government did not
possess required financial recourses, skills and intellectual wealth
to achieve this goal.
Therefore, only option available is to invite foreign universities
and foreign corporate investment, so as to enable our students to get
‘Knowledge’ is the strong recommendation of the committee. In
order to implement these recommendations effectively, a committee is
constituted by the government under the chairman-ship of Yashpal in
2009. This strongly recommended the establishment of private
universities is necessary to improve higher education sector and
therefore, they have to be encouraged.
Thus, at the
policy level, a strong base has been created as per the pressures of
World Bank, to create a favourable environment for the privatization
and corporatization of Indian higher education system to achieve
“equality” and “efficiency”.
The Measures to Privatise Higher Education
The proposals related to higher education in the Draft of 12th Five
Year Plan have been placed before National Development Council on
27th December, 2012. It has recommended for the reexamination of
existing laws to allow entry of for-profit higher educational
institutions in select areas under necessary regulatory arrangements.
It is also proposed to tax for-profit institutions and channeling
revenue from this into large scale scholarship programme. It is also
proposed to allow private institutions to raise funds through public
offerings of bonds and shares, to allow new institutions to be
established under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956. Further, it
is recommended to provide option for existing trusts and societies to
covert the legal status of their institutions to institutions under
Section 25 of Companies Act, 1956.
Thus, the domination of private corporate forces in Indian higher
education sector has increased. Further, continuous rise can be seen
in the ‘Public-Private Partnership’ for the benefit of private
sector in order to accelerate this trend, the Planning Commission has
constituted Narayana Murthy Committee (NMC) for necessary directions.
What are the recommendations of NMC?
The Planning Commission has released the report of Narayana Murthy
Committee, entitled “Corporate sector participation in Higher
Education” on 8th May, 2012. The Committee, basically, focused on
three core aspects.
i. creation of environment to attract private corporate investments
ii. corporate support for research as well as faculty development
iii. corporate investment for existing institutions and creation of
new institutions and clusters of knowledge
The NMC report clearly explains the deficiencies of public
educational institutions and its inefficiencies. However, the report
will not make any attempt to identify the root cause of the issue but
states that inefficiency is the characteristic feature of government
institutions. Therefore, there is no alternative, except
privatization to make the system efficient. The public educational
institutions have been suffering from faculty shortage, lack of
physical infrastructure, poor academic standards, weak employability,
and funding gaps. The committee argues that the entry of corporate
investments in this sector alone will solve all these challenges.
This issue has clearly been discussed by the Committee. First task is
to take measures for up gradation of 75 top universities and higher
education institutions. This requires investment in the range of Rs
175-200 crores per institution. The establishment of 20 World class
new Universities with the investment of Rs 500 crores per
institution.
The creation of 20 new National Knowledge Clusters through PPP model
in identified cities and educational hubs of the country and the
required finances should be provided by Central, State governments
and Corporate sector.
The NMC recommends that Central and State governments should allot
land free of charge for 999 years for setting up new institutions to
attract corporate investments to this sector. It is necessary to
encourage the establishment of knowledge clusters and research
centres to impart knowledge as per the requirements of Multi National
Corporations. This requires Rs 40,000 cr investment during 2012-17.
The Central and State governments should extend their complete
support to corporate investments and should give fiscal incentives
and concessions as many as possible.
With this, the debate and discussion related to “Higher Education
as a public good” came to an end. The international and national
pressures in terms of theory and policies have created an environment
which will not allow any disagreement about the deteriorating trend.
Now, all are compelled to accept that ‘Higher Education is
marketable commodity and the main aim of investments in this sector
is profit motive. Further, this sector can be improved only with
corporate investments. Thus, entry of corporate forces is a pre-
requisite and necessary condition. The measures that should be taken
by the governments to attract corporate investments in this sector
assumes significance. For this, government should provide land, give
tax concessions and various kinds of incentives. For this, the entire
structure of State from Central to State governments should extend
strong support and measures should be taken at least to ensure 25-30
per cent profit rate for investments in this sector.
What are the effects of this process?
The entire
higher education system will divert its energies and efforts to
create youth with necessary skills and knowledge that ensure
corporate domination and corporate profits. They do not have any idea
or concern about social justice. No question of social consciousness.
The created self-centred youth will only know about how to run for
jobs with high income package and how to retain them so as to become
a strong part in the vicious circle of consumerism. They failed to
think about society, social values. No space for discussion about the
causes for the deterioration in human values and collectivity. This
kind of transformation of youth is necessary for the sustenance and
continuation of imperialist exploitation.
At the international level the World Bank and the World Trade
Organisation, at the national level, the governments of developing
countries including the Government of India have been formulating
policies and creating strong structures to implement them effectively
to make the vicious circle of crisis strong and hard to break. They
are moving too fast towards decay and destruction.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
As part of implementation of the recommendations of Narayana Murthy
Committee, the Parliament has accepted Company Bill, 2012 in December
2012. The CSR is mandatory. The new bill mandates that every company
having net worth of Rs. 500 cr are more, or a net profit of Rs 5 cr
or more, or turnover of Rs 1000 crores are more in any financial
years to constitute a CSR Committee and has to spend at least 2 per
cent of the average net profits in every financial year.
The new bill
intends to develop the culture of philanthropy in private sector. The
institutions which exploit the people are given responsibility to
protect them. The existence of corporate forces itself is to exploit
the resources, land, labour with the support of government. Alas,
they have been given social responsibility?. They enter into higher
education system not to serve the society but to earn profits. The
government made radical changes in the policies and programmes to
ensure profits so as to attract corporate investments.
Where is the
question of social responsibility?. This is nothing but deceiving
people with wrong perception. What is the State and Status of
Universities as well as higher education institutions?
Education will
be accessible to all without any discrimination only in the Public
Universities. They provide space for critical thinking and
evaluation. The democratic values and diversity will be preserved
only through government institutions. They are the plat forms for the
scientific discussions as to how to solve social issues. These
Students will be on the fore front of any movement for social
transfor-mation.
The Public Universities will give a progressive direction to the
motion of society. It is appropriate to mention one incident occurred
in 2015 in Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur of Andhra Pradesh.
Rishitheshwari, who was the student of Architect Engineering died in
suspicious circumstances. The Student Associations like PDSO, the
women organisations like SthreeVimukthiSanghatana, Lawyers
associations and Rights associations have strongly protested the
incident and have constituted ‘Fact Finding Committees. They could
reveal the facts behind the death to the society.
The entry of all
the responsible associations is possible to know the facts and to
protest the untoward incidents only in public institutions. The
implementation of inhuman discipline, harassment, increasing pressure
on the students on the name of competition is creating a suffocating
atmosphere for students in the corporate colleges which is resulting
in the suicides of students. Is there any scope for any organisation
to enter into these institutions to know the facts? Prevalence of
totally undemocratic practices in these institutions. No protest, no
questioning, only acceptance. This is needed for the sustenance of
imperialism.
The main aim
behind the establishment of University Grants Commission (UGC) is to
take measures to protect the autonomy and diversity of Universities
on the lines recommended by the first University Education
Commission, 1948. Unfortunately, the difference between UGC and
Ministry of Human Resource Development has gradually been declining.
Instead of protecting the autonomy of Universities, the UGC has been
moulded as an instrument in the hands of government to curb the
autonomy and diversity of higher education institutions by
introducing ‘Choice Based Credit System, Common Curriculum and
Syllabi.
Different
Universities will specialize in different areas of research, what
will happen to all this intellectual specialisation? Further, at the
under graduation level, offered courses have been divided into Core,
Common and Open. In this, only core courses require regular and
permanent teaching staff and Part-time teaching staff will be enough
for remaining course. This naturally results in the informalisation
of teaching jobs in universities.
It is a bitter
fact to note that not only in two Telugu States but also in entire
India, no recruitment of teaching staff in the Universities for more
than a decade. Financial allocations decreased. The self-financing
courses, Distance education courses have become real sources of
finances to run the universities. The importance of teachers
declining in Telugu States, in all the State Universities, the posts
of Vice-Chancellors is vacant for the past two years. In one of the
State University of Telangana, the University college Hostels have
been privatised three years ago despite serious protests from
students and faculty. The government has been taking measures
‘sincerely’ to make the Universities worthless entities as per
the pressures of corporate forces. Unfortunately, some of the
teachers and students are becoming instruments for the change towards
deterioration. Nobody is there to question or protest even if
measures are taken to close these institutions.
Nobody can reject the trend of worsening standards and values of
research. Even research has been transformed into a market commodity.
This is not an isolated and individual issue but it is a part and
parcel of the process of converting these institutions futile,
hopeless and unnecessary. Therefore, no individual solutions but to
attack entire structures of deterioration.
Even Central
Universities who are known to be custodians of intellectual wealth
became integral part of this worsening trend. The incidents of
Hyderabad Central University, JawaharLal Nehru University, Delhi and
Jadavapur University will prove it. The critical thinking and
evaluation have been termed as ‘outdated theories’. Discussing
about the realization of constitutional right and directive principle
of State policy became a serious crime and ‘Anti-National’. The
education is strictly defined as “learning skills” only. The
students and youth are not expected to think and talk about social
justice as it will not come under their purview. Simply, they should
be obedient to the corporate forces.
Now, the higher
education is strongly linked to money because it is converted into
marketable commodity. This will be useful to global market only. As
it is linked to employability, the courses that are necessary for the
society and collective spirit such as Humanities, Social Sciences,
and Pure Sciences are disappearing rapidly. Similarly, quest for
knowledge and wisdom has seriously been replaced by simply acquiring
skills.
The higher
education will be accessible to affluent sections only due to
privatization and corporatization. Poor can enter only into public
universities and institutions. The process of dismantling public
higher education system will result in the permanent denial of higher
education to poor and oppressed.
To strengthen
the problem of deterioration, the Draft National Education Policy,
2015 gave importance to raise efficiency, accountability and moulding
students according the needs of global market. The constitutional
goals of equality, social justice, and guarantee for fundamental
rights will not find any place in this policy is really a tragedy.
In this context,
it is appropriate to remember the statement of Albert Einstein in
1954 that “it is not enough to teach a person a speciality. Through
it, the person may become a kind of useful machine but not a
harmoniously developed personality. It is essential that the student
acquire an understanding of and lively feeling for values. They must
acquire a vivid sense of beautiful and of the morally good.
Otherwise, the person with specialized skills/Knowledge, more closely
resembles a well-trained dog rather than a harmoniously developed
person”.This kind of environment will be created only when higher
education is again transformed into public good. The youth in the
higher education should be conscious of human values, social
development and social justice. Moreover, it should be accessible to
all without any discrimination. The question is, will it be possible
to purify education system independently?. It is rooted in the
phenomenon of power of corporate forces which dictate the globe.
Therefore, its solution lies in the end of imperialist exploitation
which result in the creation of humane structure of political economy
free from all kinds of discrimination, exploitation, oppression and
violence. This progressive environment enables to attain progress in
the education system too. Hope that socially conscious forces will
unite and move towards to realize this goal.
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