Dominance of Private Universities: Will it make education inaccessible to underprivileged students?

Dominance of Private Universities: Will it make education inaccessible to underprivileged students?

Mangalore Today News Network

By Dr. G. Shreekumar Menon

Mangaluru, September 10, 2024: With half of the world’s university-age population residing in India, its higher education system is one of the largest higher education systems worldwide, and the private sector contributes a significant amount of it. With the growing years, the number of private universities and colleges has shown a huge spike.

The Union government’s education budget is insufficient to fulfil the country’s expanding higher education needs, at less than 1% of GDP. Budgetary allocations do not meet the requirements. The private sector plays a major role in making a difference, by contributing to about 50% of the country’s higher education. Because the same set of constraints, faced by government managed institutions, does not bind them, private institutions are more dynamic and innovative. As a result of the increasing number of private universities across the states, students can receive a high-quality education, without seeking to go abroad and paying exorbitant fees. In many States, private universities are being established to provide quality education to the students and meet their educational needs, who would otherwise have to knock at the doors of government administered institutions, which are constrained by various policies, that do not give priority to merit. The growth of highly specialized areas in disciplines like engineering, medicine, and management in private universities has immensely contributed to the development of education in the country. It is now estimated that 40% of medical, 84% dental, and 90% of engineering and management education are provided by private educational institutions in the country.

From immersive smart classrooms to global e-learning platforms, private schools and universities are using technology to construct a complex and forward-thinking pedagogical tapestry.

Private institutions have become hubs of research and innovation, boosting the nation’s intellectual capital. These institutions are developing unique knowledge ecosystems that can solve the country’s many problems by encouraging inquiry and supporting research.

The worldwide expansion of private higher education can be illustrated by the fact that one in three students globally are now enrolled in Private Higher Educational Institution’s (PrHEIs). In the UK, the Government recognises that private, for-profit higher education institutions, the majority of which award degrees in conjunction with state universities, typically function more efficiently and work effectively to improve the student experience, and provide quality education. In East Asian countries, such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines, PrHEIs are more dominant than public higher education institutions (PuHEIs). In India, the privatisation of the higher education sector began in the late 1990s on the advice of the World Bank to relieve pressure on public spending. PrHEIs in India now account for 64 per cent of the total number of higher education institutions in the country and 59 per cent of total enrolment, compared to 43 per cent and 33 per cent, respectively.

But, recently, Karnataka Higher Education Minister M.C. Sudhakar lamented the “growing dominance of private universities in the education sector” and said that this trend was making education “increasingly inaccessible to underprivileged students”. Dr. Sudhakar pointed out that the National Institutional Ranking Framework rankings revealed a significant decline in the performance of public universities. “As many as 61% of public universities have seen a decline,” he said. “All public universities in Karnataka are facing financial, academic, and research challenges. We should work together to ensure we do not see a day when private universities dominate and ruin the academic prospects of underprivileged and unprivileged students,” he said.

He cautioned that private universities are consistently outperforming public institutions.
State universities are facing problems with grants and academic and research privileges.

The expression “public” indicates that these universities are owned by the state. A significant aspect of public universities is that it is state-financed. The fund provided by the state is aimed at developing the infrastructure of the university, providing better educational opportunities and increasing the exposure of the students enrolled. A private university is an educational institution whose financing originates from educational costs obtained from the students, ventures from donators, and private helpers. Many renowned institutions of the world are private colleges including the prestigious Ivy League schools, in USA. Private universities have a higher tuition fee which is used to fund their various requirements, including salaries of the teaching staff. Hence the fee structure is bound to be higher than those of public universities.

Against the backdrop of the increasing number of private universities, public universities are affected by the poaching of faculty members, competition for bright students, and changing public perception about the role of private universities. In some instances, the increasing relevance of private universities is underscored by the problems associated with public institutions, such as frequent strikes, reduced capacity to admit meritorious students,  and limited technological infrastructures and facilities. There are concerns that most private universities are profit-oriented, abandoning quality or ignoring the state’s social obligation to provide affordable education. Recently, the Delhi High Court in a landmark verdict has in a bid to streamline the admission and promotion process of students from the economically weaker sections in the city’s private schools, passed a slew of directions on Thursday, August 22nd 2024 aimed at making education "respectful and accessible" for disadvantaged children.

"The injury to dignity felt by a student from the EWS category, who is made to feel unequal to his peers in a privately run school — and even in the eyes of the state — is deeply damaging," Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma observed, while directing all stakeholders (private unaided recognised schools and Delhi govt’s Directorate of Education) to ensure that there is a seamless merger of EWS and non-EWS students in schools as per the mandate of the Right to Education Act.

The court underlined that discriminatory treatment affected not only the children’s sense of belonging within the school "but also their self-esteem, especially when they are confronted with unequal treatment due to their financial background”. It said, "This court believes that the dreams of those who are financially weaker and labelled as poor by society should not be presumed to be lesser in their capacity or capability.”

The above observation of the Court is equally applicable to students seeking admissions in HEI’s. Those who can afford the expensive tuition fees can get admissions into PrHEIs, those sections claiming Reservation benefits, will get into PUHEIs, but where facilities and standards will not be satisfactory.

In the modern world, education has become a fundamental element of national development strategies in numerous countries, with the objective of cultivating a highly educated and proficient workforce that can propel economic expansion. The demand for higher education is primarily driven by the youth population aged 18-23. Projections indicate that there will be 380 million students by 2030 and 594 million by 2040, leading to substantial growth in educational institutions worldwide (Amber, 2023). The increase in student populations worldwide has been driven by the acknowledgement of education as a crucial investment in human resources, resulting in improved health, enhanced productivity, and elevated income levels.

Considering the changing education landscape in India, particularly in Private Education Institutions (PEIs), it is crucial to ensure that all sections of society can get access to avail the benefits of modern education. The NAAC and NIRF has greatly elevated the benchmarks in the Private Education Institution (PEI) sector, providing a strong framework for achieving high academic standards and ensuring effective institutional governance, for attaining superior education standards and enhancing their global competitiveness. This is to guarantee that institutions not only fulfil local regulatory requirements but also conform to global industry trends, ultimately equipping students with the aptitude and expertise necessary for triumph in an increasingly interconnected world.

The education system in India, whether public or private, needs to be redefined on principles of equality of opportunity and meritocracy, embracing all sections of the population. Upward mobility should be possible for anyone willing to do hard work within the formal education system. Government has to ensure that education should not become divisive. If intelligence is perceived as quantifiable, harmful social stratification can emerge, creating frustration on one side and arrogance on the other.

As the world enters into an age marked by technological breakthroughs in robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things, the world economy no longer rewards people for what they know. Instead, it rewards people for what they can achieve with what they know. The country’s present strong emphasis on academic excellence is also depriving students of the innovation, entrepreneurship and survival instincts needed in the real world. The country’s New Educational Policy (NEP)is designed to give students the agency to flourish in areas that actually interest them. It will also help reduce stress on parents who want their children to pass examinations with flying colours. But, it needs to be ensured that, for those sections of society, that are heavily dependent on public education, do not get deprived of modern technological breakthroughs and developments. The NEP has come up with a number of neoliberal education policies emphasizing competition, choice and diversity, and has shifted from a system that once provided an examination oriented education into providing a more differentiated educational experience, but that can slide into creating unequal outcomes. This combination of NEP and Private universities, in future, can create a dominant technocratic class of politicians and bureaucrats to dictate policy. Expanding elite schools and colleges, catering only to the affluent sections, will grab all high-wage jobs, and create a large wage gap, in the coming days.

India needs to learn from Singapore, which launched the Skills Future initiative, an ambitious effort to lessen the preoccupation with degrees and to emphasize the need for skills relevance and deepening as a way of ensuring high quality lifelong learning and employment. The goal is to “develop the skills and mastery needed to take our economy to the next level. More fundamentally, it aims to empower each Singaporean to chart their own journey in life, gain fulfilment at work and even in their senior years.” (Singapore Budget 2015) One of the programs is the SkillsFuture credit, where every citizen at least 25 years of age will get S$500 starting in 2016, with periodic top-ups, to be used for learning needs. Another one intended for mid-career workers is the study award to deepen their skills in future growth sectors, with monetary awards of S$5,000 for 2,000 individuals per year, which is on top of the usual course subsidies. The culture of continuous improvement, leadership, and vision seems to be among the key attributes of successful educational development in Singapore.

This is a task and policy challenge that cannot be avoided, the NEP which came out in 2020, needs continuous revision, on an annual basis, to rectify, emerging anomalies that are clearly visible. The Karnataka Educational Minister’s observation, as also that of the Delhi High Court, are timely warnings, that need to be taken serious note of by all educational policy makers, and private universities.

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Dr. G. Shreekumar Menon, IRS (Rtd), Ph.D. (Narcotics)

Former Director General of National Academy of Customs Indirect Taxes and Narcotics & Multi-Disciplinary School Of Economic Intelligence India; Fellow, James Martin Centre For Non Proliferation Studies, USA; Fellow, Centre for International Trade & Security, University of Georgia, USA; Public Administration, Maxwell School of Public Administration, Syracuse University, U.S.A.; AOTS Scholar, Japan. He can be contacted at shreemenon48@gmail.com