Adding Value To Education

India should celebrate the low-cost private school revolution that is underway

James Tooley

Something extraordinary is happening in education across rural India – that’s the conclusion that stands out in Pratham’s ASER 2009 report launched recently. The extraordinary concerns private education: Pratham devotes two special sections to private schools, which shows it recognises their importance.But it’s even more significant than highlighted. True, it points to enrolment of 6-14 year old rural children in private education being stable at around 22 per cent – that’s more than one in five children who go to private school. In some states it’s much higher – Haryana has 41 per cent and Uttar Pradesh has 36 per cent private school enrolment. In those states, two in five children go to private school. And this is about rural India; it is much higher in urban areas.

It’s true too that Pratham agrees children do much better in private than government schools – although it doesn’t seem particularly excited about it. Take ‘reading in children’s own mother tongue’. Here, the percentage of children in government schools who can read at least a class I text is 43.6. But in private schools it is 52.2 per cent. That’s an 8.6 percentage point difference, or a huge 20 per cent advantage to private schools. Fair enough, Pratham cautions us to hold on: it might be the brighter children who go to private schools, or the ones with more educated or wealthier parents. So the report’s writers adjust the results to take this into account.

Doing so, they find the private school advantage decreases: down from 8.6 percentage points to 2.9 – that is, they write, “a measly 5%” advantage. Perhaps it is only small. But remember, this is the children’s mother tongue. Most government schools teach in the mother tongue, whereas private schools are often English medium. You’d think that for all the criticisms levelled against Englishmedium private schools that they’re damaging young children’s prospects of learning, that at least government schools would do better in the mother tongue? Not a bit. Private schools are doing better in the area where everyone says government schools should have the advantage.

But what about English? This year, Pratham tested for English ability. Here the results are quite outstanding – and incidentally answer those critics who say rural private schools are English medium in name only, fooling poor parents who can’t really tell what they’re teaching. In government schools, the percentage of children who can at least read simple words in English is 26.5, compared to 44.2 per cent in private schools – a 17.7 percentage point difference, or a massive 67 per cent advantage. After statistically controlling for important variables, the difference falls, but only to 10.8 percentage points, still a huge 41 per cent advantage.

So private schools are serving a significant proportion of rural children, and are outperforming government schools. But here, Pratham misses a trick. Perhaps it’s because we always think of private education as being elitist, that we don’t then ask the next obvious question: what about cost? And here, the true remarkableness of this private education revolution is revealed. For private schools in general in the villages are not the expensive ones we’re used to, but are low-cost, budget schools, affordable to many even on minimum wage incomes. My team looked at rural private schools a couple of years ago, in rural Mahbubnagar, one of the poorest districts in rural Andhra Pradesh. We found a roughly similar proportion of children enrolled in private schools in that district as Pratham found for the (rural) state – we found 26.0 per cent, it found 29.2 per cent. But we also looked at fees: these were, for class IV, about Rs 100 per month in the recognised private schools, and Rs 70 per month in the unrecognised. That’s up to Rs 1,200 per year, incredibly little. And these low-cost private schools are exactly the type of school that will make up the majority of Pratham’s nationwide sample.

So the trick Pratham misses is about value for money. Even looking at the costs in the classroom alone, we found salaries in government schools are about seven times higher than private unrecognised schools, and about three and a half times higher than the private recognised schools. And that’s ignoring all the other funding that comes from the state for all those people serving the education department, and it’s forgetting contributions from central government too.

In other words, the revolution revealed by Pratham taking place in rural India today features private schools serving a significant minority of children, outperforming government schools, at a fraction of the cost. Now, surely that’s something we should be celebrating?

The central government’s flagship programme is Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, designed to increase access to, and raise the standards, in elementary schools across India. It alone brings in Rs 1,700 per child per annum – over and above what states already pay for government education. Now here’s a thought: if all that money had gone on education vouchers, that alone would pay the fees for every child in India to attend a low-cost private school and leave something to spare for books. Wouldn’t that have been a very simple, but rather effective, way of raising the quality of education in India today?

The writer is professor of education policy, Newcastle University, UK.

Lighting up her life

Schoolkids from J&K visit INS Vikrant

Shreya Bhandary | TNN

Mumbai: The Indian Army began a programme named ‘Op Sadbhavana’ and brought 34 school students from Poonch district on a tour to the city. The Maratha-Lai regiment has taken the responsibility of taking the kids around Mumbai and Pune over the next eight days. On Friday, these kids were shown around the famous INS Vikrant and INS Mumbai.

“We want these children to know that they are safe and can trust the civil services,’’ said Captain Manohar Nambiar.

BACK TO 45% FROM 50%

DTE reverts to old CET criteria

Mumbai: A day after TOI reported on the problems caused by the new eligibility criteria for Maharashtra’s Common Entrance Test (CET) for an MBA, the directorate of technical education (DTE) has reverted to the old eligibility criteria. Earlier this month, the DTE announced that only students who scored a minimum of 50% in a full-time graduation course were eligible for CET.

Previously, the cut off was 45% and students who took up part-time and distance learning graduate courses were also eligible.

Students who graduated with marks between 45% and 50%, those who did a part-time degree course and those who were studying for the CET, were left in the lurch. But now, a note on the DTE website says that the basic eligibility criteria for CET this year will remain the same as the previous year. The changes will be implemented in the following year. TNN

From deemed univs to colleges

Akshaya Mukul | TNN

New Delhi: The HRD ministry, which has decided to derecognise 44 “deemed universities’’, said its task force had recomended that institutions not found fit for deemed university status “should revert to status quo ante as an affiliated college of the state university of jurisdiction so that students would be able to complete their ongoing courses and obtain degree from the affiliating university’’. Similarly, medical and dental colleges not found suitable can affiliate to the state university or the state medical university.

In case the institution is unable to obtain affiliation, efforts would be made to facilitate the migration/re-enrolment of the affected students in other institutions. Doctoral students will have to re-register with the affiliating universities and those in distance education should either go to IGNOU or state open universities.

In an affidavit filed in the SC in the Viplav Sharma vs Union of India case, the HRD ministry said the review committee had found only 38 institutes fit to have the deemed university status. Another 44 were found “deficient’’ in some aspects which needed to be rectified over the next three years. With the Supreme Court likely to approve of the HRD’s action, it is unlikely that the government will face any litigation.

These 44 deemed universities have 1,19,363 students at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In addition, there are 2,124 students pursuing research at MPhil and PhD levels and an estimated 74,808 pursuing distance education programmes. As many as 41 of the 44 deemed universities have several constituent institutions under them. Tamil Nadu has the distinction of having 16 of the 44 derecognised deemed universities. Among those found undeserving of deemed status in TN is Bharath Institute of Higher Education& Research—with six constituent institutions—run by S Jagatharakshakan, MoS, I&B. Karnataka has six derecognised deemed universities, UP four, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Maharashtra three each. Gujarat, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Bihar have one each.

International education may soon reach the common man

Anahita Mukherji I TNN

Mumbai: International boards are working overtime to ensure that they reach out to those who may not have the means to afford admission to an international school.

The International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO), a Geneva-based board that has gained popularity in India, has set up a committee called the Access and Advancement Committee, chaired by Dr Indu Shahani, sheriff of Mumbai and principal of HR College.

The committee aims to make IB education more accessible to the common man around the world. “This will involve adopting local schools in developing countries as well as schools in under-priveleged neighbourhoods in developed countries and helping them upgrade their standards,’’ said Shahani.

The Access Committee, headquartered in Singapore, has launched a programme called Believe in India. Both IB and non-IB schools have been asked to sign up for the programme.

IB school teachers will help train those from non-IB schools. In addition to training the staff, IB will also help sponsor the infrastructure at these non-IB schools. IB schools will also share their premises with NGOs and non-IB schools in addition to facilitating student interactions between both sets of schools.

The programme will kickstart in Hyderabad, where a number of local schools have been identified for the project. Another popular international board, the International General Certificate of Secondary Education, affiliated to the University of Cambridge, is already being offered by several schools in India at more affordable rates.

“While the cost of an IGCSE education in South Asia is much cheaper than it is in places like Europe, a number of IGCSE schools charge the same amount as schools affiliated to Indian boards,’’ said Ian Chambers, South Asia representative for Cambridge International Examinations.

IGCSE has also partnered with the Gujarat government to provide teacher training to around 400 state board teachers over the last three to four years, said Chambers. Such programmes are also offered at an individual level in several parts of the country.

“I welcome the move on the part of international boards to help local schools, as this will broaden the horizons of our teachers. They will get to experience a new and innovative pedagogy of education prevalent in other parts of the world,’’ says Arundhati Chavan, principal at a teacher training college in Kalyan, and president of the PTA United Forum.

INCLUSIVE PROJECT

The IBO, a Geneva-based board, has set up a committee chaired by Dr Indu Shahani, Mumbai sheriff and HR College principal, to make IB education more accessible

The Access Committee, headquartered in Singapore, has launched a programme called Believe in India. Both IB and non-IB schools have been asked to sign up for it

IB school teachers will help train those from non-IB schools. In addition to training the staff, IB will also help sponsor the infrastructure at these non-IB schools

The message: Don’t pass or fail life, live it

As Student Suicides Continue, Concerned Parents, Teachers, Psychiatrists And Police Focus On Woes Of Worried Youth

Anahita Mukherji | TNN

What’s common between a well-known actor and theatre personality, an IIMBangalore alumnus and a Mumbaibased journalist? As students, all of them had a taste of failure. Yet, they have all done well in their careers. Their motto: Don’t give up on life.

Take, for instance, Juhi Babbar, a well-known theatre personality, and the daughter of actors Raj and Nadira Babbar. Juhi never fared too well at school and was on the verge of failing Class VI. “It was a terrible feeling. The thought of losing my friends and putting my parents through a great deal of embarrassment just added to the pain,’’ she says. While she had a great set of friends, it sometimes bothered her that she fared the worst in studies amongst all of them. For Juhi, it was the people around her, like a supportive mother and a bunch of friends who didn’t judge her by her marksheet, that helped her through that period in her life.

Bhisham Mansukhani, a Mumbai-based journalist who has worked for some of the country’s leading publications, knows what it’s like to flunk exams. He failed five out of seven subjects in Class IX. Initially, he withheld his marksheet and lied to his parents about having passed in all subjects. “While I was too naive to actually know what suicide meant, I did consider it as a means of escaping having to show my parents my marksheet,’’ he says.

It was only after a few counselling sessions with psychologist Maya Kriplani, a consultant at his school, that he had the guts to face his parents over his marks. “I confided in my mother over my score. To my surprise, she took it far better than I had imagined,’’ he adds. Then, there’s Satya Narayanan R, an IIM-Bangalore alumnus who is the founder and chairman of Career Launcher, an education company that provides coaching for competitive exams and has set up 20 schools across the country as well as a university in Rajasthan.

Satya flunked his physics practicals as a Delhi schoolboy and didn’t appear for the Class XII board exams the first time around as he was too busy concentrating on cricket instead of studies. He has scant respect for an education system that lays more than a fair share of emphasis on marks. “I feel that educationists need to accept the fact that education is a framework for learning and nothing more. I’m not saying that excellence should not be craved. I’m just saying that excellence is not equivalent to 100% in mathematics,’’ he adds.

Jahan Peston Jamas, an SYBCom student at HR College, echoes these sentiments. “After working really hard in Class X, I was very disappointed when my score was only 75%,’’ he said. Over the years, his marks kept dipping. He scored 67% in Class XII and 57% in FYBCom. “There were times when I felt like a failure in life. But now, I have realised that there is so much more I can learn beyond studies,’’ he says. “While poor scores can be very demoralising, it’s important to pick yourself up and get on with life.’’

Jamas should know. He and five other students with poor scores successfully completed the mammoth task of compiling the data of 46,800 college alumni so they could be invited for the golden jubilee celebrations of the college. “Of the six of us, three were dyslexic, one had dyscalculia and I was just an average student,’’ he says.

TENSE TIME: Police outside the Juhu school, a student of which killed himself at his chawl (right) on Monday

After CBSE, state board comes to aid of autistic kids

Pratibha Masand | TNN

Mumbai: A year after the CBSE allowed concessions for autistic children appearing for the all-important Class X exams, the state board is following suit.

Starting with the SSC exams in March 2010, students with autism can avail of a slew of concessions—from appearing for exams in their own school, extra time for papers and opting for lower level maths—said state education board chairperson Vijaysheela Sardesai. The SSC board has decided to implement the concessions for Std IX and X autistic students.

“We have decided to implement these concessions starting from the upcoming 2010 board exams. We have sent the letter to the divisional board,’’ said Sardesai. However, when TOI called up Sridhar Salunkhe, chairperson of the Divisional Board, Mumbai, on Monday, he said that he had not received the letter. “We do not know anything about it as we haven’t received any letter on this issue from the SSC board,’’ he said.

While CBSE has been implementing these concessions for over a year, the appeal to SSC board was made in last April. “Even though the SSC board had decided to grant the concessions last April, it was yet to be implemented as they wanted to fine-tune the proposal,’’ said Chitra Iyer, president of Forum For Autism, a parental support group, who had first raised the demand for concessions.

“If the concessions are being implemented from this year itself, then it really is a relief for us. My son is in Std IX and is autistic. He will be giving his board exams next year. But it really is very difficult for him to learn as fast as other children. He, like all autistic children, hates to write. I just wish the concessions were given to him at an earlier stage, so it would have been less difficult for him to pass the lower classes,’’ said Suniti Roshan, a Kandivli resident.

Cloud over UGC, accreditation body

Hemali Chhapia | TNN

In 2005, D Y Patil Medical College, Kolhapur, and Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Satara, were granted deemed university status when then HRD minister Arjun Singh saw great potential in them. Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, Pune, had received the status in 1987. On Monday, all three universities were stripped of their rank by the HRD ministry and reduced to ordinary colleges once again on the strength of the Tandon Committee recommendations.

Shockingly, the D Y Patil Medical College had been rated ‘excellent’ by the government’s National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) less than a year ago. So, what went wrong? In light of the Tandon Committee report, questions are being raised about NAAC inspections and the working of the University Grants Commission which recommended the status.

The managements still refused to accept the writing on the wall. D Y Patil College chancellor Sanjay Patil said he had no clue why the deemed status was being taken away. “We were called for a meeting in Delhi and the team was impressed with our presentation. We provide high quality education. I feel there has been some mistake and I am going to Delhi tomorrow,’’ he said.

Govt to derecognize 44 deemed varsities

An Uncertain Future Stares At 2 Lakh Students

Akshaya Mukul | TNN

New Delhi: The HRD ministry has decided to derecognize as many as 44 “deemed universities’’, spelling uncertainty for nearly two lakh students who are enrolled with them. The ministry’s decision amounts to an acknowledgement of irregularities in conferring the deemed status on these institutions under the first UPA government in which Arjun Singh was the HRD minister.

The 44 deemed universities, including one promoted by I&B minister of state S Jagathrakshakan, three government-sponsored ones and some in the NCR are spread across the country. These universities were found deficient on many grounds ranging from lack of infrastructure to lack of evidence of expertise in disciplines they claim to specialise in.

The big step, as reported first by TOI, was taken after clearance from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. It is also an indictment of the manner in which the deemed status was doled out during Arjun Singh’s tenure. Although the list includes many that were given the status during Murli Manohar Joshi’s time, the list of those red-pencilled indicates how during Arjun Singh’s tenure the deemed status was virtually up for grabs. The HRD ministry, however, emphasised that the students would be taken care of.

MAHARASHTRA’S BAD EGGS

D Y Patil Medical College, Kolhapur
Started by D Y Patil, a former minister and governor of Tripura. It offers MBBS, occupational therapy and physiotherapy courses. Granted deemed status in 2005

Krishna Institute of Med Sciences, Satara
Started by sugar baron Jaywantrao Bhonsale, brother of ex-finance minister Yeshwantrao Mohite. It has four colleges offering courses in dentistry, nursing, physiotherapy, biotechnology

Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, Pune
Established in 1921, it’s one of the oldest institutes in the state. It has four streams—arts, fine arts, moral and social sciences, and ayurveda—and a board of distance education Times View: Derecognizing deemed universities that are found to be unfit for that status is fine, but the matter must not be allowed to rest here. Responsibility must be fixed for how these obtained recognition in the first place. Once the individuals responsible are identified, stringent punishment must be imposed on them. A clear message has to be sent—those who treat the futures of lakhs of students in such a callous manner will not be allowed to go scot-free or escape with token punishment. Investigations must also be launched to ascertain whether the granting of recognition was a simple case of incompetence or—as most people would suspect—money changed hands. If it is the latter, nothing less than criminal proceedings must follow.