Friday, July 9, 2010

The logic of liberalization in school education

Ashok Malik writes:

  • In its judgement in TMA Pai Foundation vs State of Karnataka (2002), an 11-member bench of the Supreme Court made a perceptive comment: "There is no compulsion on students to attend private schools. The rush for admission is occasioned by the standards maintained in such schools and recognition of the fact that state-run schools do not provide the same standards of education. The state says it has no funds to establish institutions at the same level of excellence as private schools. But by curtailing the income of such private schools, it disables those schools from affording the best facilities because of lack of funds."
  • In 2009, after the Pay Commission award and its cascading impact, private schools sought to raise fees. In Delhi, the state government allowed private schools to charge Rs 4,500 as a one-time fee and raise regular fees by up to Rs 500 a month. When it came to permission for the annual fee hike in April 2010, however, another controversy was triggered. The only school allowed to cross the Rs 500 barrier and take its fees further was Sanskriti School, run by the Central Civil Services Society!

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