What Orissa needs

This has reference to the letter titled “Donate for a seat” (TNIE; 23.07.07). The letter unjustifiably holds all Indians as being poor - so poor that they all need subsidy to send their wards to Institutions of higher learning. Further, it raises pertinent questions about exploitation and accountability.

We have seen the outcome of the highly subsidized education in few elite government-run Institutes with limited-seats. In fact, the “not-so-poor” extracted the maximum benefits from this subsidy. These were, in effect, seats “almost-donated” by the taxpayer for transforming “bright” students into bright Engineers and Managers who should have perhaps served their country. However, many left the country for better prospects abroad. So who has been exploited?

Faculty in these elite Institutions never faced much competition while securing research grants. The five-year plans ensured substantial funds for them to maintain “quality” (at the cost of quantity). Without any “right to information”, taxpayers were not given any account of how these funds were utilized. So who is to be held accountable?

Post-liberalization, India is facing global competition in its own territory and we need to create conditions for reversing the brain drain. The first step in that direction is capacity expansion and infrastructure building through private participation. Today, many Indians want to come back because of the prospects brightening in India. Some NRIs want to send their wards to schools in India because of its “affordability”. Parents in India, who don’t like the infrastructure in the Govt-funded Institutions, look for alternatives in the private sector. They look forward to better material comfort while sending their wards to these Institutions. Moreover, these Institutions also provide placement – an important attribute of “quality in education”.

While these are the changed market conditions, it is unfortunate that educators of the bygone century are not doing enough to support the entrepreneurs in creating better “IIT-like” institutions in Orissa. They promote their superannuated views from a regime of “unhealthy-control” that almost always failed to fix accountability on the individual.
I respectfully urge these educators to be mentors and create the next generation leaders for taking the education sector forward. They need to encourage young “edupreneurs” to handle greater autonomy with accountability. That is the essential first step towards Institution-building in Orissa. Once that happens we would be on the path of attracting intellectual-capital while extracting even better price for meeting various social obligations (including high salary for the faculty). In the absence of subsidy, knowledge-resources will command their own right price in the new economy. The donor would not mind paying as long as he/she is satisfied.