Is The Indian Farmer , Karna- impact of corporate education on farmer

Is The Indian Farmer , Karna- impact of corporate education on farmer

Effect of Corporate Education on Rural India:  

Till early 90s the primary & high school education in villages was very good and no way inferior to convent education. It fact the rural students used to do well in mathematics & science in comparison to city schools.  Cutting across all castes & class, everyone used to study in  same schools.  The village school infrastructure is good with large play grounds. The credit goes to committed teachers, philanthropists &  initial base created by progressive thinking panchayat raj political system. The cost of education is almost free.

Early 90s convent schools got inroads first into few villages & slowly spread their base everywhere. In fact these village convent teachers are less qualified than Government schools, but the catch is non telugus, spoken English & attractive school dress. In no time convents in villages became status symbol and almost entire upper castes and affordable sections from other castes made beeline to convents.

This is the time Engg/Medicine admission tests were fast catching and housewives with children started moving to nearby towns for plus two education coupled with entrance test preparations. Having seen the potential from rural areas, corporate educationists came with a concept of integrated long term coaching from 6th standard onwards. Villagers got attracted to this concept & buses started flying students from villages to towns. These slowly killed rural convents and in fact entire rural education including Government schools last their relevance. The corporate education menu is widespread with IIT/BITS/CA/CIVILS/AIEEE etc preparations with options of buffets, A la carte.

The commercialization of education, have huge impact on farming community and the cost of education on an average increased by minimum 100 times with no extra benefits. The number of rural students getting into institutes of higher learning had not gone up in percentage terms, despite spending huge money. Here the clear winners are education entrepreneurs, at the cost of Government & public.

The states should have a strong will to counter this and make quality education affordable to village children. Out of box thinking is required to address this complex issue having vested interest groups interests at stake.

Though the geographical spread may not be uniform, primary schools are there for every 200 to 300 families & high schools in all Panchayat villages. There are few junior colleges/technical institutions in bigger villages.  Most of the physical infrastructure is in prime locations with spacious premises. Government recruited qualified teachers are in place. The problem is with less number of students & lack of commitment from teachers.

In present scenario, I could see the public- private partnership is the best available option.  In phased manner Government  shall handover the infrastructure on nominal cost/ free basis on long term lease basis to private entity along with existing staff.. Government will continue to support these schools with its regular budget for staff salaries, infrastructure etc. Only difference is the management will be of private in nature. The private partner will bring in experts in soft skills, bridge missing links, capacity building of teachers etc to make the education more meaningful and attractive. They shall be allowed to create boarding facilities etc to attract students from far way places.

These village schools with large parcels of land has potential to create spots, recreation facilities and will be much better than schools/colleges in towns & cities run in buildings with no place to move around. These facilities with option for boarding will certainly attract town/city students to nearby village schools and the buses shall run in reverse direction- town to village & back. Agriculture/Animal Husbandry shall be made as part of curriculum with practical classes.

As trade off,  Government  has to direct the schools to provide education to all eligible village students on existing Government pattern of fee structure. They shall be allowed matching number of students on their own commercial terms. They shall be given free hand in broad basing the concept and make the project viable to every stake holder. Exposure to village environment, fresh air, spacious class rooms, play area are real catch for urban students.   

There shall be issues related to teacher unions, teachers reluctant to relocate etc. If there is will there is way.

     

GOVERNMENTS HAVE TO SHOW COMMITMENT TO THE CAUSE OF FARMERS AND ENSURE QUALITY SERVICE DELIVERY AT AFFORDABLE COST AT THEIR DOOR STEP.

LET US JOIN HANDS TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

BGR- 9866889246

grbonthu@gmail.com