With higher education becoming an increasingly expensive proposition, the common man is finding it difficult to cope with college, private tuition and coaching fees. Members of the academic fraternity Speak Up on how to make education affordable and accessible.
Quality of education should not be compromised for affordability
Quality comes at a price, and you have to set a benchmark. Quality of education should not be compromised just to make it affordable. We cannot deliver poor quality education at higher-levels because that is like doing injustice to the students. However, I agree that we need to bring in new models to deliver quality education.
We are currently working on the national vocational education qualification framework, which would help in promoting skill-based competency modules to be integrated into seven certification levels, where a student can undergo skill-based learning. This will not only enhance employability and employment opportunities, but will also give students the flexibility to pursue formal education or take up an appropriate job at the end of any level of certification.
—SS Mantha, chairman, AICTE
Technology can make education affordable for the masses
The laws of economics are the same for business and education. Quality education is bound to be expensive, if it is difficult to get. If we expand and broaden the base of opportunities available for higher education, the cost of education will naturally come down. More supply will lead to competition, which will bring down the costs, and quality will become a necessity for it to thrive.
At present 16 million of our students have access to higher education. If we have to take that figure to 40 million by 2020, the question is how we are going to do it?
If we take IT as backbone, technology will make education affordable for the masses. The general practice in education is that we are decreasing quantity, fearing a decrease in quality. We have to develop a culture of education, when there are so many solutions at our disposal.
—Jagdish Patankar, general secretary, EDGE Forum
Adopt pyramidal model to make education accessible to the masses
We must adopt a pyramidal model to make education accessible to the masses. Affordable and accessible education must be at the base of the pyramid, and the top part should be excellence in education. The research to be conducted can be done by the elite institutes at the top of the pyramid, as they are the ones who will create content for those at the base. In this way, first-rate research percolates downwards to those at the base level, removing the mediocrity that comes with inexpensive modes of education. It is very important that we start research at school level, something that is missing.
The ground reality is that we are not getting skilled receptionists, compounders and other such skilled manpower, because there is no qualitative research available for skilled jobs in the country.
—Mool Chand Sharma, VC, Central University of Haryana
Lack of awareness on easy loan facilities is a major setback
There is no doubt that the government is doing a lot to bring higher education to the masses, especially in rural areas, by making it easier to get bank loans.
The problem is there is no awareness among rural students and their parents that such facilities are available. Rural banks charge 4%-5% interest on educational loans, and do not take mortgage, if the loan is below Rs4-5 lakh. There is also a provision to pay back the loan after the student starts earning. I doubt if the bank managers are doing enough to spread the message among the rural populace. Higher education will be costlier due to the infrastructure involved. The government should fund students on the condition that they will work for at least 2-3 years in the country after completing their higher studies.
—M Ramgopal Shetty, founder-chairman, Dr MV Shetty Group of Institutes, Mangalore
We must work out a way to finance those in need of education
I agree that IIMs are expensive, but once a student gets admission in such an institute, bank loans are easy to get. Banks are more than happy to give loans, as packages offered to an IIM graduate range between Rs8-10 lakh per annum in their first year itself. Higher education will be expensive because you need to provide infrastructure. We in India cannot have multi-acre campuses, like in US, where students do not have to leave the campus till they have completed their course. We must work out a way to finance those in need of higher education.
Bringing foreign universities to India will do no good; I don’t think it will stop our students from going abroad to pursue higher education.
Even with the regulation, we still have immense opportunities in India. There are so many things that can be done. I think we are myopic and miss out on opportunities because of this. The reality is that there is a huge demand for education in India, which, at present, is not being met with.
—Narayanan Ramaswamy, partner, KPMG Advisory Services, Chennai
Offer merit & need-based aid to those who can’t afford it
To begin with, courses should be designed in a way that they have measurable outcomes. The other way is to compare your performance with industry’s best practices. In a private framework, education cannot be inexpensive. Here are ways to provide financial aid to those who cannot afford expensive education: merit-based financial aid and need-based financial aid. In the US, we have two-year public institutions, that offer higher education and lower-level tertiary programmes that are affordable.
—Christopher Bennett, dean, int’l prog, Taylor University
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