Education System: Public vs Private Enterprise

Education system: It is better if it remains pubic service sector

I can't resist from sharing this. Why? Because there is something good about two things. More importantly, rarely, we get some thing good to listen about these two things. One is Government service sector and another is Teachers working in Government schools. Normally, they do not stand high in public perception. Azim Premji, who is an entrepreneur and champion of 'Privatisation' has something interesting to share.

Rather than Privatisation, PPP - Publiv-Private Partnership seems to be a better model. But it can only work if private enterprise do not see it as an extension of business. Private enterprise shall never think of earning money out of education system. Education should not be charity, but it should neither be business. Azim Premji has rightly said that "any good society needs robust public systems".

The full article which is Excerpts from a speech delivered by Azim Premji, Chairman, Wipro Ltd at a recent interaction with IAS and IPS officers can be read here: How to make India great.

The excerpts are give here under:

• "A week spent in such a region can be very disturbing because it reveals the reality of inequality and injustice that millions of our fellow citizens face."
• But despite glaringly visible problems and challenges, the week was also deeply energising and filled me with hope because of the spirit of the people i met there. 
• I also met, across all villages and small towns, hundreds of teachers from government schools who are deeply committed and motivated. They spend their own money and come on their own time, often on a public holiday or weekend, to learn something new, so that they can become better teachers.
• I can tell you that even in a successful IT company there will be very few takers if you ask people to come on a Sunday, at their own cost, to learn and become better software engineers. But these teachers do this. They recognise from within themselves that as educators, they have a deep responsibility. That, in many ways, the future of our children is in their hands.
• This positive experience with government schoolteachers is not limited to Karnataka but true across the country. Our experience has been that 10-20% teachers everywhere are highly motivated. They lead positive change.
• It’s true that 10-20% are quite disengaged. (My addition: Only for these disengaged teachers, Governement sells public schools, colleges to private enterprise. The Governments should learn to motivate the other 60% rather than creating an environment to swing these 60% towards the disengaged 20%.)
• To me, all this is reason for great hope. It certainly is positive reason for hope that in the frontline of our public education, in the government school system, there are a significant number of people working for genuine improvement. (The see that only in private education system good education happens and so Government shall privatise education system is one of the darkest, bleakest and terrible idea to happen in India)
• Our schools and colleges need to improve on very many counts. We are aware of these challenges. I believe our efforts to improve the system will receive a big fillip if we harness and channelise the abundant positive energy that i alluded to. We can’t always keep blaming and castigating people in our public systems because that is no way for any positive change to happen.
• We have to provide support and create the environment for such change to happen, for people to feel empowered and take the initiative. And at the same time we must strongly reaffirm our commitment to the public education system; this is a very fundamental issue.
• I think that any good society needs robust public systems, and certainly a good public education system is of utmost importance.
• Let me end by saying that all my life, i have learnt that ordinary people are capable of doing extraordinary things. For this they need to be trusted, encouraged and empowered. This is not the only thing that needs to be done, but nothing else will work unless we do this.
• That is because in a country of our size and our complexity, a few supermen or superwomen can’t change the nation. We should engage and energise the average citizen. This includes the teachers, health workers, mid-level officials, and many more in all kinds of roles and also all of us.
• I know that this is possible. I have hope because i have seen this happen. I have had the privilege of seeing often, what i saw with teachers in northeast Karnataka and with the 16-year-old girl who wanted to join the police service. It’s that spirit that will build a good and great India, the India that we have envisioned in our Constitution. And we must all work for that.