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Public-private partnership : A promise for

Quality Education

Imparting education is generally perceived as the responsibility of the government. But, lack of
financial and managerial capacity often impede the government’s ability with regard to national
education system.
The country is yet to realize the power of public-private partnership (PPP) in education sector,
particularly at the school level.
However, the adoption of the model in Rajasthan has demonstrated that much can be done in
giving the underprivileged children an opportunity to participate in India's growth story.
For the growth and expansion of education sector, public-private partnership model is a must.
Policy Makers strongly advocate PPP model for opening equal distribution of educational
institutes in country. Government alone cannot promote and open education centres. The private
partners should come to the fore and bring innovation along with value-based education- it is an
established fact now.
Recently, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has recommended four models of Public
Private Partnership to the Planning Commission and according to an estimate, the country
requires an investment of over US $ 150 billion in the next 10 years. The four models proposed
by the Planning Commission are in terms of basic infrastructure model in which the private
sector invests in infrastructure and the government runs and operates the institutions and in turn
pays to the private investor. In the second model the private sector will not only invest in the
infrastructure but also run and manage the institutions and the government will pay for the
selective services it will avail from the institution.
In the third model the investment will be done by both the government and the private sector but
the institutions will be run and managed by the private players and in the fourth model, the
government will invest in the infrastructure and private sector will run and manage the
institution.
There is no doubt that the government cannot alone handle the investment required in the higher
education sector looking at the growing demand for it and the number of students entering, thus,
posing question both on quality and quantity. India Education Review asked several of the
experts about their view in Public Private Partnership in Higher Education in the Indian Higher
Education System.
India has made a remarkable progress in the higher education sector over the last four-five years.
The Gross Enrolment Ratio in the eleventh plan period increased from 10 to 17. This was made
possible because of government’s effort by increasing budget and opening up a large number of
new universities, colleges and also IIT’s, IISER’s and other teaching institutes. But, the
government institutes had always kept the number of students very limited and the infrastructure
development was also rather slow.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has been funding the private sector institutions
affiliated to the Universities in all other disciplines except professional areas of study. For the
institutions and universities offering professional courses, there is no regular funding provided
except for token grants for special schemes and projects as given by All India Council for
Technical Education (AICTE). There has been continuous demand raised by the private sector
institutions for raising the tuition fees and also in some cases, it is alleged malpractice of
collecting capitation fees. Since there is no special provision in the schemes for providing loans
to the private education providers at low interest rates, the total funding for establishment and
running of Institutions has to be fully supported by them.
The HRD ministry in its various reports found that students in private schools outperformed their
counterparts in public schools on a variety of parameters. It was seen that the unit costs of private
schools were lower than those of public schools and that private schools had greater authority for
decision making at the school level and better emphasis on enhancing student achievement.
"The central government feels that there is improvement of efficiency in the PPP model due to the greater
accountability of private staff to perform in a private set up as compared to the accountability of public
sector staff because of the inherent nature of the arrangement. HRD officials explained to states the
format of schools already set up in Rajasthan, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh successfully on PPP model
with greater private participation," the source said.
The main rationale for developing public private partnerships (PPP's) in education is to
maximize the potential to expand equitable access and improve education outcomes, especially
for marginalized groups. PPP, when implemented correctly, can increase efficiency and choice
as well as expand access to education services. It also allows governments to take advantage of
the specialized skills offered by certain private organizations and to overcome operating
limitations faced by organisations in the public sector. On the other hand, sustainability for the
private sector depends on the innovation and expertise of their employees. The challenges that
higher education institutes face in recruiting and skilling and enabling students, has a direct
bearing on the future workforce and the future of business and industry at large and I believe the
PPP model in education will be the most effective way to take India forward in the 21st century

Mrityunjay Kumar
Director( Corporate Social Responsibility)
Amrapali Group

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