Private schooling in India

“Recent research documents the flight of the poor from state schools to `budget' private schools. On the one hand, governments are incapable of improving state schools, largely due to the power of teacher unions, and on the other hand, their regulatory systems are stifling private initiatives, condemning most private schools to illegal/informal status where they are unable to access formal capital to expand. The continuing decline of the quality of the state education system has led, by default, to one of the highest levels of privatization of education in the developing world. The proportion of students in private schools in urban areas of many states in India is higher than that in any developed country. ....

Interestingly Kerala (India), where the Left parties have strong presence, provides an interesting perspective on the role of private entrepreneurs in education. Kerala has the highest proportion of private primary schools (60% in rural areas) in the country. Many of these are aided by the government, which allows citizens to choose equally between private and state schools. The government provides the highest number of scholarships and transport subsidies that enlarge school choice. Moreover the competition for the soul has compelled the Christians, Hindus, and Muslims to run schools. So it is not so much the Left politics, but the private management and competition that has given Kerala the highest literacy rate in India literacy rate in India.”

Parth J Shah and Vipin P Veetil, "Entrepreneurial
Approaches to Education for the Poor", Centre for Civil
Society (15 December 2006), pp. 2, 17.

http://ssrn.com/abstract=957097


Parth J. Shah is president of the Centre for Civil Society,
an independent, nonprofit, research and educational organization
think tank in New Delhi, India. Vipin P Veetil is also associated
with the Centre for Civil Society.

Kerala is a state in the Indian Union located in the Southwestern part of the country on the Indian Ocean. The region has been economically progressive and heavily engaged in trade since the time of the Greeks and the Romans. Some of the early communities in the region were Christian, and it is believed that St. Thomas the Apostle visited Kerala in the First Century, where he proselytized among Kerala's Jewish settlements. Today Kerala's principal religions are Hinduism (56%), Islam (25%), and Christianity (19%). The Indian state is a leader in educational performance in the country and has one of its most advanced educational systems. As noted above each of these religions has established schools to teach their children.

India in general and Kerala in particular point out that one of the most important reforms that would benefit children today in every country is the introduction of competition into the education industry. This can be done, among other ways, by vouchers, which in my opinion would markedly improve the state of education in the U.S., as it has done in India. Many years ago Milton Friedman argued for vouchers in the following words:

“I want [education] vouchers to be…available to everyone. They should contain few or no restrictions on how they can be used. We need a system in which the government says to every parent: “Here is a piece of paper you can use for the educational purposes of your child. It will cover the full cost per student at a government school. It is worth X dollars towards the cost of educational services that you purchase from parochial schools, private for-profit schools, private nonprofit schools, or other purveyors of educational services. You may add from your own funds to the voucher if you wish to and can afford to.”

Empowering parents would generate a competitive education market, which would lead to a burst of innovation and improvement, as competition has done in so many other areas. There’s nothing that would do so much to avoid the danger of a two-tiered society, of a class-based society. And there’s nothing that would do so much to ensure a skilled and educated work force.”

If other countries can support private schools of all persuasions and by doing so improve the quality of education available to all, why can’t we?