Headlines
If Modi transforms education, he'll be remembered as a visionary
The front page news that Prime
Minister Narendra Modi has personally directed that the feasibility of
foreign universities entering the education space in India be urgently
examined has come as good news for the higher education sector, which is
currently reeling under burgeoning demand, limited supply and the
mushrooming of poor quality educational institutions.
There is
hope that the BJP, which had opposed the bill on the subject when UPA-II
moved it, would support it now if the prime minister endorses it.
This
might well turn out to be the game changer that would transform the
education landscape in India. It is an accepted fact that many
graduates, including those with engineering degrees, are unable to find
employment because they do not possess the knowledge or skills that make
them market-worthy. This is a consequence when shoddy education vendors
flood the market simply to take advantage of demand. Quality education
suffers as a consequence.
The passage of the long-pending Foreign
Educational Institutions Bill is, consequently, viewed by many as the
panacea. It would make high quality education widely available in India,
apart from improving the quality of existing education providers
through direct competition. Many unreliable vendors would be rendered
redundant by market forces. This would further contribute to improving
the education delivery system.
Apart from savings in foreign
exchange by providing Indian students an opportunity to study in India
rather than going abroad, the entry of foreign education providers is
expected to see increased investment in and encouragement of R&D,
which has been a long-neglected sector. Additionally, a significant
boost is expected to be given to the online platform, which is likely to
emerge as a lucrative product in a rapidly growing demand-driven
market, such as India.
Speculation that with the opening up of
the education space, India could be positioned as an Asian education hub
will also have positive implications on infrastructure, streamlining
administrative procedures with regard to mutual recognition and
accreditation, and the dismantling of abrasive visa regulations,
particularly for those wishing to come to India for research projects.
Collaboration with foreign universities would, most certainly, see the
exchange of faculty and students, including credit transfer, and
consequently impact positively not only on joint research but also on
tourism.
In other words, this has the potential of emerging as a
powerful public diplomacy tool in foreign affairs by opening its doors
to international students and international faculty. When learning is
experiential, it has the ability of becoming second nature and thus,
influencing perceptions and behavior. In short, the studying-in-India
experience would enable students to make Indian friends, travel within
India, and receive an experiential exposure to India's diverse cultural
heritage. Consequently, when they return to their countries, they would
have a more informed, first-hand and long-lasting perception of India.
This lies at the core of any public diplomacy intervention because it
helps create life-time friends.
Equally important is the fact
that the liberalization of India's education sector would send a strong
signal to the global community of India's openness to engage with
international partners. This would be in keeping with the prime
minister's message that his government's priority would lie in ensuring
the ease of doing business and in the dismantling of protectionist
barriers. However, this requires firm advocacy by none other than the
prime minister himself, who needs to not only make his intent clear but
insist on time-bound implementation. It is expected that vested
interests and strong lobbies, many of whom enjoy considerable political
patronage, would oppose the passage of the bill, as it would, most
certainly, threaten their existence and impact their bank balances.
How
strongly the prime minister asserts his position would be watched. The
prevalent perception is that promises are made but not kept. Indeed, the
bureaucracy, especially in the visa-on-arrival issue, has unambiguously
"overruled" a public prime ministerial public announcement, at huge
cost and harassment to foreign visitors. This can create serious
perception and credibility issues that the Prime Minister's Office needs
to be cognizant of. It is hoped that lessons have been learnt and that
the bureaucracy appreciates the damage it causes when it undermines the
prime minister's perceived directives.
A positive signal was
conveyed by Modi when he directed that the foreign education bill needs
to be revisited. If he is able to transform the education landscape in
India, he would be remembered as a man of vision. After all, it is only
nations that recognize the primacy of education are able to achieve
sustainable economic growth and social justice.
(12.06.2015 -
Amit Dasgupta, a former diplomat and author of "Lessons from Ruslana: In
Search of Transformative Thinking" (Harper-Collins), is part of the SP
Jain School of Global Management. The views expressed are personal. He
can be reached at [email protected])