Fee Futility

A reasonable part of the growth of the infotech industry in India can be at

tributed to IIT and IIM graduates. From the seventies onwards, many of them left

for the US and then got absorbed in the corporate mainstream there. With their

hard work and intellect, they were able to build a positive image for India.

Later, when they reached levels of influence and an age where they wanted to

give back to the country of origin—they became our technology ambassadors.

Many of them came back and started companies in India. To that extent, the

investments that the country put into their education became—with hindsight

one may add— marketing investments.

Today, a brand has been created and the system is working well—and in the

manner of children who cannot keep their hands of attractive toys—the HRD

ministry is tinkering with the whole system in an exercise of complete futility.

The fee reduction futility actually started with the government removing

subsidies for education. At the time when this writer studied at the IIT and IIM

they were a whole lot cheaper. The tuition fee for the IITs in the seventies was

something like fifty rupees a month. Then it started becoming more expensive

because part of the support was withdrawn. Now we want to reduce the fee once

again. Why?

“In a country where primary education is not available to many, trying to make a dozen odd institutes accessible to a large number of people does not make logical sense” Shayam Malhotra

The fee reduction exercise assumes that the there is a whole lot of students

who have the merit but not the means do join these institutes. Is that a correct

assumption? And where is the data to support that?

First and foremost, the selection process gives a better chance to those who

have had the benefit of a very good school education. That, by far, is better in

the public schools of the country and not the government-run institutions. The

economically backward students go to government institutions. So the first step

to have more people from the economically weaker sections come up in life, lies

at the school level and not at the college level. The foundation has to be right

and money is needed there. I cannot work out how reducing the fee for higher

education will put money into primary education. It can only have a reverse

impact since the limited amount of resources will get split. In a country where

primary education is not available to many, trying to make a dozen-odd

institutes accessible to many does not make sense.

The reduction in fee would make these international institutions weaker.

Taking away the economic freedom would, for starters, make these institutions

more dependant on the government hand that feeds them.

It will also impact their ability to attract good faculty. A serious problem

facing these institutes is the shortage of excellent teachers, given the fact

that the attractiveness of the corporate sector and other career options are far

higher and growing by the day.

So, whom would the proposed fee reductions at the IITs and IIMs really

benefit? Presumably the few hundred students who have the merit but cannot join

these institutes because of lack of money. Is that really true? If that is the

case, why can't there be more scholarships and loans provided? Considering that

there are a dozen institutes of this type in the country, how many can be the

number of students who have the merit and do not get loans or scholarships?

The real issue is the creation of more facilities for a billion-strong

nation, not weakening the existing ones. A dozen centers of international

education are too few. Education is not a shop where the highest bidder should

win. But that problem in India is not being caused by the IITs and IIMs. That is

being caused by capitation fee-based institutions. Let government improve

admission methodologies and let it influence running of educational institutions

in a better manner.

For starters, it could ensure that teachers who are paid salaries in

government run institutions actually come and teach. Let it ensure the

availability of funds for the truly deserving. And there are many means of doing

so—including using part of the fee charged from the other students if

required. But how does fee reduction help?

Let us not bolt the wrong stable.

Shayam Malhotra



The author is Editor-in-Chief of CyberMedia, the publishers of Dataquest.