The Hindu Business Line : India Inc and education

The approach to higher education, needs a total revamp. Policy makers are aware of this but are doing very little as they are still grappling with the problem of education at the primary level. They are also focussed on other issues such as reservations as they feel this mat solve the problem. They could not be more wrong.

Whenever the government has distanced itself from any sector, India Inc has risen up to the occasion.

The cement, automobiles and telecom sectors stand out as shining examples. In the education segment the need for harnessing private sector investment was recognised and policy guidelines were formulated in the mid-1980s. But it is necessary for the government to stay away from the area, and to encourage investment in this segment.

One need look no further than such premier institutions as the Tata Institute (now Indian Institute of Science), Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Annamalai University and many such others to realise that India Inc is aware of the need to contribute its might and have proved their ability in doing it as well.

The products of these institutions are also committed to the upliftment of India Inc as a whole.

It is not mandatory for these students to work for the firms which funded these institutions and they are free to work anywhere.

If the Government decides to model other academies on these lines and provide enabling provisions for India Inc to enter this segment without any hidden agenda, there is hope of a clear solution emerging in the next five years, or earlier.

V. Balakrishnan e-mail