People's Democracy

SC VERDICT ON PRIVATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTES

Unacceptable And Untenable

EDITORIAL

IT is indeed unfortunate that a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court has ruled out any measure for regulating admissions and the fee structures in private professional institutions. “Neither can the policy of reservation be enforced by the State nor can any quota or percentage of admissions be carved out to be appropriated by the State in a minority or non-minority unaided educational institution.”

The chief justice has explained the court’s decision not to favour reservations by stating: “The State cannot insist that private educational institutions, which receive no aid from the State, implement State policy on reservation while granting admissions on lesser percentage of marks, that is, on any criterion except merit.”

This is a virtual endorsement of giving a legal license for converting education into a commodity that can be sold in the market to those who can afford it. In a situation where the State is increasingly withdrawing itself from the field of expanding the existing facilities in higher education it is only natural that privatisation and commercialisation of higher education would follow. While this is the situation that has to be radically altered by mounting pressures on the central government to reverse this trend, in the meanwhile it is absolutely imperative that the private institutions function under some form of social control. In every modern civil society in the world the education system functions under strict guidelines enforced by the authorities. During the last decade the mushrooming of such institutions has caused significant disquiet amongst the society marked by very militant student agitations protesting against the exorbitant fee structures. Similarly, the experience of this decade has also shown that these institutions do not subscribe to the law of the land with regard to the criteria for admissions and the reservations enshrined in our Constitution. In order to meet both these issues from time to time various state governments have taken various measures though half-heartedly. Now with this Supreme Court judgement, the private institutions will have a free run to charge exorbitant fees; not implement the reservation policy and function without any obligation to the society or social concerns.

Clearly, such a situation is neither acceptable nor tenable. The apex court’s plea that since these institutions do not receive any government aid they are not obliged to implement State policy is specious. It is tantamount to suggesting that only those who receive salaries from the government should be paying income tax! The law of the land and the norms of social concerns are equally applicable in a society for everybody. Given this there is an urgent necessity for the central government to enact necessary legislation, including if necessary an amendment to the Constitution, to ensure that these institutions function under some degree of social control. This is absolutely necessary considering the fact that the education system in India constitutes the backbone for its development and future growth. India today has 54 per cent of its population below the age of 25 years. The well-educated and healthy youth of the country are our biggest asset. In order to develop this asset it is absolutely necessary that education is reasonably priced to be available to all sections of society and these institutions function by respecting the country’s universal acceptance of the need for reservations in this sector.

It is therefore of utmost urgency that the UPA government moves in the direction of beginning the process of consultation with the state governments and all political parties to enact effective legislation to ensure this. The social control over these institutions must be exercised with respect to a) its fee structure; b) its admission policy incorporating reservations; and c) its course content. Social control should not be equated to governmental control. Just as there are authorities like the University Grants Commission at the central level, similar authorities can be created at the state level to exercise this control. In short, private institutions cannot be given a free run to mercilessly exploit a hapless society with a mercenary pursuit of profit.

The UPA government has taken the first step by convening a meeting of state education ministers to discuss this issue. This must be followed up with effective legislative action in the forthcoming winter session of the parliament so that the law can be put into practice by the beginning of the next academic session.