Fida Firdous
In India, the right to education is a fundamental right, and accordingly, the right to free and compulsory education has been made mandatory. These reforms reflect the acknowledgement of the fact that education sets the foundation for all other sectors in building a developed nation. Besides, education is a human bond meant to nurture humanity and human values. It’s not an industry of manufacturing professionals, but a process of shaping human beings.
To our utter misfortune, this process has now been reduced to a competition and commercial activity affecting the tender minds of the young. As soon as our children are introduced to this learning process, they are exposed to predatory commercialization, a product of the state’s lack of empathy and opportunistic rescue by the private sector.
As often discussed, the debate is not about public versus private schools. There is no comparison between the two. The lack of facilities and proper infrastructure in public schools is a real and straightforward reason why parents choose private schools for their children. But this doesn’t justify reducing the process of learning to a mere business transaction.
Indeed, the government, like in every other sector, has introduced regulations to manage the school education system. However, when it comes to the on-ground situation, there is a clear lack of standard operating procedures for private schools. Each school follows its own processes and methods of functioning, with no uniform guidelines, dos, and don’ts specified. Such loopholes then create space for both financial exploitation and emotional violations that ultimately not only affect the child’s well-being but also kill the essence of formal education.
Some may fairly argue that parents make schooling choices according to their economic capacity, and if they choose to stretch beyond their financial limits, the responsibility lies with them and not with the institution. But then this is exactly the fine line that needs to be clearly drawn by the government. Being aspirational is not a crime; it is a natural human trait. Therefore, blaming parents for choosing better schools, even if it stretches their financial limits, is neither fair nor reasonable. Instead of placing the burden on families, the real need is for a systemic solution. A tier-based classification of private schools could be one such reform, allowing the government to clearly regulate the fees each tier may charge and the minimum wages that must be paid to teaching staff. This would bring transparency, accountability, and fairness to the entire sector.
However, proposing and adopting such rational solutions is not enough, particularly when the core issue is compounded by the government’s unwillingness to enforce its own laws. And to ensure this argument does not appear anti–private sector or merely a parent’s frustration with their child’s school, let us look at a neutral and widely applicable example – the Minimum Wages Act. Despite the law being in place, its implementation sees virtually no effort. Private schools, especially in the Valley, continue to hire teachers for as little as 1,500 rupees a month, with no job security and no benefits. This multi-dimensional grim reality, where students are overcharged on one hand while teachers are underpaid on the other, reflects a deeper systemic disparity and a failure of institutional responsibility. Isn’t it pertinent to demand answers? Does the government conduct annual audits at all to ensure that such disparities are identified, addressed, and ultimately uprooted?
A private school cannot be permitted to begin with minimal resources and then exploit parents and teachers to accumulate wealth for building its own assets. The idea is not to do away with profits, but to prevent the phenomenon we now see, where profit becomes the sole driving purpose of these institutions. To avoid this unhealthy situation, can’t the process of recognition be revisited, scrutinised, and linked to the tier system proposed earlier?
These are not complex assessments or radical proposals, but straightforward conclusions grounded in common sense. Good governance is not about appeasement; it is about ensuring fairness and justice for all. The very least the government can do is to fix the mess we have collectively allowed to continue unchecked.
(The author can be reached at fidafirdous8@gmail.com)