Primary education for profit likely to be allowed in India

says The Economic Times. This is a very interesting move by the Government, heralding a huge change in their thinking on funding primary education. If they implement it, there could be a surge of much-needed private investment into primary education to provide a big boost to both supply and quality. The idea of cautious experimentation by asking private players to work in partnership with a government agency is a wise one.

Source: The Economic Times, Chennai Edition, Tuesday, July 22, p1 (couldn't find the link online)

Profit-making in primary education may get okay

Gireesh Chandra Prasad
New Delhi

Come December and corporates may get to venture into preimary education as a profit-making business by partnering with government bodies. According to a proposal on public-private partnership that the government is working on, shareholders of such companies will be eligible for dividends. This is a major break from the present legal restrictions that force companies providing education to plough back profits and utilise the funds for their stated objective of providing education.

Trusts, societies and charitable companies are the most-preferred legal structure for educational institutions and promoters are barred from taking profits out of such institutions. The proposed rules will change this equation with promoters earning reasonable dividends under watchful eyes of the public sector partners they will work with.

THe new norms would allow entrepreneurs to incorporate their ventures as companies and get into education as a profit-making service. However, they will not be eligible for any tax exemption that now extends to societies, trusts and charitable companies.

The finance ministry is expected to begin the process by issuing a request for qualification - a document detailing the parameters for eligible companies. This would give details about how the proposed business model would be structured without violating the existing restriction on repatriation of profits. The ministry would also evolve a model for inviting private investments in primary health centres through public-private partnerships.

The proposed relaxation would be available only for companies getting into partnerships with government entities and not to all. The nature of these projects would be different from the few public-private partnerhsips that have already happened under the rurual health mission and the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, which are largely in the form of management contracts or for providing specific services.

Comments

[sriram k]

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=RVRDSC8yMDA4LzA3LzIyI0FyMDAxMDM=&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom

[Malapati Raja Sekhar]

This is indeed a great news for the time being.

Thanks,
Raja

[MITS Engineering College]

Nice Post

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[Thesis writing]

blogs are good for everyone where we get lots of informative stuff.. nice blog ... keep it up

[Dear Rujula]

good ....but @ what cost...today basic education itself is costing parents at least 3500/month..and if private entities enter this field of basic education JUST imagine the extra burden to the parents. let not education be a curse rather than a BOON...cost of living is cheaper that education today.........

[Ravijit]

There are several tutorial institutes that have mushroomed across the city like seedy guest houses. Most of these are money making rackets. Are these institutes and the quality of education imparted by them monitored by the Education Ministry?

One of these institutes, the Friends Tution Centre, East of Kailash, New Delhi entices students by inviting them to join their courses with the assurance that if they decide to drop out, their fee would be refunded. Dissatisfied students never get a refund and the institute refuses to correspond on this issue. Is there a forum where greedy institutes like these can be booked?

[Universities]

I am very positive about this and hope it improve the primary education system in India. But I total agree with Ravijit on the quality and follow up by the gov.

Let give it a try, this could work out. This article may interest you, it is about the Goals of Primary Education in India.

Thanks for sharing

Amar
India University