In yet another attempt to further the agenda of commercialization and privatization of education, the MHRD has come with a proposal to encourage renting out of infrastructural facilities of government educational institutions to private sector players. As per reports in the media the government is planning to bring legislation in this regard. This legislation would be applicable for central government institutions and be forced on the state government institutions as well. The logic which has been forwarded for this is that after classes most of the infrastructure in these institutions is unused.
The SFI strongly condemns this move. This will only encourage the moves to commercialize and privatize our educational institutions. A similar directive was sent to educational institutions earlier under the garb of the austerity drive of the UPA government. Glimpses of such moves can also be seen in the Yashpal Committee Report which has stressed on the need for finding new ways to resource generation. Such subletting of infrastructural facilities would create commercial enclaves within educational campuses.
The most alarming part about this move is that the government is planning to wash off its hands from the need to expand our educational sector. Instead what it is trying to do is encourage private players to come and reap huge profits by charging hefty fees from students by setting up these new institutions and get away with paying some rental for facilities and infrastructure created by the taxpayer’s money. The argument that such moves would increase the access to education is completely spurious, as only the rich would be able to pay the huge amount of fees which these institutions would charge.
The government must realize that the way to increase access to education is through increasing spending on the education sector and not allowing foreign universities or public private partnerships of this kind. It has been a long standing demand of the SFI in places like Delhi that all colleges in Delhi University must start evening shifts so that more students can come and study there. Rather than increasing its expenditure to open more such colleges MR Sibal has decided on renting our government’s infrastructure to private entities. This only reaffirms the pro-rich and anti-student and neo-liberal vision of the government.
The SFI appeals to the student community to unite against any such moves which would create rented enclaves in institutions and help a selected few reap profits. We also warn Mr Sibal to desist from bulldozing his neo-liberal agenda on the student community in this country or else be should be ready to face the wrath of the students.
