Privatizing of higher education: Generating knowledge or making money for the opulent
Essay for CSS exams
Outline:
- Introduction
- Higher Education
a. What is it?
b. Importance of higher education
i. Imparts technical knowledge
ii. Provides better lot to the Jobs market
iii. Opens ways for earning foreign exchange - Privatization of higher education:
a. What is it?
b. Objectives of privatization of Higher education
i. Share government’s burden of infrastructure
ii. Enable government to focus energy on basic education
iii. To provide more erudite and learned faculty to students - Impacts of privatization of higher education
a. Privatization as a source of generating knowledge
i. Increased number of quality higher education Institutes
ii. Promotion of higher education in remote areas
iii. Industry focused training of students
iv. Healthy knowledge competition between the institutes
b. Privatization as a way for generating money
i. Exorbitant fees
ii. Hidden charges
iii. Advertisement Cost
iv. Competition among institutes - Do merits outweigh the demerits of higher education: Yes
- Causes of moneymaking approach of private institutions
a. Inefficient government checks
b. Business minded approach
c. Vested interests of law makers
d. Class distinction - Recommendations for fruitful privatization of higher education institutes
a. Improved regulatory authority
b. Strict laws
c. Capacity building of public sector education
d. Discouraging money making practices at the expense of quality of education - Conclusion
Introduction:
Higher education is most important professional educational phase, which enables students for the job market. The technical education imparted during the higher education plays an important role for the development of professional and industrial relevant skills. Privatization of higher education is the process of bringing private owners and investors to participate in the higher education by building private universities and institutes. As a result of privatization, government’s load is reduced and allows it to focus its energy on basic education. Moreover, privatization can increase the number of higher education institutes and enables more people to avail the opportunity. However, privatization of higher education gives way for business-minded people to generate more money through exorbitant fees, low quality education and other business tactics. This, however, does not outweigh merits of privatizations as enormous number of high standard private institutes are working around the globe. There are various causes for moneymaking practices, which need to be tackled by the government through strict scrutiny and regulations for a fruitful process privatization.