Q. There is a general perception that involving the private sector in higher education can improve performance through competition, accountability and autonomy. How far do you agree?
A. Yes, I completely agree with the notion. The simple reason being the involvement of personal stakes in the form of monetary investments, corporate credibility and a natural tendency to deliver in conformance with the organisational culture. Involving private players means injecting the system with accountability, which naturally leads to higher efficiency in operations. Moreover, private players are more inclined to take initiatives and infuse fresh and new ideas, which is the need of hour to save the higher education system from slipping into complacency and obsolescence. The astounding rise of LPU in five years to become the largest university in India in terms of on-campus students bears eloquent testimony to how private players can win faith of students solely on the basis of competition, accountability and autonomy.
Q. Public Private Partnership (PPP) model has the potential to transform the educational landscape in India. How should it be ideally implemented for maximum output?
A. Firstly, it has to be understood that presently the most urgent need confronting the Indian higher education sector is that of ploughing massive investment in augmenting its material and academic infrastructure. Without involving private partners in the field, it is extremely difficult to bring out a perceptible change in the existing set-up. Moreover, letting private players join the bandwagon means throwing up the possibilities of seamless initiatives that will have a multiplicative effect in buttressing the quality of education through pioneering steps, which hitherto have remained conspicuous by their absence in the case of public sector institutions. So, there should be the pooling of resources and ideas from both the parties involved in the PPP model of working with considerable level of flexibility towards operational and decision-making aspects of administration. There should also be assurance of delivery of quality output by both the partners respectively.
Q. Many organisations such as Vedanta Foundationn and Azim Premji Foundation supported and funded by big corporate groups have taken a lead in PPP models of education. Do you think more corporate houses are likely to jump on the bandwagon?
A. Yes, we are highly optimistic about the possibility of more corporate houses taking lead in PPP model of education. The reason being, in the last decade, the corporate culture in India has matured to a larger extent, and the big corporates have become more aware about their social responsibilities than ever before. Moreover, with the booming economy and rapid development, corporates are in a position to spend more than ever before. There is also a growing desire and yearning to contribute towards the social development of the country.
With the substantial increase in the number of corporate heads having a philanthropic bent of mind, we can expect more companies to show interest in the PPP model of education. Even LPU, which is the educational flagship of Lovely Group, is an example where corporate groups have successfully ventured into educational domain and made the substantial impact.
Q. What are some of the major issues plaguing the public education sector in India and what practical solutions does private sector have to offer?
A. The first is the stagnancy with respect to trying anything new and innovative. Secondly, and more importantly, is the paucity of funds, which are required to meet the challenges of higher education in India. Thirdly, decision-making limited accountability with respect to the outcome of the inputs, which lead to mediocrity in terms of gains, aspired from the operational undertakings.
Finally, the relative lack of quality faculties, which I feel applies to private players as well. But, the private players have the option and autonomy to get it arranged from abroad as well, as has been the case with LPU, where we have recruited many of the faculty members from across the globe. For example, our present vice chancellor Dr. Rameshwar Kanwar had a 35-year stint at Iowa State University, United States, before joining LPU.
I strongly believe the inclusion of private sector players through the PPP model will bring inventiveness, much-needed funds and hefty dose of professionalism in educational endeavours. The PPP model has scripted great success stories in other sectors, and there is no scope for apprehensions and fears about its applicability in the higher education sector of India.
Q. There are serious concerns regarding the quality of education in private universities that have mushroomed across the country. What are your thoughts on it?
A. To a certain extent, the notion cannot be dismissed as entirely baseless, but at the same time, we cannot and should not generalise. There are many cases where private players in higher education are doing incredibly well and setting benchmarks for others to follow. For example, at LPU, we have tried to provide good infrastructure coupled with enhanced pedagogy tools. We have also tried to be inventive when it comes to designing course curriculum and that is having a percolating effect on other private sector players across the country.
However, while there are many private players doing extremely well and engaged in the dessimination of the quality education; in the last few years, many run-of-the-mill private education players have mushroomed, who may not have the required infrastructure to offer quality education.
