Privatization of Higher Education and its Implication in India

Developing nations like India having a unique trajectory of traditionally hierarchical society with a specific socio-political and economic context, with escalating cost on one hand and increasing needs on the other as the high population, higher studies has become a scarce resource. It shows that there has been a continuous elite domination on the one hand and perpetual marginalization on the other, over the accessibility of this scarce resource. Critical evaluation on the impact of education would show that only a section of elite groups benefited, contradictory to the fact that a huge subsidization made at the cost of the poor. Although India made huge investment in higher education; its returns have not been impressive. It has been projected that private returns are higher than social returns from higher education. It faces other challenges as to bring more you young people into the higher education fold, as well as to significantly focus on building quality and global competitiveness to produce educated and skilled labor force to keep pace with the growing Indian economy. Private funding is highly required and welcome to fill up this huge gap. Increasing democratization would gradually change elite domination in higher education. But sometimes consequences of massive privatization are commodification of knowledge; social values of education eventually be replaced by market values, alarming rate of unemployment, social unrest, slow economic growth and economic disparities. Therefore privatization is required in a controlled fashion and private education providers are required to be adherent to some legal framework.