financing of higher education

Tuesday 2 May 2023 1

Financing of Higher Education

Dr. Varadraj Bapat Faculty in Accounting and Finance,

Indian Institute of Technology Mumbai Email: [email protected]

Contact: 9869083118/ 9892413119


“Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in

man.”

- Swami Vivekananda


Indigenous Education

oBharat has a very long glorious history of education since ancient times. Indigenous education system was remarkably effective in addressing needs to the society at that time.

oMahatma Gandhi termed the glorious Bharatiya system as ‘beautiful tree’ of education and stated that this beautiful tree was destroyed by British.


Indigenous Education

o Indigenous education was not a sellable commodity in India till 17th Century. It was always given free through the system of ‘Gurukul’.

oThis education was available to all sections of society. (all castes and religions).

oResearched by Dharampal (a great Gandhian thinker), based on British Records.

Cycle of Sustenance (यज्ञ)

VyashtiSamashti

Smaller Entity Larger Entity

Yogakshem

KarmaYajna

Karmafala


Beautiful TreeoBritish destroyed the glory and essence

of ‘Shiksha’ and injected monotonous bookish education in India

oOur goal should be making education for all free of cost.

oAt present also, higher education is free in Germany.


Commercialization of Education

oPost 1992, Nationailised Govt funded education system gradually is getting replaced by commercialization and education is becoming profit making service industry.

o Increased cost of education –

oMarginalized sections of the society are deprived of higher education


Funding

Government

Corporate Sector Society


Government FundingoMinimum allocation for education should be

6 % of GDP

oSufficient allocation for priority areas envisaged by the education policy

oThe U.S. Federal Government currently offers a 60 percent wage subsidy to employers of students engaged in work-study programs


Corporate FundingoCompanies obligatory Corporate Social

Responsibility (2% of Profit)

o Investing CSR funds in education through charitable trust formed by Comapany

oFormation of trust will prevent corporate houses to engage in profit making activities through education and commercialisation of education


Funding from SocietyoEducational institutes can acquire funds

directly from the society in the form of donations

oEffective Interaction with Alumni

oCommunity based institutions and universities should be promoted. It will increase social participation in education sector

oGovernment can allow income tax concession


Good Governance and Transparency in Educationo Institutional Governance regulation needs to

followed in letter and spirit

oStandard practices for accounting, reporting and disclosure requirements for all financial statements

oAll transactions through Bank only. No cash holding in educational campuses.


Good Governance and Transparency in Educationo It shall include independent trustees/

directors, audit committee, CFO, rotation of trustees/ directors, rotation of auditors, restriction on maximum number of trustees from the same family

oGood governance and transparency in education sector will attract investment from corporate and society (incl. Alimni)


Exploring Funding Options

Scholarships

Cloud funding

Community Help


Education LoanoEducational Development Bank should be

established to fund various educational activities at low interest rate

oRefinance of Educational loan and direct loan to institutions

oLoans may be made available through banks, micro-finance institutions, universities and colleges


Education LoanoBanks may be encouraged to provide such

loans without asking for tangible security or income proof of the parents

oDematerialization of degrees will reduce chances of defaults

oEducation loan can be linked with CIBIL, Aadhar Card and Passport


Open learning platforms

Technology Enabled Learning

(TEL)

Open and Distant

Education

Modular Education

Professional Certification


Open examinationsoOpen examinations to evaluate participants

knowledge and certify them. (like CA, CWA, CS, CAIIB, AMIE). Such certifications by Govt. bodies and universities will significantly improve access to education for masses.

oFlexibility in course structure like transfer, rejoining, eligibility, examination etc.

oModular Education


Technology Enabled Learning (TEL)

oMobile based courses needs to be promoted.

oFaculty should be encouraged to develop video lectures, video demos for practical and tutorials and content generation for TEL .

oCoursera, NPTEL, Khan Academy – Mass open courses


Technology Enabled Learning (TEL)

oAwareness about effective use of Technology Enabled Learning (TEL) is the need of an hour and vis a vis availability of necessary infrastructure in colleges must be developed.

oTEL can be best used for Teachers’ Training. Courses can be designed and transacted through TEL every 2 to 3 months for teachers.


Bridging Social GapsoTechnology Enabled Learning (TEL)

oGirls’ education should be free of cost

oThe ‘marginalized sections’ of society like scheduled caste/tribe, other backward classes and minority deserve special attention

oDifferently-abled (Divyang)


Bridging Social GapsoDistance education is a very good system to

bridge the gender, age and social gaps. Online courses and technology driven teaching would go a long way in this regard. A network of such service centers has to be established to cater to these needs. Open examinations with certification facilily will enable girls and marginalized sectons to get access to education


Bridging Social GapsoNeeds in terms of language, can be

addressed; education in Marathi and local tounges through Technology Enabled Learning (TEL)

oMaking education available in Indian languages and availability of good material in Indian languages will go a long way in accessing higher education to the marginalized sections.


Bridging Social Gapso (e.g. Spoken Tutorial Project in IIT Mumbai

allows learning of Software in all Indian languages)

oUniversity needs to move from Teaching to facilitating Learning


Learning with earningo Internship opportunities

ochange in outlook of teachers

oPart-time students

oModular Approach


Foreign StudentsoAttracting Foreign Students

oUniversity needs change rules

oMarketing our education

to get into act

Thank You!

Dr. Varadraj Bapat,Email: [email protected]

Contact: 9869083118/ 9892413119
