Despite the hardships caused to the people by the sudden demonetisation move, and the ensuing flak the measure received, an optimistic environment has generally prevailed, driven by the belief that a sizeable portion of black money has been weeded out as a result.
It is now perhaps time to think about the long-term goals that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to address through demonetisation. One of the key sectors he had targeted was education.
‘Aspirational’ education
It is common knowledge that overseas education is aspirational for Indian students, especially the middle class. There has been a whopping 17.8 per cent growth in the number of students going abroad from India as of 2016, with a majority of them choosing the US as their preferred destination for higher studies.
It is widely believed that, education abroad is usually better than that available in India, and the bias is not entirely unwarranted. The general research environment, facilities available and the quality of teaching, tend to be much better in most foreign universities, thanks to the enormous fees they charge. The few institutions in India (IITs and IIMs) that provide quality courses and teaching are not sure-shot destinations for all those aspiring to study there, owing to the high standards required for admission.
So how has demonetisation affected education? It has ensured two things — that the payment of capitation fees for courses in India, and the diversion of black money for overseas education will not be easy, at least in the current environment.
Distant possibility
As of 2014, the amount of black money stuck in management and medical colleges alone was about ₹4,800 crore a year. This means around 10 per cent of the total black money (of around ₹48,400 crore) is lodged in the education sector (Source: Centre for Research and Prevention of Computer Crimes).
There was also a recent report about the number of Indian students going abroad who procure visas under the education loan head, but do not use the loan later, as they fall back on “other sources of income” available in the family.
In this post-demonetisation environment, paying for college fees using black money will become a distant possibility for many — whether within India or abroad.
More money in banks might also lead to enhanced disbursement of education loans at lower interest rates (which might be cut by three to four per cent), encouraging meritorious but not so well-off students to use this opportunity to study abroad.
But this will lead to an even more intense brain drain situation, where the real talent and the cream of students will study abroad and try to settle there.
Scaling up
The time is therefore ripe to divert at least a portion of the black money hidden in the education sector (perhaps, even diverted for other purposes) back into the same sector, with the goal of revamping the present system.
With most management institutes and other science institutions (apart from IITs, IIMs, ISBs and other premier institutes) charging exorbitant fees and capitation, the least the students can expect in return is a cutting edge and vibrant research culture that fosters and furthers their interests, along with the infrastructure to support the same.
There is an urgent need to overhaul teaching methods as well. Teachers need to update themselves constantly to keep up with changing trends. This is one of the major differences between education in India and abroad. Especially in fields like economics, science and management, there is a need to update the syllabus so that students quickly adapt to changing trends, especially when they enter the challenging job market.
Given the current economic situation, it is time to strike while the iron is hot, in order to achieve these goals.