Sometimes when you look at the way education is treated in our country you wonder whether it is the big solution to most of the problems facing our country today – poverty, population, backwardness, etc. Infact one of the priorities set aside by the first prime minister of our country way back in 1948 was education for all, it is even an integral part of our constitution and the right of every citizen.

What went wrong? Why have the government run schools have not lived up to the expectations of people. Several reasons – Priorities of the government, the manner in which education is treated by the government and its agencies, the funds allotted and how they are utilised, motivation of teachers and in addition to all this growth of private schools which further alienated the govt. schools.

So are private run schools the best option for out country? Well if you look closely most of them have their own set of issues – very high cost, lack of quality infrastructure, consistency in quality, lack of government support and so on.

To be fair govt. schools are the only option in most parts of the country even today, private schools are found in big cities and towns where as in villages and rural areas the only option available for people is the govt. schools. The standard of government schools in some parts of the country is at par with the best of private schools. I have had the privilege of experiencing the quality of education in several government schools of Kerala, TN, Karnataka, Chandigarh, and found them to be as good as private schools.

What is the best solution?
The government at present in most states and the center is very keen on upgrading and uplifting the standard of education. This year alone over 30,000 crores set aside in the union budget for children and education there is sufficient funds. On the other hand, private educational organizations and societies have the necessary experience and expertise of running schools and improving standards.

One promising route could be the Public Private Partnerships (PPP). Of late we have seen such initiatives work very well in our country in several areas like telecom, infrastructure, agriculture, power, etc.

Another way forward could be if government agencies grand more support and assistance to private schools they could be made more accessible. Private players pitching in to support government schools with their little contributions could be of great help in improving the overall standard of education.

The mantra, according to me, for government and private run schools is not to keep pointing fingers at each other but look ahead at a goal that is common hold hands and move forward.