Devi Kar | As schools become a big business, it’s vital they deliver a quality education

The commercialisation of school education has been the topic of conversation for some years. Now schools have become a full-blown and coveted business. This was bound to happen as big business houses feel it is important for them to invest in education and they take great pride in running the five-star schools of the country. They have their respective business models and though they engage professionals to run them, they usually prefer to be in charge.

Running schools on selected business models is now a widespread practice today simply because the commodification of education has resulted in schools becoming money spinners today. It is common knowledge that people invest the greatest percentage of their income in their children’s education which they feel will lead to bright futures for them. Importantly, there is no recession in the education business.

Earlier, the competition was among students who tried their utmost to outdo their peers in earning high scores in their exams. Today, fierce competition is also found among schools in order to be perceived by parents or potential customers as the most attractive institutions for their children.

School owners know the branding exercise well and are aware that they have to make a big splash as they enter the competition and to maintain “high visibility” if they wish to sustain and expand their business. The strategies that are used to make their “business” flourish are fairly mind boggling.

Air-conditioned buildings, state-of-the-art laboratories, sports facilities and up-to-date technology. Schools have started partnering coaching institutions for competitive exams and vie with each other to be accepted as centres for prestigious examinations.

Enterprising individuals have lost no time in seizing business opportunities in school education. My inbox is full of proposals to aid and support “forward looking” and financially healthy schools to run STEM classes, to develop the use of Artificial Intelligence in teaching and learning, to implement the New Education Policy and establish contact with reputed colleges abroad and help students in the admission process in institutions of higher study abroad. Schools have become so business-like that even question papers are set by professional centres and not by teachers of the school. In the early days, when school teachers were being weaned away from the traditional methods of “chalk and talk”, pictures, charts , maps and dictionaries, business organisations made an entry into schools to help teachers to upgrade technology, advise them on procuring suitable devices and identifying appropriate software for the respective institutions.

Teachers were happy because they just had to make a list of lessons and the relevant ppt lessons would be supplied on demand.

Another area where specialisation, professionalisation and commercialisation have made inroads are co-curricular activities. It has become a matter of enormous prestige for schools that their students win as many inter-school contests as possible. So, whether it is sports and games or cultural programmes which showcase students’ talents in music, dance, creative writing, dramatics or public speaking, instead of their teachers training them for the various events, professionals are hired at a great cost.

Perhaps this is a trend which is here to stay and it is quite useless to try and stem the tide. Anyway, why should one try to do so if the end result is desirable? And this is exactly what we need to study in depth. What are our goals? Are the means acceptable? In the hurly burly of school life and serious competition in every area one can think of, it is possible that we are losing sight of the big picture -- the meaning of education and its goals.

Reflecting on this from time to time and re-looking at what we are doing with fresh eyes has become imperative. Why are we running schools?

Education is the most powerful tool for change, we are told ad nauseum. But are we looking at the nature of the change we wish to make and be a part of? Or do we just go with the flow? As I see things, certain changes are inevitable -- we are reminded repeatedly that “change is the only constant” but I believe that we can make our own choices about what we will embrace and what we will not. Generally speaking, following fashionable trends has affected school education in an unhealthy way – we must stop the spread of this infection before further damage is done as it is in the schools that the people of a nation are moulded and nurtured.

Let us not make the mistake of fighting change that is inextricably associated with the way the world is evolving. For example, we will all need to master technology so that we can use it to our advantage. Besides, we will not be able to engage with the world if we are not familiar with everyday technology and science. However, it makes no sense to give up mental mathematics or to rely totally on GPS in order to find your way around a city. The ability to read maps is a useful skill and quick mental calculation is needed so often. We talk about adopting “best practices”, but how do we know which are the best practices for our students? In this context, we must be very cautious about “fads”. Doing things simply because they are in vogue is another foolish thing that we end up doing -- yet those who run schools as a business tend to do just that. It is true that the bottom line has to be considered, but if you have chosen education as your business, your chief goal should be the delivery of quality education to the students who are in your care.