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Out of the game, if illiterate

As a response to the question of how to make India's currently impressive rate of growth sustainable and inclusive, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has persistently made the case for universal schooling and health care. You're not in the game if you're too sick to work, and you're out of the game if you're illiterate.

Speaking at a CII seminar, Sen also pointed out the indispensable role of public education if the goal of universal schooling is to be achieved. As he notes, no country relies exclusively on private schools to educate its children. India cannot be an exception.

Seven million children in the 6–14 age group are still out of school. This situation is simply not acceptable. But the government continues to dither on making education a fundamental right. A lot of resistance is said to come from states, who fear that the financial burden that a universal schooling obligation would impose. But, as Sen observes, revenue collection has been buoyant lately. The Centre can help states by assuming a greater proportion of costs incurred for universal schooling, if necessary.

It's difficult to exaggerate the knock–on effects that a commitment to universal schooling can have on achieving broad developmental goals. Sen's work has demonstrated, for example, how female literacy can reduce gender inequality and child mortality. The mid–day meals that schools serve can cut malnutrition, while children of all castes eating together can act as a solvent for caste prejudices.

According to Sen, while the government has been overactive in some spheres, it has not exerted itself when it comes to constructive public functions. This paradox can be observed within education. While free and compulsory education supported by a network of government schools remains an elusive goal, schools in the private sector are enmeshed in red tape.

A heavily regulated private sector is said to be necessary because of the poor quality of schools in this sector. But it is possible to flip this argument around. Once good quality schooling becomes available in the public sector, private schools that don't provide better quality would automatically become unviable. The general standard of schooling would go up and young Indians will be equipped with the skill sets required by a 21st century economy. That ought to be a clear goal of public policy.

Source: Going to School, Times of India, New Delhi, 21 December 2007.