Educating India’s poorest: A radical plan to attract private sector investment

Sreedharan, Ranjan (2009): Educating India’s poorest: A radical plan to attract private sector investment.

Abstract

Despite its recent economic successes, India still has a vast underclass where children either do not go to school or, if they did, they are forced to drop out early. In this brief paper, I outline a new model to attract private sector investment into the education of India’s poorest and most vulnerable children who, on present evidence, are unlikely to make their way out of the poverty trap anytime soon.

The idea is radical but at its core the plan is simple and may be summed up thus: “The private sector will be invited to set up schools and educational institutions for our poorest and most disadvantaged children in return for an incentive never tried out before. As and when these children grow up and start earning their livelihood, the income tax paid by them to the central government over their life-time would be passed on to the entity that nurtured and educated them.”

The financial viability of the model for Indian conditions was considered by Sankar Krishnan, a management consultant who was formerly a global partner with McKinsey and Company. His conclusions form an integral part of this paper.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: education; education of the poor; private investment in educating the poor; radical plan for private investment in education of the poor
• Subjects: H - Public Economics > H5 - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies > H52 - Government Expenditures and Education; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education and Research Institutions > I22 - Educational Finance ; Financial Aid

References

Epstein, Daniel A. “A Share in Children’s Success” Washington Post, June 6, 2009.

Pradhan, Basant K. & Subramanian A. Structural Adjustment, Education and Poor Households in India: Analysis of a Sample Survey. National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), 1999.

The Probe Team, (1999) Public Report on Basic Education in India, Oxford, Oxford University Press

Sengupta, Somini. “As Indian Growth Soars, Child Hunger Persists” New York Times, Mar.12, 2009.

Sengupta, Somini. “Education Push Yields Little for India’s Poor” New York Times, Jan.17, 2008.

Tooley, James. “Private Education: The Poor’s Best Chance” The Courier, UNESCO, Nov.2000