Public/Private partnerships gone awry
On Friday I was able to sit in on a meeting that reinforced my hope that there are dedicated, intelligent people here in Karnataka that are advocating for justice in government schooling.
Recently, the Government of Karnataka proposed the creation of a new state-sponsored but privately run research institute, State Institute of Educational Management and Training, or SIEMAT. In essence, the Government of Karnataka has taken the position that the problems in our schooling system today can be remedied through "better management practices," over more attention paid to changes in pedagogy, improved funding for teachers and infrastructure, better quality in education through teaching, less mismanagement of funds by corrupt bureaucrats, etc. etc (this is my take on some of the prime areas that need reconsidering). Whats more, SIEMAT would be a private-public partnership between the Government of Karnataka and the Azim Premji Foundation (APF).
APF is the foundation of the founder of Wipro, one of India's dazzlingly successful information-technology companies. APF is based in Bangalore, and has been adopting schools left and right in North Karnataka, doing extensive research on schooling, and creating a model for improvement based on better management practices. It seems as if the great managers of the IT industry know exactly how to remedy the problems of education with the same simple solution. Maybe there is a need for study of better management practices in education for the bureaucrats and the ministers and all, but why it needs to occur in a seperate institution run primarily by APF, I don't quite understand. This is a case of private interests gone too far, where suddenly those who are lauded for bringing new money to India are the best people to solve problems in education, as opposed to the educationalists, advocates, etc. that have been working for equality and improvement in government education for their lifetimes, and whose achievements and prescriptions are not given the same weight by the Government of Karnataka. Non-profits like APF certainly have a role to play in improvement of government education, but this form of partnership where they have been named the specific directors of a state-funded institute crosses the line.
Nonetheless, when I sat in on a meeting of people who are about to begin round two for advocacy against SIEMAT through press releases, a memorandum, and so on, I really appreciated their dedication in fighting for equity and reform in a system so ready to give policy-making authority to private actors with no democratic responsibility to the people as the state indeed has.
So, we'll see what happens next.
