Charter schools and India - sound familiar?

[The Straight Story]

(Article from 2009)
NEW DELHI: Nuts and bolts of the right to education law is still being put in place but the HRD ministry is getting serious suggestions from a host of private education providers to implement the concept of `charter schools' in India.

The ministry is unlikely to fall for charter schools and a formal response will be given out soon. However, sources said these schools had shown mixed results in the US and elsewhere but were being pushed in India by a strong private sector school lobby to skirt the mandated 25% reservation that all schools have to give to underprivileged children under the RTE Act. Charter schools were against the concept of equity and access, the source said.

Started in the US in 1991, charter schools simply mean leasing the administration and management of government schools to private education providers and NGOs while the funding is done by the state. The only responsibility of private education providers is the promise of better results which is made part of the charter. In case of India, it would mean handing over 1.3 million government-run primary and secondary schools to NGOs and private sector. The argument for charter schools, sources said, was based on poor performance of government schools and the growing tendency even in small towns and villages to put children in private schools.

But ministry sources pointed out that free-market ideology and freedom of choice could not be used to hand over government schools to private sector. Basing their argument on studies done on charter schools in the US, sources listed reasons why this model would not work in India. These schools become for-profit charter schools undermining the role of state in imparting free and compulsory education to all. In US, many states like Wisconsin, California, Michigan and Arizona allowed for-profit corporations to run charter schools resulting in profits being diverted instead of investing it back on education. A National Education Association study showed that for-profit charter schools rarely outperformed traditional state schools.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Demand-for-govt-schools-to-be-leased-out-to-pvt-education-providers/articleshow/5209545.cms


The charter schools alternative

This concept, known as charter schools, which originated in the US in 1991 and has now spread to several countries including Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand and Canada, is being increasingly welcomed by govern-ments worldwide, as an innovative approach to saving failing public schools. The National Education Association (USA) defines charter schools as “publicly funded elementary or secon-dary schools that have been freed from some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools, in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school’s charter”.

“Learning outcomes in India’s 1.33 million government schools are poor because the system doesn’t provide for autonomy and accountability,” says Dr. Parth Shah, president of the Delhi-based policy think-tank Centre for Civil Society (CSS, estb.1997). “The education departments of state governments control everything from syllabus design to teacher recruitment and training. There is zero scope for flexibility, creativity and learning. I strongly believe that we need to reduce the monopoly of government schools on poor students by offering them a choice of schools in which they wish to study. This can be done by giving them education vouchers to access private schools of their choice, and through charter schools. Both alternatives will continue to be funded by government but will offer the prospect of improving outcomes. Charter schools are a vibrant reality in the US and have enabled thousands of parents to exercise choice in selecting the most suitable schools for their children. If implemented in India, charter schools can offer parents dependent on poor quality government schools a way out of the system, and dramatically improve student learning outcomes. Unfortunately the Indian government is yet to accept this idea.”

To advocate the cause of education vouchers for economically disadvan-taged parents to access private schools for their children, CSS launched its School Choice Campaign in 2007. Under the campaign, India’s first school voucher project was initiated in Delhi on March 28, 2007 and school vouchers valued up to Rs.3,600 per year per student were awarded to 408 students in 68 municipal wards of Delhi.

http://www.educationworldonline.net/index.php/page-article-choice-more-id-1966

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http://educationworldonline.net/index.php/page-static-p-aboutus

[BOG PERSON]

1. if india wasn't recognized as the world's biggest democracy

it would be rightfully recognized as the world's biggest humanitarian crisis.

[jwirr]

2. Maybe the repugs will outsource their kids to India - we can always hope.