Effective utilization of private aid to government schools

Abstract

The Government has a huge role in providing education in our country. Even though the scenario has improved over the last decade, there are lot of challenges like inefficient usage of funds, channelling assistance to the needy and the poor quality of teaching-learning process. Private sector can play a role in tackling these challenges. It can directly address the issue of quality of education through scalable models and objective evaluation and feedback. The scope of the project consists of studying the existing scenario of private aid to government schools. The broad areas of study are - criteria of analysing the right schools, role of private players, effective utilization of private aid, challenges and obstacles faced and the possible reasons for stagnation of funds. The methodology adopted for the study involved meeting representatives from government and private sector and understanding the various initiatives undertaken by their organizations. Secondary research was done to critically evaluate initiative by corporate, individuals and NGOs. The key areas of focus for private aid in the improvement of education are (1) Infrastructure, (2) Teacher training, (3) Resource allocation, (4) Health, (5) Assessment, (6) Midday meal scheme and (7) Additional learning. The current initiatives of various private players like Learning Guarantee Program, Intel Teach India, Akshaya Patra, Microsoft Project Shiksha, Akshara foundation, Adamya Chetana Foundation and Infosys foundation was critically analysed and the key insights were gathered from them. Government initiatives like school assessment by KSQAO and the School Adoption Program were studied and possible private aid in these initiatives were analysed. The recommendations are given with respect to each key focus areas keeping the various initiatives as references. The nature of aid can be decided based on the school requirements. The infrastructure need is best addressed by school adoption programmes. The teacher trainings and midday meal schemes have been executed effectively; the only issue is the scalability of the model. The major challenges are the lack of awareness, accountability and the lack of commitment of the various stakeholders. The govt as well as the private players’ lackadaisical approach may lead to wastage or stagnation of the aid.