MODULE 4 - Trends in Financing Education

MODULE 4 - Trends in Financing Education

Prepared by

SABARISH-P

M.Sc., M.Ed., JRF & NET

Assistant Professor in Physical Science, Arafa Institute for Teacher Education

Attur, Thrissur.

Contact me : pklsabarish@gmail.com

·         Provision of basic education is the responsibility of the state and hence it is imperative that public sector education budget is enhanced for the unreached.

·         There is a direct relationship between ratio of spending on education by a country and education level of its people.

·         Educational policies vary among countries resulting in different trends. Some of the recent trends in the financing of education are :

§  Increasing unit, or per-student, costs of instruction.

§  Increasing enrollments.

§  The increasingly knowledge-based economies and the consequent additional expectations upon higher education as a major engine of economic development and individual betterment.

§  The failure of governmental, or public, revenues to maintain their share of the cost increases resulting from the aforementioned pressures on higher educational expenditures.

§  Increasing globalisation, which contributes both to the increasing cost trajectories and to the faltering governmental revenues.

§  Increasing liberalisation of economies and the resulting decentralisation, devolution, and privatisation of public and private systems and educational institutions.

Public investment, private investment and international sources of finance

·         Education in India is provided by the public sector as well as the private sector, with control and funding coming from three levels: central, state, and local.

·         Education funding comes from many different sources. The total level of funding a country dedicates to education is the result of the total level of funding provided by each one of these sources.

·         The main sources of education finance are public finance, private sources of finance and international sources of finance.

Public finance

·         On an average, public finance represent about 80% of the total national educational expenditure.

·         Public finance refers to the total of the resources allocated and spent in education by the various levels of governments (central, regional and local) as well as by public educational institutions.

·         In different countries, the participation in total public education financing of the various government levels varies widely.

·         Public financing includes both direct public expenditure on education and subsidies to mostly households, such as tax reductions, scholarships and loans, living allowances, etc.

·         In tertiary education, direct subsidies may represent a large share of public financing.

Private sources of finance

·         On an average, private sources of financerepresent about 20% of total national educational finance.

·         In some countries, however, the private sources of finance represent a significant share of resources and even the larger portion of total educational expenditures.

·         Generally, private sources includemostly households, but also communities, civil society organisations and the private sector.

·         With few exceptions, households pay for the overwhelmingly largest share of total private financing.

·         Households do so by incurring both direct and indirect costs of education.

·         Direct costs include tuition fees, transportation to and from school, uniforms, teaching materials, and so on.

·         Indirect costs are costs that are not directly incurred by the household, but instead indirectly as the opportunity cost of having their children in schools instead of working and earning an income.

·         In effect, education implies foregoing an income that would be available ifthe student instead used his or her time in a productive employment.

·         The income foregone represents a substantial and very significant cost of public education to households, and particularly burdensome for low income households.

·         The foregoing of income is also an important policy factor explaining the behaviour of low income families towards education.

·         Societies also incur a significant economic indirect cost by having a large share of their population in school instead of working.

·         Both societies and families expect to recover this investment in human capital through increased earnings through higher work productivity leading to higher salaries, employment and economic growth.

·         Research shows a significant willingness of households to pay for education.

·         Both the level and actual capacity to pay by families enjoying different income levels, results in a debatable fee structure, particularly for the lower levels of society, where the poor tend to concentrate.

International resources

·         International sources of finance, including loans, represent, about 2% of total educational expenditure by developing countries.

·         Small economies and least developed countries may benefit from more significant external sources of finance.

·         Generally, countries look inwards to search for more abundant sources of funds.

·         Still, with few exceptions, national resources are the key to educational spending.

Impact of globalisation on education–financing

·         Globalisation can be defined as the process by which businesses or other organisations develop international influence and start operating on an international scale.

·         Nowadays, education policies of many countries are formed and implemented in a global context due to the dominance of the global economy over national politics.

·         Developing countries are seriously affected by globalisation due to their myriad economic, social and cultural problems.

·         Education systems of developing countries should play a major role in their development by providing quality access to education and training for all, at least at the basic education level.

·         The effect of globalisation on education bring rapid developments in technology and communication across the world of ideas, values and knowledge.

·         Many countries have overhauled and refocused their educational industry in order to qualitatively participate in the global arena.

·         Globalisation’s impact on education is generally cast in terms of educational reforms.

·         Educational reforms can be broadly classified into three types namely competition-driven, finance-driven and equity-driven educational reforms.

·         Competition-driven educational reforms aim primarily to improve economic productivity by improving the quality of labor and of educational institutions.

·         Competition-driven educational reforms include :

§  Decentralisation

§  Introduction of achievement standards

§  Improved management of educational resources

§  Improved teacher recruitment and training

§  Changes in the curriculum and pedagogy aimed at improved educational quality and relevance.

·         Finance-driven educational reforms are motivated by the need to improve the economic climate and conditions for economic growth in a country by reducing public spending and increasing efficiency and quality in service delivery.

·         Finance-driven educational reforms include :

§  Shifting public funding from higher to lower levels of education, that is basic levels.

§  Privatisation of education

§  Reduction in per student costs at all levels by increasing class size.

·         Many factors like a country’s ideology and economical strength determine the way finance-driven educational reforms are implemented.

·         Equity-driven educational reforms address issues of access for the poor, women, those with special needs, and those living in rural areas.

·         Equity-driven educational reform is the motivation for the education for all and universal primary education movements which seek to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to acquire a basic education and that such an education is free.

·         However, globalisation tends to push governments away from equity-driven reforms, for two main reasons.

§  The first is that globalisation increases the pay-off to high-level skills relative to lower-level skills.

§  The second is that in most developing countries, finance-driven reforms dominate educational change in the new globalised economic environment.

Early childhood education

·         Education is commonly and formally divided into stages such as pre-school, primary school, secondary school and higher education college,university or apprenticeship.

·         Early childhood education can be defined as the learning which occurs in the years from birth to age eight of a childand it is during this period that a child goes through the most rapid phase of growth and development.

·         Education and care for young children goes by many names like child care, day care, nursery school, pre-school, pre-kindergarten, and early education.

·         The foundations for the children’s social skills, self-esteem, perception of the world and moral outlook are established during these years, as well as the development of cognitive skills.

·         Early childhood education is encouraged for the healthy development and nurturing of all these important foundations, and trends show that parents are increasingly recognising this.

·         During the first few years of life, a child learns a lot about themselves and the world around them, and parents are their first teachers.

·         But for healthy development, children need active stimulation and interaction with others. This is where early childhood education is the most beneficial.

·         Beginning with children as young as two, teachers guide them through an important transition and oversee their adjustment.

·         Early childhood education focuses on learning through play by providing a hands-on, interactive atmosphere where children learn about themselves through playing with other children.

·         Young children have more physical demands than older students. Many preschools incorporate a nap time into their schedule or are on half-day schedules to accommodate a child’s exhaustion after a long morning of playing and learning.

·         Teaching young children requires complete devotion and perseverance. It can be a daunting task, but to a truly committed teacher, it is worth the effort.

·         Early childhood is a period of tremendous growth and curiosity that it is hard to decide exactly what, and when, a child needs to learn.

·         Many preschool curricula establish the teacher as a guide, allowing children to discover for themselves while the teacher leads them through the process.

·         Much research goes into pre-school curricula and many organisations strive to preserve and advance the education of young students as well as increase awareness about the importance of early childhood education.

·         Though early childhood education is mostlynot mandated, it is doubtlessly an important and fundamental stage of learning.

·         Curriculum and activities: Many different curricula or teaching approaches can create an enriched learning environment for children. Some core quality characteristics include:

§  Well-planned: Whether a pre-designed model or homegrown, a curriculum should reflect current research on child development and it should include specific learning goals for children.

§  Based on a child’s developmental needs: Activities, materials and schedules should be appropriate to a child’s ages and should support all three key developmental domains namely cognitive, physical and social-emotional.

§  Balanced: A good curriculum provides a balance of play and structured activities, teacher-initiated and child-initiated exploration.

Primary education

·         Primary school education is most often referred to as elementary school or grade school and is usually composed of grades one through six.

·         The main purpose of primary education is to give children a strong foundation in the basics of a general curriculum, with emphasis on reading and math.

·         Primary education is for children who are approximately five to eleven years old.

·         There are exceptions in the case of children with learning disabilities and those in special education. There are no age restrictions in these instances.

·         The subjects targeted by primary education are reading, math, social studies, science, physical education and health.

·         Subjects are meant to be taught for general exposure and to lay the groundwork for more rigorous study later on.

·         Skills that lead to reading fluency and comprehension, as well as number recognition and basic mathematical operations, are among those most emphasised by educators during primary school.

·         A quality primary education seeks to help all students succeed, especially those who have learning problems or disabilities. Special educators, tutors and interventionists are often used by elementary schools.

·         The fifth and sixth grades are sometimes classified as being part of the middle school or junior high school. Therefore, there is no official policy that explicitly dictates the grade levels that have to be included in primary education.

Secondary education

·         Secondary education normally takes place after primary education and may be followed by higher education or vocational training.

·         Secondary education is included in compulsory education in most countries.

·         A secondary school usually provides educational instruction for students during the period from ages 14 to 18 and consists of grades nine through twelve.

·         Most high schools offer a range of general academic courses.

·         The secondary education curriculum usually includes courses such as English, mathematics, science, history and a foreign language.

·         Other common subjects offered during high school include industrial arts, homemaking, health, physical education and music.

·         Students may distribute curriculum selections between required classes and electives.

·         Comprehensive secondary schools may provide specialised training so that students can transition into vocational or technical professions after graduation.

·         College preparatory schools focus on students who plan to enter colleges or universities after graduation.

·         Special or alternative high schools may enroll students who seek intensive fine arts instruction or those who may need child care while attending classes.

Higher education

·         Higher education is the education after the secondary level, provided by a college or university.

·         The international definition of post school education divides it into two parts namely higher education and further education.

·         A higher education qualification at degree level takes a minimum of three years to complete, more typically four.

·         Higher education will be at a level which would qualify someone to work in a professional field and it will usually be taught in an environment which also includes advanced research activity.

·         Higher education generally means university level education and offers a number of qualifications.

·         Higher education qualifications range from Diplomas and Degrees to Honors Degrees and as a further step, post-graduate programmes such as Masters Degrees and Doctorates.

·         All these qualifications are recognised throughout the world as representing specialist expertise supported by a wide range of skills that employers find very useful.

·         Further education generally includes post graduate studies in which Master and Doctorate degrees are awarded.

·         Further education degrees are marked as the highest that can be earned, though they are divided into two levels.

·         A master's degree, for instance, is awarded for a particular course of study beyond the baccalaureate degree.

·         Master’s degree comes in various categories, such as a Master of Arts, Master of Science, and Master of Theology.

·         The amount of time taken to earn a master's degree depends upon the enrollment programme, but a study at least for 2 years can be expected.

·         The second type of graduate degree, and one considered higher than a master's degree, is a doctoral degree.

·         Doctoral degrees are awarded for a particular course of study beyond the master's degree.

·         Doctoral degrees can be professional degrees, such as the Doctor of Ministry, or academic degrees, such as the Doctor of Philosophy.

·         Those who earn doctorates often assume the title 'Doctor.'

·         The amount of time one must study before earning such a degree varies greatly by the field and the institution.

Appraisal of schemes of governmental initiation

·         Primary education acts as the basic enabling factor for participation, freedom and overcoming of basic deprivation; whereas secondary education facilitates economic development and establishment of social justice.

·         School leavers need to acquire higher levels of knowledge and skills than what they are essentially imparted with throughout the eight years of elementary education.

·         Following the recommendations of New Education Policy of 1986 and Programme of Action, 1992 the Government of India initiated different schemes to support children of secondary and higher secondary schools at different points in time.

SarvaShikshaAbhiyan (SSA)

·         SarvaShikshaAbhiyan (SSA) is a comprehensive and integrated flagship programme of Government of India to attain Universal Elementary Education (UEE), covering the entire country in a mission mode.

·         SSA has been launched in 2001-2002 in partnership with the State Governments and Local Self Governments.

·         The SSA programme aims to provide useful and relevant, elementary education to all children in the 6 to 14 age group.

·         SSA is an initiative to universalise and improve quality of education through decentralised and context specific planning and a process based, time bound implementation strategy.

·         The SSA programme lays emphasis on bridging all gender and social category gaps at elementary education level with time bound objectives.

·         The gigantic dimensions of the SSA programme and the financial implications call for a meticulous planning and a rigorous appraisal.

·         The SSAprogramme covers the whole gamut of elementary education sector and is flexible enough to incorporate new interventions like specific interventions for girls.

·         SSA adopts a planning process, wherein the felt needs of the served communities and educational needs of learners are well taken care of and the plan fits into the broad framework of SSA.

·         SSA has emphasised the involvement of local people and stakeholders in planning. This also ensures reflection of local specificity, which is essential for achieving the goals of the programme.

·         SarvaShikshaAbhiyan is an attempt to provide quality education to all children through active participation of community in a mission mode.

·         The major characteristics of SSA are:

§  A programme with a clear time frame for universal elementary education.

§  A response to the demand for quality basic education all over the country.

§  An opportunity for promoting social justice through basic education.

§  An effort at effectively involving the Panchayati Raj Institutions, School Management Committees, Village and Urban Slum Level Education Committees, Parents' Teachers' Associations, Mother Teacher Associations, Tribal Autonomous Councils and other grass roots level structures in the management of elementary schools.

§  An expression of political will for universal elementary education across the country.

§  A partnership between the Central, State and local government.

§  An opportunity for States to develop their own vision of elementary education.

Aims and objectives of SSA

·         SSA aims to provide useful and relevant elementary education for all children in the 6 to 14 age group.

·         SSA aims to bridge social, regional and gender gaps, with the active participation of the community in the management of schools.

·         The following are the main objectives of SSA:

§  All children in school, Education Guarantee Centre, Alternate School, 'Back-to-School' camp.

§  All children complete five years of primary schooling.

§  All children complete eight years of elementary schooling.

§  Focus on elementary education of satisfactory quality with emphasis on education for life.

§  Bridge all gender and social category gaps at primary stage and at elementary education level.

§  Universal retention.

Basic Features of SSA

·         Institutional reforms in states.

·         Sustainable financing in partnership with states.

·         Community ownership of school based interventions through effective decentralization.

·         Institutional capacity building for improvement in quality.

·         Community based monitoring with full transparency in all aspects of implementation.

·         Community based approach to planning with a habitation as a unit of planning.

·         A mainstreaming gender approach.

·         Focus on the educational participation of children from the Scheduled Castes / Scheduled Tribes (SC/STs), religious and linguistic minorities, etc.

·         Thrust on quality and making education relevant.

·         Recognition of critical role of teacher and focus on the human resource development needs of teachers.

·         Preparation of District Elementary Education Plans reflecting all governmental and non-governmental investments.

RashtriyaMadhyamikShikshaAbhiyan (RMSA)

·         The RashtriyaMadhyamikShikshaAbhiyan is a scheme of Government of India to enhance access to secondary education and improve its quality.

·         The implementation of the RMSA scheme to generate human capital and provide sufficient conditions for accelerating growth and development and equity as also quality of life for everyone in India.

·         RMSA leverages support from a wide range of stakeholders including multilateral organisations, NGOs, advisors and consultants, research agencies and institutions.

·         The RMSA scheme involves multidimensional research, technical consulting, implementation and funding support.

·         RMSA covers 50,000 government and local body secondary schools.

·         Besides this, an additional of 30,000 aided secondary schools can also access the benefits of RMSA; but not infrastructure and support in core areas.

Objectives of RMSA

·         The RMSA scheme envisages to improve its gross enrolment ratio for classes IX-X, by providing a secondary school within reasonable distance of any habitation.

·         Improve the quality of education imparted at secondary level by making all secondary schools conform to prescribed norms.

·         Remove gender, socio-economic and disability barriers.

·         Provide universal access to secondary level education by the year 2017, i.e. by the end of the 12th Five Year Plan.

·         Enhance and universalise retention by the year 2020.

Additional Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP)

·         Additional Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP) is a scheme jointly implemented by the Departments of General Education and Higher Education, Government of Kerala.

·         The ASAP programme seeks to equip students currently enrolled in the Higher Secondary and Under Graduate Courses in Arts & Science Colleges, with industry/business relevant skills.

·         ASAP aims at creating employment opportunities for the unemployed youth, enhancement of skill sets of the labour force, emphasising industry linkage and enhancing employability of students by introducing additional skill acquisition programmes in their career.

·         The additional skill acquisition programme focuses on enhancing the chances for employment for students studying for the Higher Secondary Courses and Under Graduate Courses.

·         Expertise of industry organisations and various Sector Skill Councils set up by the National Skill Development Mission will be sought for the ASAP.

·         ASAP focuses on additional skill acquisition, through a series of activity based modules defined by the industry so as to ensure that the students passing out of the institution have employable skills that are required by labour market and the industry, nationally and internationally.

·         Enrolment of students to ASAP is done at the college level.

·         Counselling services are imparted to students to guide and help them choose the right skill development sector.

·         Courses designed for Additional Skill Acquisition are primarily for sectors that have a substantial skill gap.

·         The sectors for ASAP are Hospitality, Retail, Health care, IT & ITES, Event Management, Business Services, Media and Entertainment Industry, Banking and Finance sector etc. A few of these sectors are included under ASAP and more will be added in due course.

·         Each skill development/up-skilling programme is designed to ensure recognition, both nationally and internationally and to ensure effectiveness and labour market acceptance.

·         ASAP hasthree levels.

·         The first level to be implemented for the first year students of Under Graduate courses, which is compulsory for all opting for the programme, will be of 300 to 350 hours duration.

·         The second level will be of 300-350 hours duration and is implemented in the second year.

·         The third will also be of 300-350 hours duration and is an advanced module of the selected area of specialisation and is implemented in the third year.

·         The second and third levels are optional.

·         Certification in ASAP is three fold in nature to be completed in three years’ time.The most advanced one is where the student undergoes all the three levels of ASAP.

·         ASAP is designed to meet the academic requirements prescribed by the Universities in Kerala.

RashtriyaUchchatarShikshaAbhiyan (RUSA)

·         RashtriyaUchchatarShikshaAbhiyan (RUSA) is a centrally sponsored scheme, which aims at providing strategic funding to eligible state higher educational institutions.

·         The central funding is in the ratio of 65:35 for general category states and 90:10 for special category states.

·         The central fundingis norm based and outcome dependent and flows from the central ministry through the state governments/union territories to the State Higher Education Councils before reaching the identified institutions.

·         The funding to states is made on the basis of critical appraisal of State Higher Education Plans, which describes each state’s strategy to address issues of equity, access and excellence in higher education.

Objectives of RUSA

·         Improve the overall quality of state institutions by ensuring conformity to prescribed norms and standards and adopt accreditation as a mandatory quality assurance framework.

·         Usher transformative reforms in the state higher education system by creating a facilitating institutional structure for planning and monitoring at the state level, promoting autonomy in State Universities and improving governance in institutions.

·         Ensure reforms in the affiliation, academic and examination systems.

·         Ensure adequate availability of quality faculty in all higher educational institutions and ensure capacity building at all levels of employment.

·         Create an enabling atmosphere in the higher educational institutions to devote themselves to research and innovations.

·         Expand the institutional base by creating additional capacity in existing institutions and establishing new institutions, in order to achieve enrolment targets.

·         Correct regional imbalances in access to higher education by setting up institutions in unserved& underserved areas.

·         Improve equity in higher education by providing adequate opportunities of higher education to SC/STs and socially and educationally backward classes; promote inclusion of women, minorities, and differently abled persons.

·         RUSA aims to create new universities through upgradation of existing autonomous colleges and conversion of colleges in a cluster.

·         RUSA aims to create new model degree colleges, new professional colleges and provide infrastructural support to universities and colleges.

·         Faculty recruitment support, faculty improvements programmes and leadership development of educational administrators are also an important part of RUSA.

·         In order to enhance skill development the existing central scheme of Polytechnics has been subsumed within RUSA.

·         Separate component to synergise vocational education with higher education has also been included in RUSA.

·         RUSA also supports reforming, restructuring and building capacity of institutions in participating state.

·         RUSA is implemented and monitored through an institutional structure comprising the National Mission Authority, Project Approval Board and the National Project Directorate at the centre and the State Higher Education Council and State Project Directorate at the state level.

Student loans

·         Student loans and scholarships play a crucial role as meritorious students, from families with or without necessary means, need an incentive or encouragement to keep on working hard in their studies and go to the next level of education in their academic career.

·         The government endeavours to provide primary education to all and sundry on a universal basis as higher education is progressively moving into the domain of private sector.

·         The higher education is getting more and more expensive and hence the need for institutional funding is necessary in this area.

·         Educational loans are an investment for economic development and prosperity.

·         The government of India in consultation with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banker's Association (IBA) has framed a comprehensive educational loan schemeto ensure that no deserving student in the country is deprived of higher education for want of finances.

·         The new government scheme covers all type of courses including professional courses in schools and colleges in India and abroad.

·         The government of India has launched a scheme to provide full interest subsidy on loans taken by students belonging to economically weaker sections from scheduled banks under the Educational Loan schemeof the Indian Banks' Association.

·         The student loans are meant for pursuing any of the approved courses of studies in technical and professional streams, from recognised institutions in the country.

Scholarships, fellowships and grants

·         All scholarships, fellowships and grants are referred to as national awards.The three terms are often used interchangeably.

·         A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to meritorious students so that they can meet the cost and financial expenses of studying in some of the top educational institutions and universities of the world.

·         Almost every country has various types of scholarships on offer for students and the eligibility criterion for each scholarship varies from institution to institution.

·         Both the Government and Non-Government educational institutions provide financial assistance to students in form of scholarships in India.

·         With the help of scholarships and schemes, students can continue their studies without putting too much monetary burden on their families.

·         Scholarships usually provide support for undergraduate or graduate education.

·         There are a number of scholarships available for students to pursue higher studies outside India.

·         The Government of India, foreign countries and private institutions offer the international scholarships to academically outstanding students.

·         Fellowships support postgraduate projects which may be pursued outside the normal curriculum.

·         The Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Higher Education administers only those scholarships/fellowships which are being offered by the foreign countries under Cultural Exchange Programmes and other programmes.

·         The subject fields are generally chosen for those subject fields, facilities for which are available in the donor country and also keeping in view the national needs.

·         Grants are the most inclusive, representing any grant of money in exchange for a purpose or a project.

·         The Central Government provides grants to University Grants Commission and establishes Central Universities in the country.

·         Funding is typically provided by a foundation, institution or other organisation to support academic work, research, independent projects or community service activity.

·         National awards cover a broad range of academic, co-curricular and professional interests, including, but not limited to: study abroad, science research, public service interests, graduate school, international research, study or independent projects.

·         It is reasonable for students to explore fellowship and scholarship opportunities as they develop their under-graduate and post-graduate special interests, passions, commitments and plans.