The picture of mushrooming educational institutes is quite clear, though the educational institutions especially Universities and Technical colleges in North India are not ready to announce that how badly any of their business strategy is hitting profitability and of course the quality of education in the country. Due to easy permissions and grants the mushrooming private colleges and universities are trying to make more business, however they never realized or measured the population or the potential number of students available to take admission, disturbing the number admission calculations leading to profitability for the institute. Selling has become tough and quality is further deteriorating as the available funds are used for not improving quality of education but majority on marketing and impressing banks to give loans. Marketing efforts go in vain as the target audience, the students are much less in number than the seats available due to excessive mushrooming of institutes.
84% of MCA seats remained vacant in both private and government institutes in Haryana in 2016-17 academic session, similarly 43% seats remained vacant in 376 technical institutes in Punjab in 2016-17 academic year. The cream of students who score higher, prefer government institutes due to lesser fee. The private institutes though give scholarships still does not have even 5% of cream students and rest masses do not want to study and also take loans from banks in large number.
Students are taught by not so good staff hired at marginal budgets and that effects the results of private institutes further resulting into jobless degree holders and pressurized job for the top level management such as Vice Chancellors, Deans and HODs of the educational institutes .
In December 2016, Indian Banks have seen a 142% rise in default students who have taken education loan in past 3 years. State owned banks are the worst hit as they account for 90% of the educational loan, whereas private banks are smarter as always, they have stayed away from educational segment always. The RBI confirmed the total outstanding educational loan to be repaid is Rs.72,336 crore as of December 2016, which is alarming figure effecting other corporate sectors who need funds.
This has happened as there was no quality check while the institutes, especially engineering and management institutes were mushrooming in the country without a check on the quality and without any consideration of employment potential.Today there is oversupply of engineers and managers and quality has taken the backseat.
The degree holders are jobless and have no money to repay their loans, giving birth to society where youth has been burdened with debt even before stepping into the stage of earning, leading to excessive dissatisfaction, depression and crimes.Yes, the banks can save themselves by checking the potential employ-ability, before lending loan to the student of a particular institute, but again it is a research based task and banks find it difficult.
Mandeep Kaur Sidhu
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