Public goods vs. market failure: Politics of fee reimbursement scheme in Andhra Pradesh
- 2010
- p.425-441.
- Jul-Sep
After a decade of neglect of higher education the Indian Government started showing positive shift towards strengthening different sub-sectors of education. The Right to Education (RTE) is one such initiatives which aimed at covering all children in six to 14 age groups. Innovative strategies are formulated to achieve the goals of equity and relevance thereby reestablishing the role of education in the nation's development particularly in supplying human resources. While starting new universities/institutions could be seen as structural response, the goal of meeting the skill shortage by augmenting capacity of technical institutions through increased seats is expected to meet the enhanced demand. This article attempts to look at the initiative of Government of Andhra Pradesh to subsidise technical education through fee reimbursement policy. The state through a policy from 2008 started reimbursing the tuition fee to eligible students which motivated them to join the technical education sector. However, its unintended consequences are not taken seriously. Besides, the policy itself soon became politicised as in any democracy, with the passing away of its architect. What follows is an analysis of causes for the reversal of Government's stand taken in 1998 on subsidies, and the need for a new interpretation on subsidies in higher education. - Reproduced.
Right to education - India - Andhra Pradesh Educational fees - India - Andhra Pradesh Free education - India - Andhra Pradesh Educational fees