By Shobana Suresh

CORRUPTION IN EDUCATION SYSTEM IN INDIA

Corruption in Education  is a type of Strategic Action where two or more people undertake exchange of money sidestepping legality or morality.

Education is a fundamental human right and a major driver of human and economic development. It strengthens personal integrity and shapes the societies in which we live. Since education typically comprises 20-30 per cent of a country’s budget, it is  critically prone to corruption, from national education ministries to local schools and universities. 

The cost of corruption is high. Stolen resources from education budgets mean overcrowded classrooms and crumbling schools, or no schools at all. Books and supplies are sometimes sold instead of being given out freely. Schools and universities also ‘sell’ school places or charge unauthorised fees, forcing students (usually girls) to drop out. Teachers and lecturers are appointed through family connections, without qualifications. Grades can be bought, while teachers force students to pay for tuition outside of class. In higher education, undue government and private sector influence can skew research agendas.

GLOBAL CORRUPTION REPORT: EDUCATION

Corruption and poor governance are acknowledged as major impediments to realising the right to education and to reaching global development goals. ...

Global Corruption Report published – Oct 2013

Is there corruption in education in India?

Yes, there is corruption in India -- In primary, secondary and higher education.
To be an engineer ---> Pay money
To be a doctor -->Huge money to medical college in terms of donation
Nursery donations, coaching fees, private tutoring.

Corruption in indian education system:-
India is a country where education is considered as scared. It is in India were all religion has its own belief in education. 

Formal education was not only started so that the world stays united but also people become knowledgeable. Formal education helped India to progress as it enlightened the people and improve the standard of living. It also helped in invention of new things and made life much easier. Formal education rises not only in cities but also in villages. 

Education is free of cost up to a certain grade for girls as girls help their families grow which will lead to a successful and bright future.
Many schools, colleges, universities, etc have been started so that no one is deprived of education. Formal education has become a must.

 Although the quality of education has increased, the system has started getting bad. Indian religion has always considered education as sacred, but does the sacredness still exist?
Does India treats all students equal and gives them equal education? Is the Indian education system corrupted? 
Let’s find the answer to these questions.

1. MBBS seats sold for between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 40 lakh by two private colleges in Chennai barely exposes the tip of the iceberg. The scam gets bigger, more brazen as medical graduates embark on specializations that are necessary for a successful career. The price this year for a post-graduate seat in radiology in most leading private colleges across the country is Rs 2 crore while in cardiology, gynaecology and orthopaedics are priced around Rs 1.5 crore. Marks, grades, percentages hardly matters to these institutions. Is this the sacredness these medical colleges are showing.
2. Other educational institutions like schools and colleges also have started taking bribes on the name of donation which costs up to 10 to 15 lakhs. The education system is not directly depriving the child from taking education but indirectly it is saying that marks and intelligence have no value in front of money today.
3. There is no need of Entrance Test in India. But this is another way of getting money.Just pay Lakhs and crores of rupees for the entrance exam in different fields like science, MBA, and many other major degrees is a must. Some private educational companies in India has started a business of entrance exams. Not only these companies but also the educational institutes earns crores of hard money. Educational institutes enjoy the money which they have earned on the name of entrance exams.
4. Major problem in Indian education system is the marks allocation system.Who will study when students can get 60% marks through copy paste?Some institutes have started to give 60% marks for internal assessment. Internal assessment are easy but are made more easy by these institution by just letting the students to copy paste the stuffs from various sources especially internet. No need to be awake nights and days for the remaining 40% marks when you are getting 60% marks.This system has also been introduce by these institutions as it not only lessen the work but also becomes a medium of earning. Students bribe the teachers and other authority but giving big fat donations and get the degree from these corrupted educational institutes
5. Indian education system is also in corruption because of high rate of teacher absenteeism in the country was a key factor in education system in India according to the new global study.The study also says – Teacher absenteeism does not just affect quality of education it is also a huge drain on resources resulting in the wastage of 22.5% of education funds in India.Teachers also believe highly in private tutoring a practice identified by UNESCO as unethical. It does not complement learning at school and leads to corruption the report said. The teachers starts taking big sum of money for their private coaching’s and pays less attention to schooling. They avoid teaching in schools with good explanations and start giving more attention to students who take private tuition's.
6. Another major problem of Indian education was the view of students towards the activity of copying in exams. Students say that copying and cheating in exam is their traditional right. In many Indian universities, institutes and colleges cheating is now well established.The report also said that – The fees for manipulating entrance tests ranges between $ 80 to $ 20,000 for popular programmes such as computer science, medicine and engineering.
7. Some of the Educational Institutes have allowed students to give the certificates to other on the rent like any other products. You can easily obtain a certificate after paying Rs.25000 fees and giving exams.After this you can also give it to others on the rent of Rs. 3000 per month, just like giving any other property on the rent.

There are also many others small corruption taking place within the education system of India. These corruption are not only polluting the Indian education system but also killing our generation and the future of India.

How to prevent Corruption in Education System

1. Remove the ability of officials to extort through delays and obstruction:
1. Does a corrupt Administration have to necessarily do something wrong to make money? Nope. They can just delay and obstruct, and the affected party will be forced to show up with currency notes. In fact, they don’t even have to actually delay, it is enough to just create the apprehension.
2. Let us say I am a Principal of College and I need to give admissions to students.  The Principal has to just sit tight, and tell the students approaching for admissions that all the seats are filled up. So the student has to bribe to get an admission in so called Management Quota.
3. Solution: Put the burden of timely action on government, not on the citizen.
2. Make it easier to report corruption
1. Let us say, if you are a victim of corruption (say in RTO’s office), you have to complain to the Vigilance Department. I mean no disrespect, but how many people want to face one more government department? One more arrogant self-important official? I would hate doing that.
2. What if there was a courteous and professional non-governmental agency to whom you could report the matter?

1. Create transparency, remove arbitrariness
1. Why do thieves operate at night? Because nobody is watching. Corruption also happens when nobody is watching.
2. Use technology and shine a light on everything. For example, in every office put an electronic board outside which has all the important (non-sensitive) information about things in the office. Also, put it on a website.
3. Example: Contractors doing government work have to keep meeting officials to get their payment released. If the officials are corrupt, they can make money even for such a simple thing. If you publish a list of people whose payment is due and the norms for selecting the person whose payment is to be released next, such corruption will come down.
2. The Nazi Hunting strategy
1. After World War II, Jewish groups gave rewards to hunt Nazis. Similarly, give monetary incentive for people to find out and help prosecute corruption. Else, why would they risk earning anyone’s enmity?
2. If someone leads to prosecution and recovery of government funds, let 20% be given as incentive. This is not an easy thing to implement but something worth pondering.
3. Enforcement and punishment.
1. Prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act is slow and convictions are very few. Under criminal law, the evidence required to convict anyone is very high. People hesitate to come forward to complain due to fear of retaliation.
2. As harsh and impractical as it may sound, at least for certain departments prone to high degree of corruption, make it a contractual assignment with a 5 year term limit. Only renew the contract if the person has a stellar reputation. The burden is on the employee to show good character, and not on government to prove wrong doing.

SAY NO TO CORRUPTION IN EDUCATION AND LET'S MAKE INDIA A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE AND LEARN