About the author: Ridhima Pahuja is a dedicated and driven student in Grade 12. She is passionate about making a positive impact through her academic and community endeavours. In her free time, she enjoys reading, playing basketball, and engaging in various community service projects, including organizing health camps and running her own start-up, Oleum, which recycles used cooking oil into multipurpose cleaners. She aspires to pursue an undergraduate degree in business administration to combine her entrepreneurial skills with real-world impact.
Abstract
This research paper explores the role of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in enhancing the quality and reach of education in Haryana, with a particular focus on the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) program of the Indian government. This flagship initiative aimed at universalizing elementary education across India while facing various challenges in implementation, including resource constraints, infrastructure gaps and uneven execution. In response, Haryana state in India has increasingly turned to PPPs as a strategy to address thee gaps and introduce reforms aimed at improving educational outcomes. This study analyzes the effectiveness of PPS in Haryana’s SSA program to examine how these collaborations have contributed to educational infrastructure, teacher training, student enrollment and learning outcomes. This paper identifies the opportunities and challenges in integrating private sector efficiencies into public education systems. The findings offer critical insights into how PPPs can be leveraged to enhance the impact of educational reforms, providing policy recommendations for scaling these initiatives across Haryana and similar regions in India.
Introduction
The foundation of a country’s political, social, and economic structures is its higher education system. A strong higher education system can guarantee a nation’s expansion, advancement, and development. The Indian higher education system is currently plagued by numerous problems. In Haryana, the GER for secondary education (Classes 9–12) increased from 57.5% in 2011 to 83.3% in 2020; yet, retention rates and educational quality are still below par (Government of India, 2020) Many students encounter difficulties like poor infrastructure, a lack of teachers, and restricted access to modern educational materials, particularly in rural and marginalised communities (Raina, 2018). In addition, the high dropout rate—particularly for females—remains a result of social pressures, concerns about safety, and socioeconomic barriers (Jain & Bedi, 2019). Public-Private Partnerships, or PPPs can be quite beneficial in this situation. Through the combined use of resources and knowledge from the public and private sectors, PPPs can close infrastructure shortages, enhance teacher preparation programs, and implement cutting-edge educational innovations (Elacqua, 2006). Additionally, they can help allocate resources more effectively and guarantee that underprivileged populations receive high-quality education, which will improve student results. This paper will focus on the implementation of education vouchers under Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and provide an in-depth analysis of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, evaluating its impact and suggesting improvements to enhance educational access and quality in Haryana.
More than 90% of our population lives within a kilometre of a primary government school (Pratham, 2021). Government schools, which still make up the majority of our educational system, have poor facilities that hinder learning (Vayaliparampil, 2012). Most schools have one or two classrooms, each with a teacher. Concerns about these schools include unsanitary conditions, inadequate sanitation for female students, poor teaching quality, high student-teacher ratios, teacher absenteeism, and poor punctuality. Dropout rates in primary education are high, resulting in a significant waste of public funds aimed at helping the disadvantaged.
Research indicates that the effectiveness of a government budget is largely determined by how it is spent, rather than its quantity. In India, the government’s inability to give targeted support to disadvantaged students contributes to ineffective spending on education. The government has prioritised school funding over individual funding (Gowda, 2020). To address inadequate education and illiteracy, legislative changes are necessary. Simply increasing public spending to 6% of GDP wouldn’t be enough.
This is the exact issue PPPs can solve, collaborations between public and private organisations to provide educational services are known as public-private partnerships, or PPPs. These partnerships use the resources, experience, and efficiency of both sectors to address educational difficulties and improve outcomes. PPPs can take many different forms, ranging from management agreements and joint ventures to the complete privatisation of educational establishments. There are several models of PPPs in the education section and this paper will focus on voucher systems (Raina, 2018). Vouchers provide government funding directly to parents or students, who can use them to choose schools, both public and private. This introduces market competition and choice into the education system. The policy framework modification is based on the notion that parents who want a high-quality education for their children may face financial constraints. As a result, their children continue to struggle in low-quality government schools. Direct government help for children, rather than schools, allows parents to choose their preferred school, whether government, private, or non-government. Education vouchers can be used to shift purchasing power to low-income students, rather than schools.
Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in education present both opportunities and obstacles. On the one hand, public-private partnerships can encourage innovation, attract new funds, and potentially enhance efficiency. However, they present issues of regulation, equity, and responsibility. Ensuring proper control and preventing commercial businesses from prioritising profits over educational quality is critical. Furthermore, if not properly conceived and administered, PPPs have the potential to exacerbate existing disparities (Morgan, 2017). Finally, holding both public and private partners accountable for educational outcomes can be challenging, necessitating defined performance measures and accountability systems.
Policy analysis on PPPs
Haryana’s educational system continues to suffer long-standing issues, particularly in rural and poor areas. While literacy rates and enrolment have improved significantly, many public schools continue to be underfunded and face challenges such as poor infrastructure, insufficient learning materials, and limited access to technology. A key concern is a dearth of qualified teachers, particularly in rural areas where multi-grade teaching and inadequate training lead to low student achievement. Furthermore, according to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), Haryana has continually suffered with low learning results, with pupils in elementary and secondary school demonstrating poor competency in fundamental reading and arithmetic (Pratham, 2021). These problems are exacerbated by high dropout rates, particularly among girls, owing to socioeconomic factors, cultural barriers, and safety concerns.
The potential of PPPs, particularly in the form of education vouchers, presents a possible answer to these difficulties. Education vouchers, which allow adolescents to attend private schools with government support, can be especially successful in ensuring that students from underserved communities have access to a decent education. According to research, voucher systems can boost competition among schools, resulting in higher teaching quality and better learning outcomes. PPPs can help to bridge budget, infrastructure, and expertise gaps while also boosting accountability and efficiency in the education system. Expanding voucher programs in Haryana could help lower dropout rates, improve school facilities, and provide better learning environments, especially in rural areas where public schools struggle the most.
The success of existing voucher systems proves their value as a solution to enhancing education India. Education vouchers have been introduced in several countries, including Chile, Colombia, Sweden, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, the Czech Republic, Bangladesh, Canada, the US, and the UK. There have been both successes and partial failures. Vouchers, valued at less than 100% of the cost per student, have proven effective in reducing the public monopoly on education in Sweden, Poland, and Milwaukee (US), resulting in efficiency advantages; the findings of the voucher system in Milwaukee, Chile and Colombia are explained how they relate to the potential impact of vouchers in India (Kumari, 2016).
The Milwaukee program aimed to address high dropout rates, low academic performance, and unequal educational opportunities based on income. It specifically targeted low-income families, a demographic that also faces significant educational disadvantages in India. The evaluation of the program found that it successfully benefited the poorest households, suggesting vouchers could potentially address similar socioeconomic disparities in India. Furthermore, contrary to concerns about segregation, the Milwaukee program fostered diversity rather than exacerbating divisions based on race, merit, or other factors. This finding is particularly relevant to India, given its diverse social fabric and the potential for voucher programs to either bridge or widen existing social gaps. Lastly, the Milwaukee experience highlights the importance of careful program design and implementation. The initial program faced restrictions, including a limited scope (covering only 1.5% of school-aged children) and a requirement for participating private schools to cap vouchered students at 49% of their total enrollment. These limitations, driven by political opposition, underscore the potential challenges of implementing large-scale voucher programs, even in contexts where there is a demonstrated need (Witte et al, 2021).The introduction of vouchers in Chile in 1980 led to a substantial increase in the number of students attending private schools. This suggests that vouchers can significantly impact parental choice and shift enrollment patterns, potentially signaling a preference for private institutions. This is particularly relevant to India, where a large private school system already exists and might see increased demand if vouchers were implemented. Additionally, the Chilean government’s decision to allow private vouchered schools to charge tuition fees, while simultaneously prohibiting public schools from doing so, created a price advantage for public schools. This highlights a crucial consideration for India: the design of a voucher system, particularly the balance of funding between public and private schools, could inadvertently create distortions in the education market. Lastly, the Chilean experience underscores that the implementation of a voucher system necessitates continuous monitoring and adjustment to address unforeseen consequences and ensure its alignment with policy goals (Elacqua, 2006).
Colombia introduced vouchers to tackle a lack of seats in public secondary schools, particularly impacting low-income areas and hindering enrollment. This resonates with India’s challenge of ensuring equitable access to quality education, especially in underserved communities. In addition to this, the Colombian program successfully increased secondary school enrollment. This suggests that vouchers could potentially address access issues in India by providing students with financial resources to attend schools they might not otherwise afford. Additionally, the influx of students into private schools, even commercially oriented ones, indicates that vouchers can alter school choice dynamics, potentially creating a more competitive education landscape. While the program led to improved educational outcomes, with public and voucher-funded private schools converging in quality, they remained below non-voucher private schools (Ram and Irfan, 2018). This suggests that simply providing vouchers might not be sufficient to achieve substantial quality improvements across the board. India should consider this finding and explore complementary measures to ensure that voucher-funded schools meet desired quality standards.
Direct support for students can increase their quality and motivate public schools to improve (based on international experience). To begin, the program can be implemented in metropolitan or semi-urban areas with a sufficient number of private and public schools. The voucher plan allows children attending government schools to choose between private and government schools. The voucher plan can be expanded to remote areas by encouraging private schools to open there.
Reforms to the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), established by the Indian government in 2001, aims to universalise elementary education. It concentrates on delivering free and compulsory education to children aged six to fourteen, in accordance with the 86th Constitutional Amendment. SSA has played a critical role in improving school enrolment and infrastructure development, particularly in rural areas, hence closing the educational access gap and overcoming socioeconomic constraints.
Since its launch in 2001, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has led to a significant increase in school enrollment, particularly at the primary level. The Net Enrollment Ratio (NER) rose from 73.99% in 2003-04 to an impressive 98.59% by 2008-09 (Vayaliparampil, 2012). A key factor in this success is SSA’s focus on reaching disadvantaged populations, including Muslims, scheduled castes (SC), scheduled tribes (ST), and girls. Targeted interventions such as the Midday Meal Scheme and the Stipend for Girls have been instrumental in reducing disparities in educational access among these groups. Additionally, SSA operates as a collaborative effort between the central government, state governments, international NGOs, and local NGOs. While this partnership model presents challenges, it enables the program to address the diverse and region-specific educational needs across India more effectively.
Despite its successes, the government of India has admitted to Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) experiencing considerable obstacles in increasing secondary school enrolment. Families occasionally lose money when their children seek secondary education, and concerns about the quality of government secondary schools in comparison to private schools, as well as fears about girls’ safety and well-being, further impede enrolment (Vijayalakshmi, 2013). While the SSA prioritises inputs like infrastructure, teacher training, and school supplies, critics contend that it does not focus enough attention on learning results and overall educational quality. Within the SSA framework, there is an increasing need to emphasise students’ actual learning experiences and achievements. Furthermore, the 25% free seat provision in the Right to Education (RTE) Act raises worries about the government’s growing reliance on the private sector to provide education. This could disincentivize improvements in government schools, leading to potential neglect while financially benefiting private schools, even those of questionable quality, if not carefully managed.
By incorporating this endeavor into SSA, it tackles one of the program’s fundamental gaps: differences in educational quality and access. PAHAL’s voucher system promotes competition among schools, requiring both public and private institutions to improve their facilities, teaching quality, and learning outcomes. Furthermore, it provides targeted assistance to some of society’s most disadvantaged groups, ensuring that children from marginalized backgrounds not only have access to education, but are empowered to obtain quality education. This integration can also help lower dropout rates, particularly among girls and disadvantaged groups, by giving families more discretion over where their children attend school, addressing concerns about safety, cultural obstacles, and economical pressures (Datta, 2009).
To improve the effectiveness of SSA and overcome its current shortcomings, implementing an education voucher scheme similar to the PAHAL proposal could provide families greater control over their educational choices. Education vouchers function by providing government-funded subsidies directly to families, allowing them to select the schools that best fit their children’s requirements, public or private. “PAHAL” is being implemented in three districts in Uttarakhand. The initiative targets rag pickers, scavengers, and beggars between the ages of 6 and 14 (Saluja, 2023). Evaluations show that children engaged in this plan perform on par with or outperform others in mathematics and languages.
By incorporating school vouchers into the SSA’s existing framework, India can solve significant challenges such as infrastructure problems, teacher shortages, and low educational performance, particularly in neglected areas such as rural Haryana. Drawing on international case studies such as those from Chile, Colombia, and Milwaukee, India may create a voucher system that promotes innovation and efficiency while minimising inequality. Implementing education vouchers as a supplement to SSA would not only increase universal access to education, but would also improve the system’s quality and equity, bringing us closer to the objective of providing a robust and inclusive education for everyone.
This dual approach of reforming the SSA and introducing PPPs through education vouchers offers a comprehensive path forward to address India’s educational challenges at scale, ensuring that both public and private sectors contribute to a stronger, more equitable educational landscape.
References
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