The document discusses the increasing commercialization of education in India. It notes that universities are treating students as customers and focusing on turning a profit. This has led to misleading promotions and a lack of quality in education. There is a need to make universities and their staff legally accountable and increase regulation of fees and infrastructure standards. Students should be made aware of their rights as consumers of educational services so they can fight exploitation. Overall the document argues that while privatization of education can increase access, it is currently being used to exploit students for profit rather than improve education quality.

2. ◦ In this brave new academic world, every individual
is called a „Revenue Center‟, every group of people
is a stakeholder, every student is a customer, every
professor is an entrepreneur and every institution is
a profit seeker. The universities with the sole aim of
earning profit are spending millions of rupees on
promotion. The students therefore, MUST be made
aware about their consumer rights and get the
value of their money through Consumer Activism.

3. ◦ This presentation will draw an attention towards
the increasing and blatant commercialization of
education. It will examine two areas of law.
Misleading and deceptive conduct of the
universities and imposing obligations and
potential liabilities on both universities as
institutions and staff as individuals.
◦ So, if the universities are seen as business and
students as consumers of the services provided
by the universities, then the legal consequences
of the business/ consumer relationship need to
be addressed.

4. “It is the right of every group to set up an institute. How can we
deny more players from starting a business? It is an open
market. May be the new entrant has better inputs to offer.
Besides, it creates a healthy competition, keeping the existing
colleges on toes to improve themselves or perish.”
-Mr. SK Jena, Regional Officer of North-west Region, AICTE
Source: The Tribune 24th March 2012

5.  Government today is in a miserable condition as it
finds it difficult to keep up its own commitment of
spending 6% of GDP on education.
 Demand for higher education is increasing. Need to
bridge the gap between increasing demand and
decreasing government funds for higher education
 The only option left is to increase the private sector
participation in the funding and provision of higher
education.
 Privatisation of the education is not a bad concept
but it has become a tool of exploitation and
discrimination.

6.  Treating Education Institutes as a business
The day is not far off when we all will see the big business
houses like Reliance, Aditya Birla, Vodafone etc. in the
education market. We will very soon come across names such
as Bharti Group of Colleges, Reliance Tutorials etc.
 Increasing Number of Institutes
In the last five years, so many substandard universities
(UGC report 94 Private Universities by Sep. 2011) have come
up, where the sole aim is to earn the profit.
 Providing Quantity But not Quality
Lack of Infrastructure, less qualified faculty etc are the
reasons behind poor quality of education and thus products.

7. Privatization of education is depriving the poor and
meritorious students for getting qualitative education
at the cost of the state. Public investment on
education has been reduced rather stopped for
making smooth entry and functioning of private and
corporate managements in the educational sector.
Education has become a commodity in the hands of
corporate giants. They are auctioning the seats of
Medical, Engineering and other professional courses
for millions of rupees. They are charging exorbitant
amount of money in the name of capitation fees.

8.  The SC in its judgment on the Mohini Jain v/s
State of Karnataka in 1992 declared that the
right to education was a fundamental right
and that the charging of capitation fees was
arbitrary, unfair and thus, violates the
fundamental right to equality contained in
Article 14 of the Constitution.

9.  Many of the private universities set up in various
states do not have either the infrastructure, or a
campus, or the funds to provide quality higher
education, and function out of one-room tenements.
Indian legal system does not provide for proper
regulation and maintenance of standards by these
universities and moreover, the Indian Govt has done
a little to ensure that the private universities have
done what the were expected to do according to the
legislation.

10.  Students who sign up for courses offered by
private universities, are being taken for a ride
by many private universities who have no
capability to offer quality courses.
 Thus, if the raw material is not processed
through proper machinery (infrastructure), it
is impossible to expect for quality products.
That is the reason why in India we are getting
a large number of professionals but only a
little quality professionals, who are
employable.

11. The responsibility of the educational institution
does not cease with just admitting the
students or awarding the degrees, but also
their placement must be the responsibility of
the Institution.

12. Why Do We Need To Cover Education Under
CPA??
1. In both the cases the organizations are
providing „Services‟.
2. Consumers as well as Students are paying
for those „Services‟.
3. If the services being provided by
Educational Institutes are not as per norms,
It‟d be like a product of inappropriate
quality.
4. Just like the other products, educational
institutes too are advertising like anything
to grab the maximum students (
Customers/ Consumers).

13. As of now there is no specific framework for regulation of fees
structure as well as infrastructure development of educational
institutes.
1. There is a requirement imposing obligations and potential liabilities
on both universities as institutions and staff as individuals.
2. Specific framework for regulation of fees structure as well as
infrastructure development of Educational institutes.
3. It must be made mandatory that every educational institution
(whether public or private) should publish its annual report with
details of the infrastructure and other facilities available, profiles of
the trustees as well as the administrators, the academic
qualifications and experience of the serving staff, the courses
offered, the number of students, the results of the examinations,
the amount of funds available to the university and the sources of
funding etc.

14. 4. In addition, every educational institution must get itself rated
by an independent rating agency like ICRA, CRISIL, or CARE
and they should publicly announce their rating to prospective
students to enable them to choose the institution they desire
to enroll in.
5. It will bring in transparency and ensure that every educational
institution, whether it is public or private, is accountable not
only to those students who are studying in the institution, but
also to the prospective students and the public at large as
well.
6. Public announcements of the financial as well as educational
records of the institutions and their ratings by independent
rating agencies will generate healthy competition between the
existing private institutions and will surely put pressure on
the Government funded institutions to work towards their all
round development.

15. Need of Awareness Campaigns…
There is a need to run campaigns among students
regarding awareness about their Rights. They
must know their rights as well as responsibilities.
The institutions must follow the norms and help
protecting the rights of the students.

16. This can be achieved only by inculcating the
„Consumer activism‟ among the students. So, they
must raise their voices and the management of these
institutions must be made legally accountable.
There must be a legal framework for the regulation of
the fee structure especially in the Private Educational
Institutes. Quoting an example of education system
in Finland, the education is provided free of cost in
the country. Though we cannot provide free
education in a country like India, but we sure can
have some rules and regulations that could bring an
end to the student exploitation and discrimination.

17. CONCLUSION
There is a need for distinction between privatization and
commercialization of education. India has a long tradition
of private effort in higher education. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan,
Tilak, Madan Mohan Malviya, DAV Trusts, Jamia Milia
Islamia and many other charitable trusts started
educational institutes to increase educational opportunity
in the Indian society.
But the modern educational entrepreneurs are not guided by
any philanthropic motives of the earlier reformers, but
they only intend to invest in educational institutes to
realize higher rates of returns on their investments,
because the demand for professional education is very
high and the risk involved in this investment is minimal.

18.  Every year we are creating a pool of unemployable youth.
70% of the Indian Youth is unemployable (Source: India’s
Skill Crisis). India is facing a severe skill shortage.
Unmitigated commercialization of education is responsible
for this evil. Institutions are resorting to false propagandas,
false advertisements. The innocent and unaware students
become easy victims and shortly then they realize that they
have taken wrong decisions, but are clueless as to where to
go and how to proceed? That is the point I wish to bring to
notice that every youth of the country should be aware of his
Consumer Rights. The moment they feel they are being
deprived of their rights, they immediately should take the
erring institution to the Court.
The need today is to make an effective legislation and widen
the scope of ‘service’ as provided in the CPA. Summary trials
should be there. Penal provisions should be initiated (which
would act as a deterrent) against the institution indulging in
malpractices.

19.  High time we realize that,
“Education is more than a luxury; It is
a responsibility that a society owes to
itself.”
~ Robin Cook