At a time when policy planners are debating ways and means to democratise nursery admissions, the news could not be more dispiriting. In the space of just a year, enrolment in primary schools has fallen. A nationwide study by an NGO, Pratham, has found that enrolment in classes I to VIII — or roughly, among children in the 6-14 age group — has fallen from 93.5 per cent to 93.2 per cent. In its geographical spread, the data has more alarming dimensions. In West Bengal, for instance, 8.1 per cent of children were not in school in 2006, compared to 4.3 per cent a year earlier. In Himachal Pradesh, a much cited success story in delivery of education, it has risen from 1 to 2.2 per cent. In Karnataka, from 1.9 to 5.5 per cent.This data, along with the finding that countrywide more children are being enrolled in private schools, suggests a solution. This country, like every other, places the responsibility for education primarily with the state. But given the quality of education — whose falling standards are evident from dipping enrolment figures and a shift to private options whenever possible — the state is misplacing its subsidy. Instead of investing so inefficiently in education infrastructure alone, the government should shift much of the subsidy towards those it is intended for, the students. This can be done by adopting an idea that has been around for long and, since Milton Friedman first popularised it, one that has lost its undeserved elitist gloss: education vouchers.In essence, it means giving targeted students — in practice, their parents — vouchers which can be redeemed by securing admission in a school of their choice. That school, whether it be set up by government or a private entity, would be enabled to encash it. This could rectify distortions in the primary education sector, by having schools compete for students instead of the other way around. Schools will have an incentive to maintain quality as well as to expand into areas where the education infrastructure is poor. It’s true, free-market solutions can meet social goals.
