Along with the growth of Indian economy, it is also required that Indian education system should also grow and improve in quality. But at present the quality of Indian education system is much behind than other developed nations. It is very essential that education system require modern infrastructure and facilities.

Factors for the financial growth of the nation

Today government has realized the requirement of well educated and skilled work force who can contribute more to the improvement in the quality of education. The government authorities have initiated many steps also in this regard. But one of the major and unavoidable factors is the absence of adequate investment. Since India is an emerging education market there are many investors who are ready to invest into the market. But, in the current scenario, the education sector is not getting enough investment which can help to uplift the quality of education in India.

To build up a quality education culture, it is very well required to provide a flexible platform for the investors, for which the authorities has to take steps. It is a known fact that education in India is considered as a philanthropic activity. Most of the education institutions are run either by government bodies or by others who consider education as a part of CSR.

The formal set-up provided by regulatory provisions in the country is restricting companies to enter into the education sector. For a private company, it will not be much beneficial to invest in such a format as the profit margin is limited. If the education system has to be reengineered and latest infrastructure as well as modern methods of teaching has to come up then it is very essential to make this formal set up more flexible. Bulk investments are required in education services. Modern training for teachers and corporate trainings are very essential but it requires huge investments.

In the current scenario there are certain companies which are into the education sector. Companies such as Educomp and Career Launcher are investing more into this particular sector while comparing with past investments they have made. There is also trend of increase in the demand of foreign universities to set up colleges and institutions in India. Institutions from outside the nation will definitely help to give a new dimension as far as infrastructure and other facilities for uplifting education system are concerned.

To attract foreign institutions, it is also essential for the authorities and other bodies to liberalize the stringent conditions. At present, foreign institutions find it difficult to handle the strict regulations regarding the accreditation and student intake as well as the fee. It is recommended that Foreign Direct investment into the education sector must be permitted.

Regulation of entry and operation bill

Ministry of Human Resource and Development is looking forward to enhance the education system with new strategies and also by implementing the new bill. The bill known as regulation of entry and operation bill, 2010 will come up with provisions for foreign universities to come into India. The main focus of the bill is to regulate the entry and operations of institutions from various nations. This will help us to see more foreign university campuses in the nation which will provide a new dimension towards the education system. There are also other bills, yet to be passed which will help more foreign institutions as well as foreign direct investors to invest more into the Indian education sector. The bills to be passed are the prohibition of unfair practices in Technical educational institutions and the education tribunals’ bill. There are also some other bills to be passed. The Medical educational institutions and university bills, 2010 is one among them which is very important.

Apart from these regulations, the institutions also have to take care of the income-tax department. The education institutions have to claim for the exemption available. But to avail the tax exemption the institutions have to register and also over come other legal formalities. To get the registration the institutions have to prove that it has been established for education purpose and have no other legal obligations. Another major problem faced by the institutions is to get the approval from the income tax authorities. The approval is required to enable donors so that the institution can claim for tax deduction which will help them to some extent.

The most important thing is that the education sector has to make sure that they could meet the demand. As present there is huge demand for quality education institutions, but the problem is inadequate supply. If the sector work holistically and come up with initiatives which would help the people get quality education then it would be very beneficial. It is the government authorities who should liberalize the regulatory regime and make it more flexible for the institutions. Since the issues has been identified now its time to adopt a pragmatic approach. Adopting a profit based model for the sector will definitely help the institutions to put up modern infrastructure and facilities which would uplift quality of education in the sector.

Education sector in India is very important and plays a vital role in the economic development of the nation. Since the demand for quality education is increasing every day it is the responsibility of the government to bring in new developments. Liberalized rules and regulation and efforts to attract foreign universities are very essential.

In the present scenario, India is one of the fastest growing economies when other part of the world is suffering from bad economic climate. Moreover India is having huge number of educated youngsters and work force at present. And it is also transforming to a knowledge based economy at a rapid speed. If quality education is the requirement and fund is the only problem then why can’t we make more flexible and liberalized rules and regulations to bring in more money? There are many companies who are ready to invest in more funds and bring in new developments in this field. Why can’t we give them an opportunity and platform so that they can contribute their bit to the education sector?