PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION IN PUNJAB: EXCLUSION OF RURAL STUDENTS A PROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED TO PUNJABI UNIVERSITY, PATIALA RANJIT SINGH GHUMAN SUKHWINDER SINGH JASWINDER SINGH BRAR DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS & CENTRE FOR RESEARCH IN ECONOMIC CHANGE PUNJABI UNIVERSITY, PATIALA NOVEMBER, 2008 PREFACE Punjab economy continues to be a rural oriented economy. About two- thirds of state’s total population (66.05 per cent) and 70 per cent of the work force live in rural areas as per Population Census of 2001. About two-fifth of state income originates in the agriculture and allied activities. However, education base of the rural people is very weak and fragile. The literacy rate in rural areas is also very low (65 per cent) compared to urban literacy rate (79 per cent). Although the agricultural led growth has improved the living conditions of rural people, yet a big socio-economic gap exists with regard to the availability of public services, infrastructural facilities, and employment opportunities between the rural and urban people. For instance, people living in cities/towns have access to better schools and colleges, better teachers and without any vacant post, better transport and communication means, better income earning opportunities, etc. Contrary to it, villagers as such are either deprived of better facilities or have to be contended with less efficient ones. They have become disillusioned, especially with their wards’ educational facilities and attainments. Their children have lagged behind both in terms of vertical and horizontal mobility of occupations than that of their urban counterparts. As such, they are unable to compete with the urbanites on the basis of merit. In Punjab or elsewhere, the admission process to professional courses is entirely based on the rank secured in the state/national level tests. In these tests, in fact, there is no level playing field for rural students in the determination of merit/rank, when their school foundation and counseling were much weaker than their urban counterparts. On the other side, the political leadership, civil bureaucracy, affluent people and even the academia of the state have increasingly become inimical and insincere towards them. Even the judiciary is promoting the hollow slogan of meritocracy. The rural education in government schools in the state has been totally collapsed. Private schools recognized or unrecognized) are mushrooming in rural areas day-in and day-out. And, these schools are ii working and charging very high fee without any regulatory authority. The government schools in the rural areas are largely meant for the students belonging to SCs, BCs and other weaker sections of society. As such, the rural people without education ladder have lagged behind in every walk of life. Naturally, it is expected that the number and proportion of rural students in higher professional education are not only low but also on the decline over the period of time. Punjab has become a classic case of societal transformation based on the market forces. And, the market forces have emerged as the principal instrument not only in the commodity producing sectors, but also in the entire services sector including in the ‘public good’ nature of services, particularly in the education and health. These two sectors are basically responsible for the development of human resources in the state. This process has deprived an overwhelming majority of vulnerable sections of rural society from getting the benefits of public services and put restrictions on improving their quality of life. Further, mainstream economists attached great significance to the higher professional education in creating new knowledge and skills of the workforce, and preparing them for premium employment avenues. The higher professional education, in fact, has become sine qua non for the generation, absorption, preservation, application and dissemination of knowledge. Truly, the professionally qualified people of the country, even of a poor country, could be able to promote, assert and protect their state’s/nation's interest in the fast emerging knowledge societies at the national/global level. The real wealth of a nation lies in its people. And, the purpose of development is to create an enabling environment for people to enjoy long, healthy and creative lives (UNDP, 1990). This simple but powerful truth is too often forgotten in the pursuit of material and financial wealth. This is truer in the case of Punjab state. Our earlier study, ‘Rural Students in Universities of Punjab’ has provided much needed empirical base about the low proportion of rural students in the four universities of Punjab state (Ghuman, Singh and Brar, 2006). In the ensuing heated debate, many cabinet ministers, bureaucrats iii and policy makers were apologetic to the findings and suggested the Punjabi University authorities to undertake an exclusive but similar study of other universities of the state providing professional degree courses. In a true spirit of favouring ruralites, the then Vice Chancellor, S. Swarn Singh Boparai, Kirti Chakra had granted a research project to the study team. Actually, in the absence of the authentic database, comprehensive study and socio-economic background of rural students, the state authorities were unable to formulate concrete and meaningful public policy interventions. These facts tempted us to undertake this study. Thus, the rationale and significance of the proposed study is self-evident. In fact, the earlier report has greatly influenced the public policy regime in the state. For instance, the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana has started a six-year integrated degree course, after the matriculation, exclusively for the rural students from academic session 2008-09. Further, the Punjab government with the approval of AICTE has got a sanction of 10 per cent additional seats for poor and meritorious students in the unaided technical institutions in the state. As per the policy, these students will not be charged any tuition fee. Very recently, as per the press news, the Chief Minister of Punjab has asked all the universities in the state to create 10 per cent additional seats for rural students. The main purpose of present study is to provide authenticity to the general observation that a widespread ‘exclusion growth’ process has been witnessed in the state, where the rural people in general and rural students in particular are deprived of from the benefits of higher professional education, whatever may be the reasons. Collapse of rural government school education, high fees in private schools (beyond the reach of majority of ruralites), gap in rural-urban amenities and awareness, lack of guidance and coaching facilities, admission through the entrance tests, etc. may be some of the reasons. One of the serious implications of all these is that rural students are unable to compete with their unban counterparts and, hence, incapable to enter the higher professional education sector through the present modes of entrance test examinations. iv During the recent years, particularly since the 1990s, the state has allowed the entry of private entrepreneurs to establish the colleges/institutes in higher professional education sector. And, the private entrepreneurs have entered this sector in a big way. On the one hand, the access to higher professional education in the state has increased and on the other, de-facto commercialization of professional education has been started substantially. Full-cost recovery from the students has become new mantra of privately funded institutions. Even, the public funded institutions, when confronted with severe resource crunch, started responding to market signals like (i) starting of self-financing courses, (ii) charging more fees and funds for existing courses, (iii) increasing NRI/Industry sponsored seats, (iv) provisioning of management quota seats, (v) keeping the posts vacant even the incumbents retire, and (v) in-formalization of workforce (contract/adhoc/guest faculty, etc.). In Punjab, opening of new professional courses have become a most lucrative business activity having quick and high profits with a little risk and uncertainty. Selling/buying of certain choicest professional courses or institutions at the highest possible price, and at discounted price where seats remain vacant has emerged a thing of normal happening in Punjab. Moreover, these institutes have been imposing high and multiple user charges in one form or another under countless pretexts and varieties. With imposition of unreasonably high fee and funds, getting professional education of high quality has become costly and, moreover, out of the reach of majority of the population living in rural areas. Further, deterioration as well as collapse of school education in rural government schools has added more worries to the rural people. All these forces are responsible for the exclusion of rural students, who are otherwise meritorious and hard working, from the higher professional courses. It has been often said, by the government, policy makers and academia, that the proportion of rural students in the professional courses is very low. But there was no authentic data about this. In the absence of data, it was all talking in the air. v The present study has made a serious attempt to estimate the number and proportion of rural students in the professional education sector of Punjab. It has also made a comprehensive and objective assessment of some peculiar issues related to rural students such as their school background; academic achievements; motivators’ role; parents’ education, occupation and their current income levels; fees and funds paid by them; etc. This report is the product of a team effort. The team members developed the overall theme, methodology and gave a unified treatment to the main contents of the work. The core members collected and processed the primary data themselves; exchanged their notes/contributions in varying degrees; revised/reformulated them and reorganized the contents, wherever necessary, to make the report a cohesive document without any ambiguity. The study team, indeed, is wholly responsible for the contents, views and quality of the report.