ABSTRACT
There is a growing acknowledgement that the private sector has played a dominant role in promoting professional education in India. The establishment of a number of professional educational institutions by the private sector is an indication of that trend. The limited fiscal capacity of the state could not finance an expanding system of professional education. Whether the private sector can address all the needs of India’s professional education remains debatable.
It must be pointed out here that the education policy released in 1968 had envisaged an investment of 6 per cent of GDP on education. Unfortunately, it could not reach the target till today. It reflects a dire need for the private institutions to come in a big way to address the growing needs of professional education sector.
In the prevailing scenario, 78 per cent of professional institutions in the higher education sector are managed by private sector. Many of these institutions do not receive any aid from the government. The sustenance of these institutions remains challenging, especially in the field of maintaining quality education.
This chapter has made a modest attempt in assessing and analysing how the private sector has been focussing on improving the professional education sector. It will also evaluate the overall functioning of private institutions in the professional courses and the challenges associated with a number of regulations. Whether India needs to promote autonomy and empower private institutions remains a part of the discourse.
The chapter has drawn extrapolations from the recently released New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and located the role for private sector in professional education. The expectations from private institutions in accomplishing the larger goal in professional education have also been analysed. Whether India would be able to leverage its professional education potential and promote soft power diplomacy across the world has also formed a major part of the chapter.
