Education, Careers & Professional News
SEZ For Higher Education
We already know of Special Economic Zones for providing internationally competitive environment. Now expect the same spirit to be injected into higher education.
To solve the problem of shortage of doctors, engineers and other professionals, the Planning Commission has prescribed Special Education Zones. In its mid-term appraisal of the 10th Plan, that is likely to go for cabinet clearance on Thursday, the plan panel has recommended setting up of special education zones on the lines of the special economic zones to enable public-private partnership for higher education.
The plan panel is seriously worried about shortage of doctors as most of them head overseas after training in India. It finds India`s present doctor-patient ratio of 1:1800 to be simply inadequate and unacceptable. Unlike China, whose population will stabilise by 2050 at about 1.3 billion, India`s is anticipated to grow to 1.6 billion around the same time.
Even by present international standards, India is way behind others in the number of doctors it has. The Human Development Report 2004 says India has 51 doctors per one lakh people. Pakistan has 68, China 164, South Korea 180. The US, where most of India`s trained doctors head to, has 279 doctors for a population of one lakh.
If India has to aim to reach a modest level of say 200 doctors per one lakh people by 2050, it must add an additional 40,000 doctors every year. To achieve this, India will have to spend Rs 1,300 crore per year inclusive of the cost of hospitals and related services.
Accepting that government cannot do it alone, the plan panel wants to operationalise existing and new medical colleges as joint ventures of government and public trusts and societies through appropriate MoUs.
It also suggests safeguards like uniformity of fees, adequate scholarships for poor students and an appropriate mix of medical seats for both public and private sectors.
To translate these intentions into action, the plan panel has recommended that the task of sprucing up medical education in the country be assigned to the Knowledge Commission. Luckily for the Planning Commission, the idea of having such a body has already caught Prime Minister Manmohan Singh`s attention.
The plan panel wants the special education zones to focus not just on medical education but law, management and information technology as well. The idea behind the proposal is clear: These zones will not only feed India`s growing need for professionals but also tap a share of the international market. Indian degrees in law, IT, management and medicine are popular abroad and SEZs could be used for importing overseas students.