The Hindu Business Line : Education institutions

This is with reference to the editorial "A disconnect in education" (Business Line, February 28). The suggestion that educational institutions should be independent to fix fees to match costs and offer scholarships to needy students is worth consideration.

But with the culture of consumerism taking place even in the educational sector and the mushrooming of business schools offering various fancy courses with aggressive marketing, can we ensure that the right and quality education will be provided at a reasonable cost in tune with the needs of the industry?

The mushrooming of a large number of hitherto unknown universities with hardly any credentials to speak of in Chhattisgarh is a case in point.

Now and then, it has been pointed out by industry heads that the unemployment problem in India is not only due to the lack of jobs but also the lack of employable people.

Every year, thousands of graduates with little practical knowledge and skills to meet the needs of industry are churned out by the "educational factories", providing opportunities to the private institutions to step in to fill the vacuum at an exorbitant fee.

S. Srinivasa Rao

Gurgaon

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