Accountability And Incentives
Johan Norberg, in a follow up to the post I discussed here, writes:
On the Indian highways we made 40 kilometers/hour when we were lucky. In China that is called a traffic jam.
Now they are investing more in this [infrastructure], but it´s not about money as such, the problem is the lack of accountability and incentives. Indian bureaucrats keep their jobs no matter if they spend the resources on physical and social infrastructure or on themselves. This is a serious problem with the schools. Unionised teachers keep their well-paid jobs even if they are bad, abuse the children or don´t even bother to turn up. That´s one of the reasons why India´s illiteracy rate is absurdly high - 40 percent. As many Indians I met said, India desperately needs a school voucher system, so that the money follows the pupils, not the teachers.
Well, the Delhi-based CCS is one organisation strongly advocating a school-voucher system, and I believe the idea is gaining some traction among the political classes. But do you really think the Commies will let it happen?
As far as I know, the government runs most (all?) of the schools (primary through high school) in China. And they’ve still managed to attain a literacy rate of 90% or so versus 60% something for India…
http://indianeconomy.org/2005/09/27/china-v-india/
Q) How come China’s bureaucracy delivers better results than India’s — at least, on the literacy front?
While I’m all for vouchers, I think they’re a long way off even in the US… for example, see this http://www.techcentralstation.com/072803A.html
Q) Is it possible for vouchers to take off in India, when there’s so much opposition even in the US? Could we in effect do a leapfrog, this time in policies rather than in technology?
Comment by Prashant Kothari — December 8, 2005 @ 2:22 pm
The opposition in the US is due to teachers unions. I don’t think they are that strong in India. I think that India has a better chance.
Comment by Ravikiran Rao — December 8, 2005 @ 4:14 pm
Is it possible Chinese education rate may have to do more with parents than bureaucracy?
Vouchers are what are needed India - one more well intentioned spending program that creates another bureaucracy and avenues for middle men to make money which will eventually trickle down to the students and families.
Comment by Chandra Dulam — December 8, 2005 @ 11:48 pm
Is it the only option to save school?
Is it not that our illitracy is attributed to lack of schools, lack of parents (of child labourours )willingness to send children to school?
I agree though accountability is needed?
It comes from top - people asking for results and politicians driving the results? If this does not happen - we don’t get nothing.
Comment by Nirav Kanakia — December 9, 2005 @ 2:33 am