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Life is a random draw for Kids in India

Atanu Dey on India’s Development » Random Education Thoughts writes about his thoughts after visiting one of the most expensive schools of India.

I would describe the Mercedes Benz International School in Pune to be the Rolls-Royce of schools in India.

It is the kind of school that if you have to ask what the tuition fees are, you probably cannot afford it. With only 167 students, it is as exclusive as it is expensive. The annual fee is mind-boggling—to me at least—over half a million rupees a year. The top fees is Rs 5.7 lakhs ( approximately, US$ 13,000) and the one-time fixed cost is Rs 3 lakhs.

The kids in the Mercedes Benz schools were having fun. One large group was having their lunch in the school cafeteria. A smiling, happy, noisy bunch of I guess 8 to 10-year olds. We walked past another bunch which was evidently the school chorus and band. They were led by a couple of music teachers, one a Canadian-Indian and the other Danish. We looked around the classrooms and the labs and the library. Everything was neat and tidy.

In the stopped traffic an old man with a very shriveled face appeared at the driver’s side. I dug into my pockets and handed the few coins I had to the driver to give to the old man. He turned away with gratitude on his tired face. On my side of the car then appeared a little girl, about 7 years old. She had in her hands a couple of packets of Q-tips.

I shook my head to indicate that I did not want any. But she pleaded with her eyes, asking for some help. Usually I carry about fifty rupees in change to give as handouts but I was out of change. My wallet I recalled had only one-hundred rupee bills. I was not totally sure that I had any lower denomination bills. For some reason, I was against giving out a Rs 100. But I did not want to reach for my wallet and check. If I had done that, it would have raised her hopes, only to be dashed if I did not give her any money after all. I sat there feeling miserable shaking my head no until she gave up and went to the next vehicle.

I think one of the ways to promote the spread of education is to encourage existing private education system to impart education to the poor students gratis. It may sound like a Robin Hood philosophy, but if the education system itself starts responding to the needs of the society in a generous way, it will certainly give opportunity for more poor students to study. I have been thinking about establishing a foundation that recognizes such education institutions and provide grants to them as a token of recognition of their efforts. I still have to do some research about the viability of such foundation. I would appreciate if you can provide any inputs.