By: Abhay Gupta
abhay_groupid@3views.net
February 21, 2004

Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi has raised a question about cost of creating graduates in IITs and IIMs. I feel, Let’s include all other government engineering colleges, Medical colleges and Management colleges. I have always wondered, where the tax money goes and the debate started by Dr. Joshi gave me small idea about part of it where it goes.

I am a part of crop of engineers created by Regional Engineering College where it costs few hundred thousand Rupees to educate every engineer. Now, for my engineering degree, some farmer in far away rural village must have paid in some form of a tax.

Probably the most of the cost was actually born by tax payers who are not directly benefited by my becoming an engineer. And to add to the losses of Indian citizens, I moved to US and I am now working for some corporate giant and middlemen who are getting advantage of my degree earned in India. The only thing India is getting is a recognition that India has ‘best IT brains in world’. For a debate, I can give an excuse that I am sending foreign currency and that is the advantage of the country and hope to return some day to do good for India. But still all the arguments aside, a simple question remains - what that tax payer is getting out of the money, as the money I send does not actually goes to India government.

In USA, UK or any other developed country doesn’t a person who studies pays for their degrees? So why is it that Indian tax payers’ pay for the engineers, doctors, management graduates and scientists for their education?

Shouldn’t all the engineers, doctors, management graduates and scientists who study in India and leave the country pay for what they earned there? OK..OK, NRIs don’t get angry. Well not only the one’s who leave country but also the one who live there and earn fat sum of money.

“Buy now and pay later” is now a popular phrase by sellers and businessmen. So shouldn’t Indian government introduce something new for our higher education system?

“Study now and Pay later.” - What does that means?

In India education is one of the cheapest in world and that has today created a workforce which has become raw material for foreign companies and bringing on jobs and money for India. Let’s not break that trend and let the basic cost of higher education be less rather decrease that so that poorest of poor but brilliant mind still gets the deserved degree. But with a condition that after they start earning - those engineers, doctors and graduates will pay back the price for their degree.

The cost to be paid by each person can be determined using simple criteria of pay of the person and location of person. The more you gain more you share the cost. This will not only remove or decrease those subsidies provided to educational institutes by the government but also create a system where the price will be paid by who gains from it.

In India people should start realizing the cost of all the facilities provided to them and should be ready to bear that cost. As a society we should create a system in which we help each others grow not that just some grow and others are left out.

Abhay Gupta