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The government will not allow education to be privatised as institutions have to serve a societal purpose, but it is not against "private participation" in the education sector, said Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal.

"We do not believe in privatising education. Educational institutions have to serve a societal purpose," Sibal said.

"I do not mean there should be no private participation in education. It is different from privatization. Private participation must serve public goal," he added.

In this context, Sibal referred to the government's efforts to set right the education system to make sure stakeholders served a societal purpose.

"The ownership of educational institutions should vest in stakeholders, which includes government, private sector, faculty, youth, civil society, leaders who have achieved excellence in their fields and the student community. That is how we view education," Sibal said.

To facilitate a greater participation of the private sector in higher education, especially in professional courses, the minister said the government was changing the regulations of the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE).

"We have made the whole system far more transparent and accountable. We want the institutions to go through a self-disclosure process instead of an inspector raj," Sibal asserted.

Referring to the latest national census, which has shown the population at 1.21 billion, an increase of 181 million people in the last decade, Sibal said the government was looking forward to management institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Management at Bangalore and Ahmedabad to provide solutions to achieve full literacy in this decade.

Noting that education was becoming multi-disciplinary and therefore management institutions could not function as standalone, Sibal said they have to interact with the government and diverse sectors such as health, education, agriculture and small and medium enterprise (SME).

“Management solutions are needed at every level. I don't think the society has recognised the importance of management and in creating those solutions. We cannot move forward unless things are managed in a holistic and progressive way," he said.

Source: igovernment