How do you select who is to run a public-private-partnership (PPP) school? It cannot be, as in the case of, say an airport, the revenue-share promised to the government since schools are non-profits. Which is why, the new rules to govern the setting up of 2,500 model schools are the right mix of bringing in educationists and corporates?the latter are important since they are the ones with the deep enough pockets and the managerial skills to roll out schools.
While those with an education background, such as those running schools already, will be eligible to run such schools, so will corporates who have a minimum net worth of R25 crore. While the R25 lakh interest-bearing deposit that needs to be submitted per school seems a bit steep, the idea is to ensure only serious players come in?and given that setting up a senior secondary school can be R5 crore or thereabouts, it is not that unreasonable either. In any case, it gets refunded once the school starts?from that point on, the government pays on a per student basis roughly the amount it spends right now on running its own schools. If the model works and gets better education outcomes than the existing system, it?s well worth the effort and can be multiplied manifold. If it doesn?t, the government won?t have lost anything?and those running the schools can just as easily run them as fully private non-PPP schools.