The Impact of the Commercialization of Educational Services on Educational Development - Essay Example

The Impact of the Commercialization of Educational Services on Educational Development By student’s name Course code+ name Professor’s name University name City, state Date of submission Introduction The international human rights law provides for the right to free and compulsory education for all children. The Global Human Rights Minimum Standards require each country to ensure that education is free and compulsory until children have attained the age of majority which is the age for employment (Tomasevski 2006, 1). Despite the fact that such laws are well engraved in international and national human rights statutes, economic exclusion from education remains rampant across the globe. Many countries impose different charges that have made education costly and an unachievable goal for certain families and children. Such charges have closed the gap that existed between private and public schools such that it has become difficult for children to get access to free education in public schools. Such trends in education have come to be regarded as the commercialization of educational services. Though education is required to be a prerequisite for the growth of children across the globe, the introduction of charges or fees in offering education services has become a bar to accessing this service (Tomasevski 2006, 1). The Commercialization of Education Services Education is defined as the process of training and developing the capabilities and powers of human beings through the acquisition of general knowledge and involves preparing people for mature life. It is the process that involves the shaping and molding of people’s knowledge, characters and behavior (Twebaze 2015, 5107). The commercialization of education means the process that has reshaped schooling from being guided by public interests to being informed by private and commercial interests (Lingard 2015, 4). The process has given more focus to making education profitable and business oriented rather than focusing on benefiting the society. The commercialization of education does not simply refer to the economic process that affects the governance and structure of schools but rather a process where the values of the marketplace which put emphasis on private and for-profit ownership ideas replace the values associated with education. Traditionally, education and knowledge were viewed as a public good and one that served the needs of all the members of society. However, with the commercialization of educational services, poor members of the society are cut out from accessing these services (Chorney 2008, 14). Due to the commercialization of education, education is now seen as a consumable commodity whose purpose is to increase one’s chances of competing in the global economy successfully. As a result, education is no longer seen as a valuable end in itself. The common trend is that education is defined primarily in economic terms. Some of the significant changes that have resulted from the commercialization of education services are the fact that students are considered as customers or clients, teachers are seen as the service providers, and the process of evaluation is seen as a method of quality control (Chorney 2008, 14). Educational Development Educational development is a broad term that refers to curriculum, instructional, organizational and faculty development. It involves ensuring that there is growth in literacy, quality of teaching, progress in education, infrastructural facilities and expenditure (Taylor 2011, 2). The investment in education is expected to increase the number of people enrolling in schools and the number of people that can be considered as literate having had access to basic education. The increase in literacy rates ought to be seen for both male and female children and even adults who wish to go back to school. The growth in the rate of enrollment in schools and the promotion of students from one stage of education to the other shows progress in education which in turn signifies that there is development in education (Institute of Applied Manpower Research 2001, 6). Educational development is also determined by the quality of teaching in schools. The increase in the quality of education through teaching shows development. The expenditure in education also determines development in education. The provision of enough funds for education means that more investment can be done in curriculum development and provide support to teachers and other faculty members. Further, increased expenditure in education also translates to the availability of infrastructural facilities which aid the learning process. The presence of these factors means that there is development in education (Institute of Applied Manpower Research 2001, 55). The Impact of the Commercialization of Education on Educational Development According to Tomasevski (2006, 1), the commercialization of education has become an illegal limitation to the right to free and compulsory education due to the fact that it prevents poor students from studying at the University. Further, such commercialization has made it unfair for children from poor backgrounds since they are forced to work to pay for the fees charged in schools. Countries across the world have enacted laws that provide for the right to free and compulsory education, yet their policies and practices do not promote the enforcement and realization of this right. The current education system that is practiced in many countries promotes poverty-based exclusion from primary education where education is priced out of reach of the poor people. Such practices infringe on human rights and deny different generations’ empowerment through education (Tomasevski 2006, 1). Education is considered as an important ingredient in making the world more secure and fair. The existence of barriers to access to education makes the world less secure (Sen 2003, 253). Access to education is an important indicator of the enforcement of the right to free and compulsory education (Institute of Applied Manpower Research 2001, 7ing). Where more children have access to education facilities and institutions, the fact on the ground is that there are policies and laws that ensure that education is affordable for all people. The increased access to education means that literacy as an indicator of educational development is present since more children have access to basic education (Mehta 2008, 4). The fact that most countries have educational charges and fees means that access to education is impeded especially for children from poor backgrounds. The limitations that exist to access to education promotes the certainty of deprivation which is a major cause of insecurity. Where people are deprived, the natural instinct is that they will struggle that which they do not have (Sen 2003, 253). This explains why children from poor backgrounds who miss out on the opportunity to go to school tend to engage in crime. The importance of education in the society cannot be underestimated. Such importance is seen in the way even poor families strive to ensure that their children acquire education to help them access opportunities that were not available to them. This means that there is a need to ensure that all obstacles that prevent such children from accessing education are removed to provide an equal ground for all children to compete in the economic arena. Obstacles such as school fees and the lack of enough teaching staff in schools must be removed to ensure that all children have access to quality education. Cases of poor families are relying on labor contributions from all family members, including children, must be addressed by ensuring that the right to free and compulsory education is enforced (Sen 2003, 254). The enforcement of the right is a great milestone towards the reduction of poverty in the world. The indicators of educational development such as literacy, progress in education and quality of teaching have a significant effect on the global goal of reducing poverty. In Japan, the implementation of the Fundamental Code of Education in 1872 promoted access to education for all people in Japan with an objective of eradicating illiteracy in Japan. The closure of the educational gaps that existed led to the start of the economic development that has so far reduced poverty levels in Japan (Sen 2003, 254). The presence of fee requirements which restrict access to education impedes the increase in literacy rates in different countries. One of the challenges that exists in promoting the enforcement of the right to free and compulsory education is the difference in policies and strategies employed in its realization. Despite the fact that global bodies such as the United Nations (UN) have shown commitment to the right to education, certain stakeholders have taken a different position on the issue. The World Bank, for example, analyses education in terms of supply and demand and ignores the requirement that education should be free and compulsory. Such an approach, like that of the United States (US), denies the fact that the provision of free and compulsory education is the responsibility of governments. As a result, governments have transferred the cost of education to families (Tomasevski 2006, 2). The funding of education or the education expenditure is an important aspect of educational development. Funding of educational activities ensures that there are enough facilities and infrastructure to support the learning of children. The fact that governments have denied the responsibility to fund education means that the investment in education is minimal (Tomasevski 2006, 2). As a result, there is a lack of adequate resources and teachers which lead to poor quality of education. Such conditions force the school administrators and education stakeholders to charge certain education fees from the parents. This further strains the education process since some children cannot afford the fees. Children are forced to work so that they can pay for the fees. The energy that is required for their studies is consumed while working which means that the learning process is not effective for them. The existence of payment conditions in accessing public schools has ensured that 35% of the cost of education in developing nations is privately funded compared to 8% in developed nations. Such statistics show that the gap between public and private schools has been eliminated making it hard for children from poor backgrounds to access education (Tomasevski 2006, 4). The lack of education means that the illiterate people in the society cannot fight for their rights. The increase in the rate of illiteracy means that the empowerment of women cannot be achieved since people do not know how to fight for their rights. This arises from the fact that such people do not participate in political affairs which would enable them to air their views. The fact that the illiterate people are in most cases poor means that their ability to advocate and fight for their rights is limited. Further, their ability to participate in tackling health problems is affected (Freire 1984, 78). There are different charges that have been imposed in public primary education in different countries. Registration and enrolment charges, charges for tests and examinations, charges for reading and learning materials among others continue to exist in public schools (Tomasevski 2006, 19). Such charges and the increasing number of private schools have contributed to the commercialization of education. The increase in the number of private schools promotes access to education. However, such increase in the private schools has led to competition among schools which has put more emphasis on marks. As a result, the education process does not promote the all-round development of the students (Borgohain 2016, 74). Further, such commercialization of education has also compromised the quality of education delivered to the students. The fact that schooling becomes profit-oriented means that the focus is not on inculcating certain values to the students but rather on making more money. This means that the schools may compromise on education resources and facilities to ensure that they get more profit. Students develop a materialistic approach towards education. This means that they see education as a process where you pay and take education rather than a process that involves their time and commitment (Borgohain 2016, 75). Teachers in both public and private schools end up being overloaded with work since education is viewed as process that involves supply and demand. Where the demand for education is high, more students are enrolled yet the staff and the resources available remain the same (Borgohain 2016, 76). This means that the teachers are over-burdened and underpaid hence, compromising the quality of education. The commercialization of education has also made school administrators to spend money on non-priority areas such as school buses and expensive recreational facilities such as swimming pools. This means that less funds are allocated to curriculum development and providing support to the faculty (Twebaze 2015, 5110). Conclusion The commercialization of education has placed constraints on educational development by changing the public interest value that had traditionally been attached to education and replacing it with private interests. The focus of education has changed from benefiting the society to benefiting individuals. Students no longer view education as a process capable of changing their values in a positive way but rather view it as something that can be traded. Such commercialization has limited the access to education since the poor children are unable to pay school fees. In such cases, the literacy rate decreases. Further, commercialization of education has also diminished the quality of education offered. The gaps created in education as a result of the commercialization of education services should be addressed to ensure that every child has access to free and compulsory education. Such a measure should also be enforce to ensure that the quality of education is upheld. References Borgohain, S 2016, Commercialization of education system: A critical analysis, International Research Journal of Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Studies, Vol. 1, No. 12, 71-76. Chorney, T 2008, The commercialization of higher education as a threat to the values of ethical citizenship, Saint Mary’s University. Freire, Paulo 1984, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Continuum, New York [original edition 1968], Ch2 Institute of Applied Manpower Research 2001, Educational Development parameters and the preparation of educational development index, Planning Commission, Government of India. Lingard, B 2015, The global commercialization of education and the dangers of the Reform of Federation White Paper, The University of Queensland. Mehta, A 2008, Indicators of educational development with focus on elementary education: Concept and definitions, Available at: http://www.educationforallinindia.com/New%20Modules/module%20on%20indicators%20of%20educational%20development.pdf [Accessed 23 May 2016] Sen, Amartya 2003, Amartya Sen: the importance of basic education, The Guardian, October 28, online: http://people.cis.ksu.edu/~ab/Miscellany/basiced.html [Accessed 23 May 2016] Taylor, L 2011, Educational development: Redefining the scope and meaning of faculty development, Center for Learning and Teaching, Dalhousie University. Tomasevski, Katarina 2006, The State of the Right to Education Worldwide: Free or Fee, Summary, UNESCO, online at: www.katarinatomasevski.com/images/Summary.pdf [Accessed 23 May 2016] Twebaze, R 2015, Commercialization of education in Uganda: Causes and consequences, International Journal of Recent Scientific Research, Vol. 6, No. 7, 5107-5112. Read More