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Funding higher education
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Fund-raising for higher education may be an effective way of overcoming the resource crunch in the sector, says Murray Culshaw.
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Fund-raising for education is a new concept. This is what Murray Culshaw, a consultant from Bangalore, is trying to promote.
Dr. Culshaw feels that the public has to come forward to support higher education since the Government's investment in this segment of education will be decreasing. As capitation fees and other deposits sought by various educational institutions push higher education beyond the reach of people from the lower economic strata, the public has to come forward to fund institutions, he says.
Dr. Culshaw, who runs a training, consultany and research institution, Murray Culshaw Advisory Services, says that credibility of the institution is of utmost importance for such fund-raising to be effective.
The institutions should evolve a good communications strategy with the public through media and make public statement of their accounts. They should be transparent and able to withstand any public inspection of their accounts. When all this is done, the institution will be able to get funds from the public when they highlight their requirements, Dr. Culshaw says.
At a two-day training course for managers, principals and other people involved in the running of schools and colleges, organised by AIACHE's Kerala Higher Education Trust, the techniques of public communication and fund-raising were laid open.
This is a strategy evolved by most of the universities in the West, says Dr. Culshaw. The concept will not take shape here immediately, but if a beginning is made now, in about 4-5 years, public funding of higher education may be one of the most successful ways of imparting quality education to all, he adds.
By Shyama Rajagopal
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