What Indians Abroad Owe India for Their Education

Subsidized Education Benefits Indian Professionals  

By Ignatius Chithelen

Summary: Government funding exceeded the total fees paid by my parents and me for my three degrees and school education in India. I had good teachers and a solid education and so owe, at the least, the true cost of my education in India. I hope to do this by providing free access to classic books of knowledge in the major Indian languages and expanding civil liberties.

Extract from “Six Degrees of Education: From Teaching in Mumbai to Investment Research in New York” by Ignatius Chithelen. Published in India Abroad November 25, 2016.

What Indian Professionals Owe India for their Education

I have three degrees from India, a BA in philosophy and an MA in political science from Mumbai University and an M Phil in economics from the Center for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram.  

The total costs of my college and school education in India were negative. Overall I got more government cash funding - excluding subsidies given to the educational institutions - than the fees paid by my parents and me. The true cost of this education was several hundred thousand Rupees and in the U.S., where I now live, over $200,000.

I passed my SSC exam in 1971 from St. Mary’s High School in Kalina, Mumbai, a private-public hybrid, like many similar schools serving the middle class in India. The Roman Catholic Church runs the school and owns and maintains the buildings. The government set the fees, selected the curriculum and the textbooks and paid the wages of the teachers and staff.  

My school fees were Rs.5 a month for the first grade. They rose gradually each year reaching Rs.11 per month in my eleventh grade, when I took the SSC exam. The cost for my eleven years of schooling to my parents was thus about Rs.900.

Though not top ranked, my co-educational day school had some inspiring teachers. One was my fifth grade teacher Ms. Annie who brought up current events related to the history, geography and civics topics she covered. She encouraged questions and discussions and often said, “If you reach for the sky, you will at least touch the tree-tops.”

        Another was my seventh grade teacher Mr. Rodriguez, nicknamed “Matkya” by the students because he had a pot shaped belly, covered by his untucked bright checked shirts. He was bald, in his fifties, with a few clumps of unruly gray hair and the middle finger of his left hand was twisted sideways.

I often recall his history lessons, especially about Muhammad ibn Tughluq, the fourteenth century king, which showed that those in power make major mistakes and should be held accountable. The king’s attempt to move the capital from Delhi to Tughluqabad was a costly failure. He also bankrupted his kingdom by offering new copper currency coins in exchange for existing silver ones.

Mr. Rodriguez got angry when he was disturbed while teaching and used the wooden handle of a duster to rap the knuckles of the offending male students. I did not mind such punishment because he treated all students equally. He was also generous, buying samosas for the students once a month, while supporting a mother on a salary that was far lower than what a bank clerk made. 

        St.Mary’s had a library of children’s fiction books, despite its limited budget, space and staff, which encouraged my reading habit. My favorite were books by the British author Richmal Crompton about William the freckled, red-haired 11-year-old. He got into trouble whenever he and his friends tried to help others, including trying to find a husband for his older sister.

        

I barely passed my Hindi exams in high school. Yet I recalled the teacher Mrs. Rao poking fun at the lazy, selfish characters in Munshi Premchand’s “Shatranj Ke Khilar,” when I saw Satyajit Ray’s classic film based on the story. Also, some of the stories in the Hindi text books, especially those about Birbal, were popular with my three children while I put them to bed when they were toddlers.

At Wilson College I learned to use the photography laboratory and got interested in journalism after writing for The Wilsonian, the annual college magazine. Then while at Elphinstone College, where I was a working morning student, I read at the Mumbai University library under the Rajabai Tower. I did not buy text books for most of my college years.

The annual fees for my BA degree in 1977 and the MA degree in 1979 were about Rs. 400.  

My M Phil degree from the Center for Development Studies (CDS) in 1982 was my best education. Most of the teachers were outstanding. I learned about the economics of agricultural and commodity products, the impact of politics on business and economics and the relevance of economic history.

I remember much of my work at CDS due to the reading, reflecting, analyzing, condensing and writing for my papers and thesis. Such a method of grading students was a superior way to learn when compared to sitting for one-shot final exams. I also remember the key methods: identify and analyze the main issues and base analysis and conclusions on data and facts.  

CDS did not charge students a tuition fee. Also, the fifteen M Phil students got a monthly fellowship of Rs.500 for the 16-month program and Rs.1500 to cover travel and supplies for work on the thesis.

The fellowship more than covered the monthly room rent of Rs.25 and the cost of meals, since both were heavily subsidized. Government grants provided the funds for building and maintaining the campus, the wages for the faculty and staff, student fellowships and purchase of books and journals at the world class library at the center.

I got a good education in India and the government funding at CDS more than covered the total fees paid by my parents and me for all my earlier college and school education. So I owe a debt to give back to India, at the very least, the true cost of my education. I hope to do this by funding an education program and expanding civil liberties.  

In education the goal is to translate a hundred major classics in literature, science, history, philosophy, astronomy and other subjects, which are the pillars of modern rational thought, into the twenty two major Indian languages. These translations, when published, will be distributed free online and as print copies to schools and libraries.

In the area of civil liberties, one goal is to provide online tools to publish and distribute reports that expose human rights abuse.

Some Indian professionals in the U.S. argue that they got into the IIT’s, IIM’s and top medical and social science colleges in India based on merit and hence owe nothing to India. They choose to ignore the fact that the cost of a similar education in the U.S., to their parents and to them, would exceed $200,000 – the minimum debt Indian professionals abroad owe India.

(Extract from “Six Degrees of Education: From Teaching in Mumbai to Investment Research in New York.” Ignatius Chithelen runs Banyan Tree Capital in New York.)