The heart of the free enterprise system is competition between different entities - commercial and financial- that vie for customers on a level playing field under a set of agreed upon rules and conditions and a watchful regulator in those areas where the competition is not sufficient. This approach has given the western world its economic growth and development over the last few decades and it is held up as model for the developing world as they embark on their growth path.
The same concept has been applied in other walks of life with great degree of success. A few years ago, the Obama administration initiated a $ 4 billion program called the "Race to the top" for the states in the US. “America will not succeed in the 21st century unless we do a far better job of educating our sons and daughters… And the race starts today. I am issuing a challenge to our nation’s
governors and school boards, principals and teachers, businesses and non-profits, parents and
students: if you set and enforce rigorous and challenging standards and assessments; if you put
outstanding teachers at the front of the classroom; if you turn around failing schools – your state
can win a Race to the Top grant that will not only help students outcompete workers around the
world, but let them fulfill their God-given potential.” (President Barack Obama July 24, 2009 )
The underlying structure was that the state would submit proposals to the federal government for improvement of the state educational system according to a defined plan and the federal government would fund them to achieve the stated targets. While the design of these programs was left to the states, they had to comply with certain minimum targets of achievement for their students. Through the Race to the Top, the States were asked to advance reforms around four specific areas:
A similar approach is visible in other fields - say basketball. During the month of March, the entire country is agog with various colleges vying for the national basketball trophy. To reach the final four is considered to the be peak of achievement for a college. The key again is the same - a free participation of teams irrespective of geography, size or endowment. The ivy league schools compete on equal terms with the smallest of schools. And during the month the real joy is to see the most prominent schools be toppled by the tiniest of schools and the emergence of talent that few even knew existed.
Application of this concept in various fields may well fetch rewards that we are not even aware of. Some of these are already visible - in a sense the "American Idol" follows the same principle. A countrywide search of fresh voices leads to a group of singers who vie for the title of American Idol and in the process, it identifies talent that few knew existed. And these singers can go on to get contracts with recording companies, who issue their CDs to the already waiting customers.
Many other countries have gone on to expand these concepts - to dramas, comedians, ghazals, classical music. And all of these have provided a ready built platform for fresh talent to emerge and for commercial companies to expand their customer base and profits. This approach could even be extended to develop "pointy headed bureaucrats". A program could select- through a merit based system- a few among them to proceed to International Schools like Harvard, Stanford etc for two year programs. On return they would become what their name implies "civil servants".
Another area that may be worth exploring are those where there is a paucity of talent in the country. Let us say India needs top quality geologists- they can design a program similar to the race to the top inviting students from around the country to submit programs and plans for their future studies. Based on the quality of their submissions, the selected few can be given scholarships to go abroad to a top notch university in the world with a provision that they will return and serve in the country for a number of years. You could design similar programs for young professors working in universities in India and abroad thus finding out talent for our country's development.
Clearly the outlay for these programs will be minimal but the results can be resounding.
The same concept has been applied in other walks of life with great degree of success. A few years ago, the Obama administration initiated a $ 4 billion program called the "Race to the top" for the states in the US. “America will not succeed in the 21st century unless we do a far better job of educating our sons and daughters… And the race starts today. I am issuing a challenge to our nation’s
governors and school boards, principals and teachers, businesses and non-profits, parents and
students: if you set and enforce rigorous and challenging standards and assessments; if you put
outstanding teachers at the front of the classroom; if you turn around failing schools – your state
can win a Race to the Top grant that will not only help students outcompete workers around the
world, but let them fulfill their God-given potential.” (President Barack Obama July 24, 2009 )
The underlying structure was that the state would submit proposals to the federal government for improvement of the state educational system according to a defined plan and the federal government would fund them to achieve the stated targets. While the design of these programs was left to the states, they had to comply with certain minimum targets of achievement for their students. Through the Race to the Top, the States were asked to advance reforms around four specific areas:
- Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy;
- Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction;
- Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most; and
- Turning around the lowest-achieving schools.
Awards in Race to the Top went to States that were leading the way with ambitious yet achievable plans for implementing coherent, compelling, and comprehensive education reform. Thus Race to the Top winners helped trail-blaze effective reforms and provide examples for States and local school districts throughout the country to follow as they too were hard at work on reforms that can transform schools for decades to come. The program has been an unqualified success and has led the various states to experiment with innovative approaches to educational reform.
The Obama administration’s Race to the Top initiative has shown that competitive grant
programs can be a powerful spur to innovation in education. Most of the 12 states that were
awarded grants this year — and the more than 30 states that changed education policies in hopes
of winning grants — would never have attempted reform on this scale without the promise of
federal help.
Application of this concept in various fields may well fetch rewards that we are not even aware of. Some of these are already visible - in a sense the "American Idol" follows the same principle. A countrywide search of fresh voices leads to a group of singers who vie for the title of American Idol and in the process, it identifies talent that few knew existed. And these singers can go on to get contracts with recording companies, who issue their CDs to the already waiting customers.
Many other countries have gone on to expand these concepts - to dramas, comedians, ghazals, classical music. And all of these have provided a ready built platform for fresh talent to emerge and for commercial companies to expand their customer base and profits. This approach could even be extended to develop "pointy headed bureaucrats". A program could select- through a merit based system- a few among them to proceed to International Schools like Harvard, Stanford etc for two year programs. On return they would become what their name implies "civil servants".
Another area that may be worth exploring are those where there is a paucity of talent in the country. Let us say India needs top quality geologists- they can design a program similar to the race to the top inviting students from around the country to submit programs and plans for their future studies. Based on the quality of their submissions, the selected few can be given scholarships to go abroad to a top notch university in the world with a provision that they will return and serve in the country for a number of years. You could design similar programs for young professors working in universities in India and abroad thus finding out talent for our country's development.
Clearly the outlay for these programs will be minimal but the results can be resounding.
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