Commercialization of education refers to the process of higher educational institutions imparting knowledge to their students to make a profit. Commercialization, in itself is a business term that spells the process of marketing, advertising, and making sales of a product or a service for economic returns. Education, on the other hand, can be defined as the process of acquiring knowledge or skills through formal institutions or informal. Throughout history, education has been viewed as the gateway to success for individuals from all walks of life. The rich and the poor are given a baseline to be able to carve their future. In light of this, education has been compulsory internationally with governments realizing its power to transform societies and invite progressive cultures. From the first learning institute ever built in Athens by Plato, there have emerged millions of schools offering knowledge of all sorts to cater to the youth’s desires (Singh, 2002).
However, with the recent reforms in education, especially in higher institutions, an alarming rate of private institutions has emerged, leading to an increase in the rate of commercialization in the education sector. It has transformed into a business industry where quality education has been equated to the amount of money one is willing to pay. The commercialization is not only evident in the number of private schools being built but also in the implementation of more learning centers, private coaching institutions, and the eagerness of these private universities to capture international students. These actions are occurring despite the known psychological and physical consequences that accompany such a move. These institutions have made it their sole purpose to transform the whole concept of education by changing the traditional teacher-student relationship into one where the lecturer is viewed as an entrepreneur, and the students as clients seeking coaching (Singh, 2002). However, proponents for the commercialization on private institutions see the underlying factors as inevitable and the advantages of privatization surmounting the demerits. Nonetheless, it is a fact that in society today, education has become too commercialized.
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The education system has become largely defined by money. Recently we have seen more private institutions mushrooming than ever before (Bok, 2009). Currently, 38% of learning institutions are privately owned (Duffin, 2019). These institutions have adjusted their stakeholders to include businesspeople and affluent organizations. They offer quality education, and in return, charge an amount which cannot be afforded by majority of the students. Students from poor backgrounds who attempt to join the schools are left with hefty student loans to clear. Certainly, some of them end up defaulting payments and accruing huge interests (Bok, 2009). As CNBC states, “More than 1 million people default on their student loans each year. Nearly 40 percent of borrowers are expected to default on their student loans by 2023.” (Cohn, 2019)
Consequently, universities become populated densely by the rich who can afford. VOA describes the situation, “Colleges and universities continue to struggle with serving low-income and first generation students. While 60 percent of the wealthiest students complete their studies and graduate, only about 16 percent of low-income college students graduate, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.” (Smith, 2019) The quagmire translates to a marginalization of the poor and lack of equity in the job market. Since only the rich get quality education, they also get to have access to the majority of the available jobs.
Furthermore, it is now much easier for schools to be started by anyone with the right amount of funding (Kasperkevic, 2019). On the other hand, the government does not fund their public learning institutions’ adequately. People from humble backgrounds with academic talents are left to government institutions which may lack adequate facilities and technology to teach specific courses. Sadly, education has lost its altruistic purpose of advancing human knowledge (Musto, 2017).
Secondly, commercialization comes across when students lack entry into public institutions due to flooding of the number of qualified students (Bok, 2009). However, it is notable that some students prefer to join private universities due to quality facilities and competent lecturers. Nonetheless, this compels those who have missed a chance at public learning institutions to opt for the private sector. The whole idea seems favorable until the prices for tuition are mentioned. Private institutions have taken advantage of this situation and are charging ridiculous prices. The same case applies to international students who are actually charged even higher prices. For instance, the CNBC notes, “Purdue University has reduced its in-state student population by 4,300 while adding 5,300 out-of-state and foreign students, who pay triple the tuition.” (Cohn, 2019). It is important to realize that an average in-state student spends at least 30,000 dollars per year on tuition (Cohn, 2019).
Also, because of the difficulty experienced in people attempting to join these private institutions, there have emerged coaching centers. As the New York time states, “Good grades alone are no guarantee of acceptance and the personal essay and interview can often make the difference…” (Morrissey,2018). These centers have dedicated their work into helping students learn writing skills and do the necessary tests to qualify for entry into these institutions (Morrissey,2018). Surprisingly, this too is not free, and the students end up paying a large sum of money to be coached hoping that they may get a chance.
The proponents of commercialization of education see the issue as an inevitable consequence of certain factors. These factors include the increase in the population of people joining the university and the lack of better and adequate facilities in public institutions (Burch & Good, 2014). For the first time, there is a constant flow of money in the education sector, allowing for expansion and elevation of the teaching standards. Numerous academic tools have been created that aid in the teaching of courses, moreover, the laboratory of these universities are well equipped, allowing students on any level to perform their required technical skills. These universities have capitalized on being practical than theoretical in their teaching methods. The facilities they offer are incomparable to any other in the world and have proved to be effective in the advancement of science and preservation of knowledge.
Also, they have designed their schools to provide comfort and security for the students; this trait motivates the parents to send their children to these schools (Burch & Good, 2014). “Colleges do not merely offer preparation for the future; they occupy four years of a student's life, and an institution should do what it can to make these years absorbing and enjoyable...” (Bok, 2009). The government, on the other hand, has done very little to enhance the learning experience of students in public institution. In fact, “according to the Department of Education, public universities in the US received $62.9 billion in tuition fees in 2012…” (Wendorff, 2014) in comparison to the 20 million enrolled in just 6 months in the year 2018 (Duffin, 2019). Unfortunately, their nonchalance has created a niche that private institutions have filled and done it so well, that students wish over and over to go to these schools despite the prices. Furthermore, the degree they offer is well respected among human resource managers and sacrificing money for sure employment seems to be a marketable tradeoff. Viewing the issue from this perspective, allows one to see that education has not been made expensive but much better and of high quality.
As stated before the number of students joining the university has increased exponentially. For instance, in the city of Kansas, 7 million students qualified for college enrollment and the private institutions absorbed 2 million students (McShane, 2015). Therefore, it reduced the pressure on public institutions. Similarly, the world population has increased drastically since the inception of schooling. The increase has increased pressure on many governments to build enough schools with the economic budget they have to enable students to join higher institutions (Kishan, 2008). However, majority of countries have not been successful in implementing such a plan and have had to rely on private institutions. These private schools are owned by people and not funded by the government. “On the other hand, private colleges don't receive state subsidies. Instead, they support themselves solely through tuition and donations” (Pittman, 2019). Therefore, it is only morally right that they have a chance to reap the profits of providing such an important social amenity. The aim is not to get rich through educating people but providing quality education worth paying for (Kishan, 2008). Certainly, they have not failed in delivering their best; since these universities are not well known because of the high prices in their tuition, but for the impact, their graduates have had on the world.
To sum up, the world of education has gone through significant transformations that have led to its commercialization. The marketing and profit gathering by use of education is evident through the rate at which private institutions are being started, the high price of the tuition fee, and the numerous fees one has to pay in the process of getting admission in these institutions. Unfortunately, this profit gathering has not been without consequences that have shaken up educational standards and brought about bias in the world of education. However, on the other side of the coin, this commercialization is not only for profit but for quality assurance. It is not debatable that private institutions offer better quality education as compared to government institutions. Also, there are numerous numbers of students that want a chance at being in a university. Hence they have fulfilled a gap that public institutions have left, and the increased fee is only complimentary. Thus the issue of commercialization of education is not as easy as it may seem at face value and requires in depth analysis.
References
Bok, D. (2009). Universities in the marketplace: The commercialization of higher education (Vol. 49). Princeton University Press.
Burch, P., & Good, A. G. (2014). Equal Scrutiny: Privatization and Accountability in Digital Education . Harvard Education Press. 8 Story Street First Floor, Cambridge, MA 02138.
Cohn, S. (2019). Forget taking out a student loan. Purdue University has come up with a new way to pay for college. Retrieved 20 August 2019, from https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/08/purdue-university-introduces-first-income-sharing-agreement-for-students-.html
Duffin, E. (2019). Topic: College & University. Retrieved 20 August 2019, from https://www.statista.com/topics/829/college-and-university/
Kasperkevic, J. (2019). The harsh truth: US colleges are businesses, and student loans pay the bills. Retrieved 20 August 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/money/us-money-blog/2014/oct/07/colleges-ceos-cooper-union-ivory-tower-tuition-student-loan-debt
Kishan, N. R. (2008). Privatization of education . APH Publishing.
McShane, M. (2015). Private School Pioneers in Kansas City and St. Louis?. Retrieved 20 August 2019, from https://showmeinstitute.org/blog/school-choice/private-school-pioneers-kansas-city-and-st-louis
Morrisey, J. (2018). Considering College? Maybe You Should Invest in a Coach. Retrieved 20 August 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/02/education/learning/college-coach-for-students.html
Musto, P. (2017). Low-Income Students See Low Graduation Rates. Retrieved 20 August 2019, from https://www.voanews.com/student-union/low-income-students-see-low-graduation-rates
Pittman, O. (2019). Why Do Private Colleges Seem More Expensive - College Raptor. Retrieved 20 August 2019, from https://www.collegeraptor.com/paying-for-college/articles/questions-answers/why-do-private-colleges-appear-to-be-so-much-more-expensive-than-state-colleges/
Singh, L. C. (2002, December). Commercialization in teacher education. In First National Conference on Self-Appraisal and Accreditation of Teacher Education Institutions, Pune (pp. 22-23).
Smith, A. (2019). Pew study finds more poor students attending college. Retrieved 20 August 2019, from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/05/23/pew-study-finds-more-poor-students-attending-college
Wendorff, F. (2014). The Rise of Private Universities in the US. Retrieved 20 August 2019, from https://www.topuniversities.com/blog/rise-private-universities-us
