Privatisation doesn't guarantee quality edu, govts need to spend more: Rahul to IIT Madras students
New Delhi, Jan 4: Quality education cannot be achieved through privatisation and financial incentives, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said Saturday, underlining the importance of governments spending more on education and strengthening public institutions.
In a conversation with IIT Madras students held sometime back, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha talked on a host of issues including on the changes he would want to initiate to improve the education system.
"I believe it is one of the foremost responsibilities of any government to guarantee quality education to its people. This cannot be achieved through privatisation and financial incentives.
"We need to spend a lot more money on education and strengthening government institutions," he said in a post on X, while sharing an edited video of his conversation with the students.
Asked how the Congress and the BJP are different in terms of how they operate, he said the Congress and UPA generally believe that the resources should be distributed more fairly and growth should be wider and inclusive.
The BJP, he said, is more aggressive on growth. "They believe in what in economic terms is 'triple-down'. On the social front, we feel that the more harmonious society is, the less people are fighting, the better it is for the country.
"On the international relations front, there are probably some differences with regards to the way we relate to other countries but it will be similar," he said.
On how to promote higher education, he said, a country needs to guarantee quality education to its people.
"I don't think that the best way to guarantee quality education to our people is to privatise everything. Frankly, when you bring some sort of financial incentive into the game, you don't actually give quality education.
"I have said this many a times that the best institutions in our country are government institutions, yours being one of them. I argue for much more money being spent in education by governments," he told the IIT Madras students.
Gandhi said he has "serious problems" in the way the country's education system is set up. "I don't think our education system allows the imagination of our children to thrive".
"You might not agree with me. I think it is a very restrictive, top down system... It is very narrow," he said.
Gandhi said that during his Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra, he talked to thousands of children and asked them what they wanted to become.
They said they wanted to become a lawyer, doctor, engineer or an army soldier, he told the students.
"It can't be that there are only five things to do in this country. But that's what our system is pushing," he said, noting that the country's education system measures success only if one becomes an engineer or a doctor, or join the IAS/IPS or get into the forces, "which is just one percent or two percent of our population and 90 percent of our population is never going to do this".
He said the system should allow kids to do what they want and allow them to experience and do multiple things.
"Our education system disregards many things, it undervalues many professions and overvalues these four or five professions. So those are the types of things that I would like to change," he said.
On the international front, he said, the single most important thing going forward is how India balances China and America.
"In a situation, where the two superpowers are going head to head, we have a balancing equation, a balancing ability....So India is in a space where it can get quite a lot more than its power would give it. So if India intelligently navigates through this thing, without getting stuck or without making a major mistake, then we might benefit from it," Gandhi said.
Noting that the country's education system is a very hierarchical structure, he said its traditional system focusses on introspection, looking inside, and self observation.
Gandhi favoured pushing children for innovation, saying it can only come if they actually start production and their skill is respected and investment is made in it.
"One of the things that I want to push is moving more into the physical production space. To me, real innovation comes from that space. Put as much money you want in R&D, if you are not actually producing the thing, it will just be a budget," Gandhi said.
I believe it is one of the foremost responsibilities of any government to guarantee quality education to its people. This cannot be achieved through privatisation and financial incentives.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 4, 2025
We need to spend a lot more money on education and strengthening government institutions. pic.twitter.com/tBkZxj6NmN
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Air India resorts to cost-cutting ways amid 'tough times'; layoffs not anticipated
New Delhi/Mumbai (PTI): Hit hard by Pakistan airspace closure and Iran war, Air India has resorted to cost-cutting measures, including holding back annual increments for staff and asking them to cut discretionary spending as well as non-critical expenditures, warning of "tough times".
On Friday, Air India Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director (CEO & MD) Campbell Wilson told the staff it is going to be a "very, very difficult year" if things don't improve on the Middle East front.
A day after the loss-making airline's board discussed various cost-saving steps, Wilson, along with Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sanjay Sharma and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Ravindra Kumar GP, addressed the employees during a townhall on Friday where the emphasis on the need to keep a close watch on costs.
With higher jet fuel prices due to the West Asia conflict and airspace curbs, the loss-making airline's expenses have spiralled in recent times and against this backdrop, Sharma also told staffers that FY26 has seen a softening in revenue amid heightened external uncertainties.
Calling for a relentless focus on costs in these tough times, Wilson urged employees to suspend discretionary spending, renegotiate rates where feasible, and defer non-critical expenditures.
"There must be a laser-sharp focus on eliminating wastage and leakages," he said.
Stressing the need to tighten the belt for a while, Wilson sounded optimistic that travel demand would rebound and the industry would continue on its upward path.
CHRO Ravindra Kumar told staff that the airline will proceed with variable pay for the last financial year and continue with planned promotions while noting that annual increments will be deferred by at least one quarter.
"We don't anticipate layoffs," he said.
At the airline's board meeting on Thursday, various cost-saving steps, including likely furloughs, were discussed. The Tata Group-owned airline has around 24,000 employees.
Generally, furlough refers to sending staff on unpaid leaves by companies during a tough financial situation.
During the townhall, CFO Sanjay Sharma said while strong revenue growth and fleet expansion drove financial momentum through FY25, FY26 has seen a softening in revenue amid heightened external uncertainties.
Air India has seen around 40 per cent CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) in revenue between 2022 and 2025, he added.
The airline was acquired by the Tata Group from the government in January 2022.
The Air India CEO mentioned the external challenges being facing the aviation industry as a whole, including the continued closure of Pakistan airspace that is expected to persist for the foreseeable future and geopolitical conflicts leading to disruptions and airspace closures across West Asia.
Wilson, who is set to step down later this year, also flagged a sharp depreciation of the rupee and a 2.5-3 times increase in jet fuel prices, and added that these factors have adversely affected travel sentiment and consumer confidence, as per the sources.
If the Strait of Hormuz opens, oil prices fall and consumer as well as business confidence come back, there is a decent chance of a solid recovery, Wilson said, adding that unless those circumstances happen, it was going to be "a very, very difficult year".
"I feel somewhat responsible that we ended up with probably the biggest surprise of the year in the external environment which was a full-scale war in our neighbouring region in the Gulf. That has had a huge impact on airspace," he said.
For Air India, Wilson said the situation is compounded by the fact that the airline cannot fly over the neighbouring country and has to take a much longer routing for any west-bound destination.
"Every airline is reporting that they are under some sort of financial pressure as a result of higher fuel prices and economic uncertainty. So, it is unfortunately not a great environment to be running an airline," the Air India CEO said.
The Air India Group -- Air India and Air India Express -- is projected to have incurred more than Rs 22,000 crore loss in the financial year ended March 2026.
At the townhall, Wilson also highlighted various initiatives, including completion of the retrofit of its legacy narrow-body aircraft and rapid network optimisation to redeploy capacity more efficiently.
