A Misconception about Social Entrepreneurship – Myth or Reality for Indian Education Sector - A Case Study

Over the next decade, educational opportunities are expected to explode in India as the government creates new policies to encourage private investments through the Foreign University Bill. Assocham estimates that over Rs 4,500 crore of fresh investment will come into the education sector by 2014. Equally important, the global opportunity, too, is growing significantly — as developing countries look for help in setting their universities in order. As the Indian government does not yet allow ‘for-profit’ institutions in education — though it is contemplating changing the law soon. In this context, the case explores the current Business Education scenario and a typical dilemma by a second generation entrepreneur for setting up a modern business school and its positioning and business propositions. It is more appropriate to characterise a particular organisation, be it public, for-profit or not-for-profit, by how entrepreneurial it is and how much social value it creates. This case discusses the distinct characteristics of the three types of organisations and argues that if the boundaries between the three sectors are not blurred or diluted slowly, imparting quality education to society might not be served in the long-run. Therefore, it is better to dilute these boundaries conceptually so that the value reaches to the society faster in a developing economy like India.