Mains Practice Questions

Introduction:

Education and healthcare are fundamental human rights and essential services that form the core of a just, equitable, and humane society, as envisioned by the Preamble of the Indian Constitution- ensuring Justice, Equality, and Fraternity.

• When such services are commodified, they shift from being rights-based entitlements to market-driven products, undermining the ethical fabric of a welfare state.

Body:

Ethical Concerns Arising from Commercialization

• Violation of Social and Economic Justice
  • Directive Principles (Art 39, 41, 47) mandate the State to provide equal access to health and education.
  • Privatization undermines these ideals by limiting access to those who can afford it.
    • For instance, exorbitant medical bills or tuition fees exclude the poor and marginalized.
• Equity and Accessibility Issues
  • Commodification widens the gap between the rich and the poor.
  • This translates into exclusive access to quality private institutions, leaving public services underfunded and neglected.
• Erosion of Ethical Purpose
  • Healthcare becomes transactional: Focus shifts to profit maximization rather than patient well-being.
    • E.g., unnecessary surgeries, tests, or prescriptions to boost revenue.
  • Education becomes a commodity: Coaching institutes thrive on fear and competition, undermining holistic development and ethical reasoning.
• Loss of Human Dignity and Autonomy
  • Treating patients or students as “clients” reduces them to means, not ends — violating Kantian ethics.
  • The poor may be coerced into debt or unethical choices for access to basic services.
• Compromise of Professional Ethics
  • Doctors and teachers are expected to uphold the values of beneficence, non-maleficence, and integrity.
  • Market incentives distort professional decisions — leading to conflicts of interest.
• Decline in Public Trust
  • Perception of biased, profit-motivated institutions diminishes trust in both public and private systems.
  • Undermines the social contract between citizens and the State.
• Violation of the Spirit of the Constitution
  • Article 21 (Right to Life) includes the right to health and education.
  • Treating essential services as commodities risks creating a market apartheid, where rights depend on purchasing power.

Measures to Tackle Commercialisation:

• Strengthen Public Sector Institutions
  • Increase public spending on health and education to 6% and 2.5% of GDP respectively (NEP 2020, National Health Policy 2017).
• Ethical Regulations and Oversight
  • Strengthen regulatory bodies like National Medical Commission and National Accreditation Board for Education with a focus on ethics and transparency.
• Ethics in Professional Training
  • Include medical and teaching ethics in professional curricula, promoting service orientation over profit motive.
• Inclusive Models of Service Delivery
  • Implement Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) with strict ethical guidelines and pro-poor focus.
  • E.g., Ayushman Bharat combines public financing with private delivery, aiming for universal coverage.

Conclusion

Essential services like education and healthcare form the bedrock of a democratic and welfare state. Their commercialization erodes constitutional values, compromises ethics, and deepens social inequities. The ethical path forward lies in reaffirming the State’s role as a provider of justice, not just a market regulator. Only then can India uphold the vision of a society based on dignity, equality, and fraternity.