BW Communities

Call Centres For School Enrollment

BW Online Bureau Nov 08, 2014

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><root available-locales="en_US," default-locale="en_US"><static-content language-id="en_US"><![CDATA[Shutting down of call centres in India may not be a bad sign for just job seekers but the growth of primary education in India too. According to a study, call centres, typically outsourced by Western firms, have a positive impact on the number of students enrolling at local schools. The study found that introducing a new call centre causes a 4 per cent to 7 per cent increase in the number of children enrolling in primary schools. The findings also show that enrolment in English-language schools increases by about 15 per cent with the introduction of a new call centre. These effects are concentrated in the immediate areas around the call centre and are independent of the changes in population or income. The results suggest that introducing a call centre with 80 employees increases enrolment in the local post code by 280 children, according to Millett. The number of individuals employed in outsourcing-related businesses in India has increased from roughly 50,000 in 1991 to over 2 million in 2010 (Nasscom). These jobs demand employees with high levels of education and a good command of English, and pay high salaries by Indian standards. The study used government data (DISE) on enrolment at 239,000 schools between 2001 and 2008 in three Indian states - Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. This data were further combined with the locations and opening dates of 401 call centres. The report was authored by Emily Oster, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Bryce Millett of Harvard University. Although this paper focuses on the case of India, the results may well have implications for other countries, adds Oster.