It was not far back in history when a significant section of society in India preferred public funding over private funding for education. This article attempts to go back to the decisive point when private funding replaced public funding for education. It also investigates the reasons for such a shift in preference. Even after the preference for private funding became clear, there were dissenting voices. The logic of the dissenting arguments is also discussed. This review will assess three important experiments undertaken in the State of Kerala during 2006 and 2011 in favour of a publically funded and socially responsive educational system. They were (i) working out a formula for equitable distribution of government grants to universities on the basis of performance and needs; (ii) steps towards social preparation for higher education with focussed merit-cum-means scholarships; and (iii) an attempt at clustering of colleges with diverse capacities which can eventually turn into decentralized and flexible universities or university like formations at the district level.