The Jury Is Still Out

Do private schools outdo government schools? No proof exists for that.

- Zia Haq

The phenomenon of private schools expanding at an annual rate of 35 per cent naturally raises one question: are they better than state-run ones? One might also ask if India needs more private schools than public (government) institutions. It’s about time to clear the air over available data-based evidence on whether private schools are worth their money.

The answers are linked to a simple truth: India has made schooling universal and compulsory. It’s not the same thing as making good-quality education universal. So, a general perception of abysmal state education quality—quite common in recent decades—means more and more highly priced private schools.

There is little available by way of national studies that comprehensively compare the two systems. The most widely accepted survey—the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) which is in its 11th year—measures overall learning levels among Indian pupils. The picture, as it states in its 2016 report, is “pretty disappointing”. According to ASER 2016, data from 589 rural districts of India (over 80 per cent of the total districts), only 48 per cent of students in class 5 can read a Class-2 level textbook. Math skills aren’t any better. The share of Class 8 students in rural India who are able to correctly divide a three-digit number by a single-digit dropped to 43 per cent in 2016 from 44 per cent two years ago.

Such granular findings aren’t available nationally for private schools, whose high fee structures, opposed by parents, are now embroiled in court battles in many states. Despite a landmark law—The Right to Education Act, 2009—making free school education a right, evidence is now clear that more new private schools are being added than government schools. Yet, no privately funded Indian school stands out in global rankings.