The Jury Is Still Out

The answers are linked to a simple truth: India has made schooling universal and compulsory. It바카라�s not the same thing as making good-quality education universal. So, a general perception of abysmal state education quality바카라�quite common in recent decades바카라�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 survey바카라�the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) which is in its 11th year바카라�measures overall learning levels among Indian pupils. The picture, as it states in its 2016 report, is 바카라�pretty disappointing바카라�. 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 aren바카라�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 aren바카라�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 law바카라�The Right to Education Act, 2009바카라�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.

The only global study바카라�the influential Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)바카라�ranked India바카라�s school education 73rd, while China notched up second rank. Two Indian states바카라�Haryana and Tamil Nadu바카라�which participated in the 2011 PISA came out second-last and third-last among 74 countries.

In the PISA survey covering 22 national education systems, including India바카라�s students in public schools, score higher than students in private schools after 바카라�adjusting for socio-economic status바카라�. The data, says Anurag Behar, CEO of Azim Premji Foundation, say that in most countries, including India, 바카라�private schools do not necessarily perform better than public schools바카라�.

Direct comparisons of the learning outcomes of private schools versus government schools바카라�without adjusting for socio-economic background바카라�will show up private schools as better performing. Therefore the caveat of 바카라�adjusting for socio-economic status바카라� needs explanation.

To put it simply, one big difference between private and public schools is the family and socio-economic backgrounds of students. Privileged families send their children to private schools. So, private schools have what economists call 바카라�selection advantage바카라�. Private schools admit students who already have learning advanta­ges, since evidence shows that poverty impacts learning outcomes. Privileged students have recourse to additional academic support, such as home tuitions. They also usually have kindergarten education before entering high schools. When these advantages are accounted (바카라�adjusted바카라�) for, then private schools on their own aren바카라�t better performing, the available evidence suggests.

India바카라�s own ASER 2014 report confirmed this. Its state-wise analysis shows that a simple act of controlling for other factors (such as pupils바카라� socio-economic status) reduces the government-­private school learning gap considerably in all states. 바카라�In the case of Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, the difference is reversed with government schools outperforming private schools once household and parental characteristics are controlled for,바카라� the report states.

The other major study on Indian private schools바카라�­바카라�Relationship between private schooling and achievement: Results from rural and urban India, by the Michigan State University education department바카라�바카라�too didn바카라�t find any clear evidence that private schools are better. 바카라�There is no consistent evidence that there is more benefit of attending a private school,바카라� says Amita Chudgar, the lead researcher and assistant professor of educational administration. Chudgar studied the 바카라�three Rs바카라� or reading, writing and arithmetic skills of 10,000 Indian students aged 8 to 11 in private and public school students with similar socio-education backgrounds. The study appeared in the prestigious Economics of Education Review.

There are other misconceptions about private schooling preferences. Based on data compiled by ASER, there are 바카라�clear regional patterns in private school enrolment바카라�, say researchers Rukmini Banerji and Wilima Wadha in the India Infrastructure Report. 바카라�The states north and west of Delhi, from Jammu & Kashmir in the north to Rajasthan in the west, as well as the large state of Uttar Pradesh, fall into a 바카라�high바카라� private schooling region, where anywhere between half to a third of all rural children (in the age group 6바카라�14) are enrolled in private schools,바카라� they note.

Further, 바카라�in the eastern region of India바카라�West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa바카라�private school enrolment is very low. The Northeastern states also provide contrasting cases: Manipur, Meghalaya and Nagaland have very high private school enrolment, whereas Tripura has extremely low levels.바카라�

In 2015-16, over half of children were enrolled in private schools in UP, while in Bihar, less than 4 per cent of children attended private schools, according to data from District Information System for Education data.

In India, private schools can be set up only by non-profit trusts and societies, who can바카라�t take surpluses out of school. Yet, they run high surpluses and parents are fighting pitched court battles over fee raises. In Delhi, the Justice Anil Dev Singh Committee was mandated to look into the books of over 500 schools. Schools that get government aid, such as land, can바카라�t raise fees without government permission. 바카라�Nearly 500 schools were to found to have fraudulently raised fees and now must refund a total of Rs 750 crore. Of this, 103 schools owe Rs 104 crore,바카라� says Ashok Agarwal, a lawyer who is fighting a long-running battle against usurious fees on behalf of the Delhi Abhibhavak Mahasangh.

Although 102 schools have challenged the order, 15 schools have deposited their refund amounts in a court-managed account. In hearing the schools바카라� appeal, the Delhi High Court has stayed 바카라�coercive action바카라� like shutting down schools, but insisted on the refunds. With the jury still out on scientific evidence on whether private schools perform better, the institutions are indulging in nothing short of 바카라�loot바카라�, says Agarwal.