State of the Sector Report: Private Schools in India

Nearly 50% of all students in India are enrolled today in the 4.5 lakh privately managed schools across the country (U-DISE 2019). While the policy ecosystem devises reforms to bring quality education to low-income students through the government system, many low- and middle- income Indian families are seeking private school alternatives.  A report by Central Square Foundation,  a non-profit organisation that works towards ensuring quality school education, in partnership with Omidyar Network India details out the current 'State of the Sector Report on Private Schools'. The report highlights the need to improve learning outcomes in private schools which educate nearly half of India's school-going children.

If considered independently, the 4.5 lakh privately managed schools make up the third-largest school system globally, just behind China and India's public school systems (UIS 2019). Some private schools in India receive government aid, but it is the 'unaided' school sector that has experienced massive growth in the last two decades and today serves 9 crore students (U-DISE 2019). This growth is driven by parents' demand for better quality education across the board.Contrary to popular belief, the private school sector is no longer the exclusive domain of the elite.

This sector contributes approximately Rs. 1.75 lakh crores to the economy (MoSPI 2019). Given the scale of the sector, the quality of education these schools impart is of immense importance to our human capital development.

For the report highlights, read here.

You can read through the full report below for its findings and recommendations or you can download the report as a PDF here.