Rural India going to private schools: Report

CHENNAI: The overall enrolment in private schools in the country has gone up from 18.84% in 2006 to 26.09% in 2011, says the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2011, released by Pratham Foundation, an NGO. Academics blame poor infrastructure and lack of teachers in government schools for this trend.

"There is no village without a matriculation school now. All government schools have been downgraded by the government, and parents are pulling their children out of government schools because of poor infrastructure and no teachers," says educationist S S Rajagopalan. Many say there is greater accountability, awareness and responsibility towards providing quality education in private schools when compared to government schools.

The survey was conducted in rural areas including small towns. ASER 2011 says northwestern states like Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan have recorded high enrolment in private schools. Since 2006, these numbers have gone up by 15-20%. In the northeast, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh were moderate, Tripura low, and Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Manipur high in courting private enrolment.

In the east, with traditionally low enrolment in private schools, there has been a 20% increase in enrolment in such schools. In Bihar alone, the number of students enrolled in private schools has been decreasing.

The major enrolment story is in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. There are several reasons why government schools in Tamil Nadu should attract children- the mid-day meal scheme, the activity-based learning, etc. Yet, the rate of enrolment in private schools has gone up from 19.15% to 26.6% since 2006. "It appears that Tamil Nadu is not able to convince parents that government schools are better. Is this only because parents associate some kind of a status with private schools and are not concerned with what goes on in the classroom?" says a volunteer who participated in the survey for Pratham.

There is also a disconnect between what parents want and what the government is prepared to give. Educational consultant K R Maalathi says, "English-medium education is a big draw in small towns. Parents want their children to call them 'mummy' and 'daddy' and speak in English."

But higher enrolment does not necessarily mean quality of education in all private schools is up to the mark, says Maalathi. Many private schools pay little attention to primary sections and focus on helping those in higher grades score high marks. This is a major reason for children developing the habit of learning by rote, leading to poor performance in tests like the Programme for International Student Assessment.

However, unless regulation prevents it or suddenly a large population starts believing in neighbourhood or common schools run by the government, the proportion of children going to private schools will keep increasing, say experts. The question is how far?