Despite higher fee, these schools are a necessity till we develop alternatives Last week, we delved into whether the furore over school fee is justified. Taking it forward, in this second part, we look into whether private ‘for-profit’ schools are flourishing despite government and government-aided schools being affordable. How big is the private school sector? According to a report by Ernst & Young — ‘Private Sector’s Contribution to K-12 Education in India’, 25 per cent of all schools (Kindergarten to Class 12) in India are under private management. Their enrolment has crossed 40 per cent (urban and rural together) of the total enrolment. This number increases to 55 per cent when you look at only the secondary and higher secondary enrolment. The Annual Status of Education Report 2016 points out that this is not just an urban phenomenon. Enrolment in private schools (age 6 to 14) even in rural India is increasing — from 18.7 per cent in 2006 to 30.8 per cent in 2014. Every poor family spends a disproportionate amount of its earnings to send her child to a private school. Clearly, private schooling is big and is growing in both urban and rural India. Government Spend A study by Ambrish Dongre and Avani Kapur titled ‘India’s Spend on Elementary Education’ states that the government (Central and across 16 States) median spend on elementary education (Class 1 – 8) works out to Rs 11,225 per student enrolled in 2011-12. This looks quite low because it is the average across India and across all types of schools in rural and urban areas. A better benchmark is ‘government-spend’ in Kendriya Vidyalayas that provide the best quality among government schools. Elementary school education (Class 1 to 8) is free in KVs and is subsidised thereafter. The fee notified by the KV Sangathan is nil for these classes. From Class 9 to 12, a tuition fee of Rs 200-400 per month is claimed from boys. In addition, Rs 650 per month is taken for computers and Vidyalaya Vikas Nidhi, with exemptions for certain categories of students.