Private schools not up to the standard; struggle due to Covid-19: Report

The 4.5 lakh privately managed schools across the country serve more than 12 crore students in India — nearly half of the country's total school-going population. Low and middle-class families who seek a better education for their children often get them enrolled in private schools with the hope of quality education.

However, according to the ‘State of the Sector’ report released by the Central Square Foundation, private schools students in both urban and rural areas are not performing well, thus raising questions on the standard of education of the schools.

"About 60 per cent of rural private school students in class 5 cannot solve a simple division problem, 35 per cent of rural private school students in class 5 cannot read a class 2 level paragraph,” the report states.

In the National Assessment Survey (NAS), the average score for grade 10 students in private schools was below 50 per cent in four out of five subjects.

The education report points out that although the literacy rates have remained largely stable, long-term trends show a steady decline in tested arithmetic skills among grade five private school students over the past decade.

As per the report, private schools in Kerala, Himachal, Haryana and Punjab performed well, while Assam and Jharkhand scored low among the larger states. "Private school students in less developed villages have the worst outcomes - 53 per cent cannot read a paragraph and 61 per cent cannot subtract," it stated.

The report points out that even in private schools, actual learning outcomes require attention.

"The learning crisis is the worst for the poorest students. However, even amongst students from the richest 20 per cent households attending private schools, only 56 per cent of children between eight and 11 years old can read a basic grade 2 level paragraph," it adds.

School quality

The report suggests that 60 per cent of private schools do not extend to board examinations grade and therefore, there is no standardised information on these schools’ learning outcomes available. And therefore, it concludes, private school owners do not have incentives or pressure to improve learning levels amongst students.

“This information gap also means that schools are less likely to invest in learning-focused invisible improvements like teacher training and quality, and more likely to spend on things that are observable by parents but may not lead to much improvement in learning – like computer labs, or marketing that proclaims English-medium instruction.

"It also becomes difficult for parents to judge the quality of their schooling options. In the absence of reliable school quality information, parents use more visible markers to discern school quality. These markers, which include English-medium instruction, infrastructure, etc, may not be effective in judging actual school learning outcomes," it reads.

Covid-19 impact on private schools

Through a preliminary exploratory survey, comprising semi-structured interviews with 90+ stakeholders in the private school sector, the report found that low-fee schools have seen a significant impact on revenue due to school closures, examination postponement, and widespread non-payment of fees for this period.

"While the majority of schools are attempting digital transitions through low-tech, WhatsApp-based tools or video classes, only 33 per cent parents can support their students with digital education, and none of the teachers surveyed find current forms of online instruction effective."

It also noted that more than 66 per cent of the surveyed private schools have adopted WhatsApp as the model for digital provision of teaching.