By Dr. Gyan Pathak
Union government led by PM Narendra Modi has always been promoting privatization of education in the Country. The recent data reveals – the number of private schools rose by 14.9 per cent during 2014-15 to 2023-24, and they have increased their fees by 50-80 per cent just over the last three years. The data shows that during the decade the number of government schools have shrunk by 8 per cent in the country, most of them in the BJP ruled states. The controversy that has erupted in Delhi now over the exorbitant free hike by private schools gives additional frightening insight into the education system of the country.
The number of government schools is going down and lack of teachers and infrastructure are leading to deterioration of education in them. These create conditions for private school to grow and prosper, which cater to only those students whose parents or guardians are financially well off, or at least who can somehow afford the cost albeit with great difficulty. It violates the right of universal and equal education of the children of this country and creates an unequal education level much to the disadvantage of the children from the relatively poor households. This fear, adds to the attraction to the private schools.
It was just last month in February, the Union Minister of State for Education, Jayant Choudhary had informed the Lok Sabha that the number of government schools declined by 8 per cent and private schools increased by 14.9 per cent between 2014-15 and 2023-24. In absolute numbers, number of government schools were cut by 89,441, while the number of private schools increased by 42,944. At present there are 10,17,660 government schools in the country while number of private schools are 3,31,108.
The data given in the House showed that the two BJP ruled states Madhya Pradesh had closed 29,410 government schools and Uttar Pradesh closed 25,126 government schools. They together contributed in 60.9 per cent of cut effected in the country. During the last decade Utter Pradesh witnessed increase of 19,305 private schools which is 44.9 per cent of the total rise in the private Schools in the country.
Decline in government schools in Madhya Pradesh was 24.1 per cent, followed by Jammu and Kashmir by 21.4 per cent, Odisha by 17.1 per cent, Arunachal Pradesh by 16.4 per cent, Uttar Pradesh by 15.5 per cent, Jharkhand by 13.4 per cent, Nagaland by 14.4 per cent, Goa by 12.9 per cent, and Uttarakhand by 8.7 per cent.
As for private schools, a total of 10 states exceeded the average increase of 14.9 per cent. Private schools in Bihar increased by 179.14 per cent, Odisha by 80.36 per cent, Uttar Pradesh by 24.96 per cent.
The three states/UTs where number of private schools declined were Meghalaya by 5.36 per cent, the NCT Delhi by 2.88 per cent, and Himachal Pradesh by 0.27 per cent. It goes without saying that government school education in these states have greater achievements, especially in terms of quality education. Other states and UTs have been lagging behind in government school education.
One can just understand by this how private schools are getting prominence across the country over the government schools in especially in the last one decade. It enables the private school to charge exorbitant fee to students.
The situation this year has particularly become troublesome for the parents in the backdrop of falling real income of households on the one hand and exorbitant fee hike by private schools on the other.
A survey recently conducted by LocalCircle has said that private school fees have increased by 50-80 per cent over the last three years in the country. About 93 per cent of parents have blamed the governments for not controlling fee hike. The survey covered 309 districts across the country. Eight per cent parents have reported that the hike in tuition fee exceeded 80 per cent. Barring Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, no state in the country regulate the private school fees.
Protests over exorbitant fee hike by private schools have been reported from across the country as the academic session 2025-25 has just begun.
In Delhi, the protest by parents has turned political since, BJP has come in power in the state, and AAP who have lost the February 2025 election is in opposition. AAP has been credited for making government schools education even better than most of the private schools, which has resulted in decline of number of private schools in Delhi.
AAP has attacked the BJP rule over the recent fee hike in private schools claiming that there is a link between the ruling BJP and the president of an association representing unaided private schools, which has resulted in exorbitant fee hikes in Delhi schools. “This is an open-and-shut case of ‘conflict of interest’ involving the Chief Minister. The same organisation — and its head — whose primary agenda is to push for school fee hikes across Delhi, was embedded in the election campaign of the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate,” said AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj.
In response, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said that AAP is disgruntled by the loss in the February poll. Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood has promised appropriate action against fee hike by private schools.
The issue of irrational fee hike by private schools is pan-India phenomena and hence it should be tackled by the PM Narendra Modi led Centre along with the states, with appropriate policy response and legislations. Centre’s current education policy seems to be detrimental to government school education and advantageous to private schools or privatisation of education. (IPA Service)
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