Page 28 - EW February 2023

Expert Comment

Foreign branded schools

cost-benefits

ROSHAN GANDHI

NDIAN SCHOOL PUPILS WILL SOON BE ABLE TO Foreign trusts and corporates rarely plan
follow in Jawaharalal Nehru’s footsteps by attending
Harrow School, or spend their formative years ambling to operate licensed schools themselves.
Ithe corridors of Wellington College, without leaving In- Whether a local partner renting the
dian terra firma. These schools have announced they are
setting up shop in Bangalore and Pune respectively, this Harrow name can truly recreate the
year. Other famous school brands from abroad are set to ethos of the original institution is
follow shortly. While entry of branded foreign education
institutions is a welcome development that can import new doubtful
pedagogies and best education practices into India, we must
also weigh the implications of their entry into India’s educa- since the 19th century, and it is well understood that elite
tion marketplace from a critical angle. families opt for such schools not only for perceived quality
The prime motive behind foreign education institutions of education and character-building, but also for network-
establishing Indian affiliates is profit generation. This ing, association with an elite label, and exclusivity. But
might sound like a statement of the obvious, but on closer specific attraction to foreign brand identities, particularly
inspection it’s not so straightforward. Indian readers are British schools, suggests a certain colonial hangover; an un-
accustomed to nominally ‘not-for-profit’ private schools derlying belief that there’s inherent superiority in having
which in reality are promoter-operated, channeling sur- one’s education associated with respected institutions of
pluses into personal accounts of promoters through legal the British establishment. Indeed, given that the operating
creativity. This is not true of British private schools, which model renders the authenticity of the experience question-
are genuinely not-for-profit entities managed by governing able, one may reasonably be skeptical of whether a local
boards whose members don’t have financial stakes in the partner renting the Harrow School name and logo can truly
institution. Delivering premium quality education is expen- recreate the ethos the original institution has been carefully
sive, so despite high fees these schools often have to rely on cultivating since 1572. Quite clearly, wealthy families will
additional sources of income to fund noble ambitions such be forking out for name association above all other factors.
as scholarships and new infrastructure. wo other observations confirm this conclusion. First,
Additional income normally comes in the form of do- Tthere are several other establishment schools that are
nations from grateful parents and alumni. But now that highly respected within Britain, and whose academic re-
British private schools are confronted with the prospect of sults are on a par with, if not ahead of Harrow, Wellington,
losing their tax-exempt status, and economic challenges Rugby. But due to largely untraceable historical reasons,
across Europe inhibiting the generosity of benefactors, they they have not attained the same degree of brand recognition
are obliged to find alternative income sources. Taking their internationally. Schools such as The Perse, Tonbridge, and
brands overseas is the latest strategy devised to this end. Abingdon are household names in the United Kingdom,
Foreign trusts and corporates establishing their school but it’s unlikely that Indian parents have heard of them. It
brands in India, rarely plan to operate the licensed schools is harder for these schools to establish a presence in India,
themselves. The preferred model is to partner with local a symptom of Indian consumers’ greater interest in their
investor-entrepreneurs who provide land, buildings, and comparative renown than excellent substance. Secondly,
operations personnel (in Harrow’s case, Amity Group; in several Indian schools now offer foreign curricula and
Wellington’s, Unison Group). The local investor pays the quality of holistic education no less than that of renowned
foreign brand a fee under the head of ‘educational services’, foreign schools, for far less fee. But evidently, this relative
which includes use of the brand name and quality assurance bargain is insufficient to dilute parents’ fascination with
to uphold the standards of the brand. The model is not dis- foreign brands.
similar to the franchise model that many Indian education Yet as Indians, we would do well to examine our own
institutions already employ. motives for availing the services of profit-chasing affiliates
We can expect Indian affiliates of foreign schools to of not-for-profit institutions abroad. We must ask ourselves
charge very high fees — upwards of Rs.16 lakh per annum, whether spending vast sums on prestigious foreign labels
far out of reach for the vast majority of Indians. High fees is worth it, or whether it would be wiser to repose trust in
per se is not a reason to be critical — there is nothing wrong high-quality Indian institutions offering comparable stan-
with consumers making a free choice to purchase expen- dard of education.
sive services. But they raise the question of what patrons
of these schools are looking for. (Roshan Gandhi is the Oxford-educated strategy adviser & former CEO of
Elite schools are not new to India. High-fees boarding City Montessori Schools, Lucknow, managing director, GoCongo Founda-
schools educating scions of the super-rich have existed tion and international edtech consultant)

28 EDUCATIONWORLD FEBRUARY 2023