Page 44 - EW-June-2025

Cover Story

and a free school offering vocational
World’s most expensive schools education. These institutions have an

aggregate enrollment of 35,000 stu-
y definition, private schools the world over are more expensive than
Bpublic/government schools which are usually free-of-charge or levy dents mentored by 2,000 teachers.
nominal tuition fees. Although neither politicians, parents associations nor
their lordships of the higher judiciary seem to be aware, tuition fees levied by EVENTY-SEVEN YEARS
India’s most expensive private schools which offer globally comparable K-12 S after independent India
education, are way below those of the most expensive schools abroad. began its tryst with des-
tiny with high hopes and
Students in private Most expensive Annual tuition aspirations, the Central and especially
schools (%) school fee (US$)
state governments have failed to up-
Switzerland 13 Le Rosey, Rolle grade the country’s 1 million public
(Swiss Alps) 130,000 schools — particularly in rural India
UK 6 Brighton College 87,491 which grudgingly hosts 60 percent
of India’s 260 million households.
Canada 7.5 Brentwood College
School (Vancouver) 63,321 Year on year, the Annual Status of
Education Report (ASER) published
Australia 36.6 Geelong Grammar by the independent, highly respected
School (Victoria) 48,344
Pratham Education Foundation has
USA 10 Léman Manhattan been chronicling that early teens in
Preparatory School 79,000
class VII-VIII can’t read class III texts
Singapore 5.69 United World College of or manage simple multiplication and
South East Asia 31,000 division sums. Instead of focusing on
Brazil 18.3 Avenues School, remedying this grievous social injus-
Sao Paulo 20,500 tice, the attention of education min-
France 17 Ermitage International, istries at the Centre and in the states
Maison Lafitte, Paris 39,388 is focused on micro-management of
China 18 British International the country’s 450,000 private schools
School, Shanghai 42,479 which provide superior K-12 educa-
South Africa 5.5 Hilton College 23,341 tion. Consequently these schools — of
whom the Top 4,000 are rated and
India 48 Woodstock School 23,210
(Mussoorie) ranked in the annual EducationWorld
India School Rankings — are being
Source: EW research NB $=Rs.86 forced to level down.
Quite clearly, the time is nigh for
“After detailed discussions with also prompted many committed and the judiciary, government and middle
ARISE board members on the issue of reputed entrepreneurs to promote class parents to revise their mindsets
smooth regulation of private schools greenfield schools in UP. Moreover, and cut private educationists and
fees, the state government enacted increased supply has ensured school institutions a fair deal. Government
the Uttar Pradesh Fees Regulation managements think twice about rais- needs to focus proactively on radi-
Act, 2018 which could perhaps serve ing contract fees, and even fee in- cally upgrading government schools
as a model for all states. Under the creases within the permissible limit. and apply the logic of liberalisation
Act, private schools are permitted au- UP’s fair and balanced private school and deregulation of industry and the
tomatic annual fee increase calculated fees regulation legislation is a success economy to private schools.
on the basis of rate of inflation ac- story and should be replicated coun- Meanwhile the best available op-
cording to the Consumer Price Index trywide,” says Deepak Madhok, tion for middle class parents with
— plus 5 percent. This is applicable an alumnus of Banaras Hindu and children in private schools is to form
to in-school students. New students Allahabad universities, former civic school-specific parents associations to
admitted have to pay contracted fees administrator of the Uttar Pradesh collectively negotiate children’s school
with annual increase as per the CPI + Public Service Commission, and cur- fees. Collective bargaining is a better
5 percent formula. Any complaints are rently chairman of the Varanasi-based option than inviting government fees
adjudicated by a District Fees Regu- Sunbeam Group of Educational Insti- regulation. India’s failed national de-
latory Committee. Since this Act was tutions (SGEI). SGEI comprises nine velopment experience proves that in-
passed six years ago, it has worked owned and 17 associate schools, two viting government intervention is to
very smoothly in Uttar Pradesh. It has women’s colleges, an autism centre invite a sea of troubles.

44 EDUCATIONWORLD JUNE 2025