Page 38 - EducationWorld September 2020

Cover Story

ing hitherto officially supressed infor-
mation about the number and growth
of private schools, their demographic
profiles, learning outcomes and regu-
latory frameworks of 36 states and
Union territories of India are included
in this unprecedented report, which is
certain to fundamentally alter public
perception of private K-12 education,
and perhaps the landscape of Indian
education.
The self-serving myths and propa-
ganda of Left academics and bureau-
crats — whose opposition to private
initiatives in industry, business and
education is less rooted in ideology as
in pedestrian envy of risk-taking en-
trepreneurs and edupreneurs — that Dhawan: shockingly under-researched Kudva: essential attention
PSIR 2020 demolishes are as numer-
ous as they are startling. must succeed. Despite the huge con- America’s blue-chip Yale and Harvard
For one, the study reveals that far tribution of private schools to national universities, Dhawan returned to In-
from being the choice of a thin sliver development, this sector is shockingly dia in 1998 and co-promoted Chrys
of the Indian elite, aggregate enrol- under-researched. For instance, far Capital Pvt. Ltd, the country’s pioneer
ment in unaided (“privately managed from being highly-priced education private equity investment firm.
and entirely managed through private institutions for the elite, 70 percent In 2012 after a highly successful
funds”) ‘recognised’, i.e, government of private schools in India levy tuition innings with Chrys Capital, he retired
licensed schools, has risen from 9.2 fees of less than Rs.1,000 per month to promote the Delhi-based Central
percent of school-going children in and 45 percent less than Rs.500. Yet Square Foundation (CSF, endowment
1993 to 34.8 percent in 2017, and although 73 percent of parents coun- corpus: Rs.50 crore), a not-for-profit
their number has risen to 350,000 trywide would prefer to enrol their foundation established to promote
countrywide. And if to the number children in private schools, because foundational literacy and numeracy,
of 87 million children in private un- they believe the quality of educa- introduce appropriate education tech-
aided schools, one adds the 28 million tion they provide is better, learning nologies in school education and im-
in private aided schools (“privately outcomes in private schools are not prove learning outcomes and account-
managed but receive financial sup- significantly better. Therefore, im- ability in K-12 education. Since then
port from government”), the number provement of the private school sec- within the short span of eight years,
of children in private K-12 education tor is, and will also remain, important CSF (annual budget Rs.60 crore) has
total 115 million. By no stretch of for improving national learning out- signed up strategic and project part-
convoluted reasoning can this huge comes. The inaugural PSIR 2020 sug- nerships with some of the world’s most
number — equivalent to 46 percent gests required correctives to improve respected philanthropic foundations,
of India’s 250 million (2017-18) in- learning outcomes in private schools including the Bill & Melinda Gates,
school children — be classified as an and rationalisation of government Larry Edison, Omidyar and Google
elite minority. rules and regulations to enable the foundations and earned national re-
“ IN 16 STATES OF THE Indian private schools,” explains A s h i h Delhi which houses the Union hu-
spect, particularly in Shastri Bhavan,
parallel growth of India’s 450,000
s
D h a w a n , founder-chairman of CSF.
Union, more than half the
man resource development (renamed
children in K-12 education
Clearly, Dhawan’s advice on ac-
capitals for intelligent initiatives to
are in private schools, in knowledging the importance of pri- education) ministry, and several state
Goa over 80 percent, and in urban vate schools while framing the final improve teaching-learning standards
India 75 percent. In terms of aggre- NEP 2020 wasn’t heeded despite his in school education.
gate enrolment, India’s private school impressive credentials and exemplary R oop a K u dv a , managing direc-
system is the third largest K-12 system commitment to upgrading and im- tor of ONI which has partnered with
in the world. Therefore to nurture and proving the country’s low-performing CSF to produce the unprecedented
develop the world’s largest child popu- K-12 education system. A maths and PSIR 2020, also believes that India’s
lation, private — and public — schools business management alumnus of private schools in which “millions of

38 EDUCATIONWORLD SEPTEMBER 2020