Parents prefer government schools over private ones

Parents in the state’s rural areas seem to have smartened up and are putting their trust in government schools rather than private ones.

While in the rest of the country, private school enrolment is more than that of government schools, in Maharashtra, due to strict government policies for private schools, rural parents are putting their children in government schools, reveals the ASER Rural 2011 report.

The report showed that close to 68.2% of students between the ages of 6 and 14 years have been enrolled in government schools, while only 30.3% of students go to private schools in rural areas in the state. This is in contrast to national figures, where private school enrolment for the age group of 6 to 14 years has grown over the years from 18.7% in 2006 to 85.6% in 2011.

But Maharashtra is showing a reverse trend, implying that more parents here are putting their children government schools instead of private ones, said Madhav Chavan, founder, CEO of NGO Pratham.  A strict pro-government schools policy in the state and parents’ inability to afford private school education are the most immediate reasons for this trend, he said.  “Compared to other states, it is difficult for private schools to get permissions to run in rural areas.”

Chavan added that the trend for preference of public education over private education in the state is a good sign, especially with the introduction of the Right to Education (RTE) Act 2010. The RTE states that every child has a right to free and compulsory education, but private schools cannot provide “free’’ education. ‘’In the rest of the country there is a conflict between parental choice and RTE norms. But Maharashtra’s policy seem to be working on promoting public education.”

Chavan said that private schools are charging exorbitant fees and so the government needs to make free public education an option. “But the quality needs to be maintained in these schools as well.”