Topic
School Education - Private Participation for Educating Rural India
Title of the Project
Private Education in Rural India: Status and Opportunity

Kripal Singh Niranjan,

Private Education in Rural India: Status and Opportunity
I. Introduction: World Bank statistics found that fewer than 40 percent of adolescents in Rural
India attend secondary schools. The Economist reports that half of 10-year-old rural children could not read at a basic level, over 60% were unable to do division, and half dropped out by the age 14.

According to this criterion, the 2011 census holds the National Literacy Rate to be around
74%.Government statistics of 2001 also hold that the rate of increase in literacy is more in rural areas than in urban areas, so we need to focus on rural areas and special attention goes to female education because it is still less than male literacy rate.

Private Education in India: According to current estimates, 70% Population of India lives in rural area, making the government the major provider of education. However, because of poor quality of public education, 27% of Indian children are privately educated. According to some research, private schools often provide superior results at a fraction of the unit cost of government schools. However, others have suggested that private schools fail to provide education to the poorest families. Most of the private schools provide central board education not state board to maintain their quality.

In their favour, it has been pointed out that private schools cover the entire curriculum and offer extra-curricular activities such as science fairs, general knowledge, sports, music and drama. The pupil teacher ratios are much better in private schools than government scho ols in rural areas.
The competition in the school market is intense, yet most schools make profit. Even the poorest often go to private schools despite the fact that government schools are free. A study found that
65% of school children attend government school in Rural India with tuition classes.

II. Need For the study: Despite growing investment in Indian education, 25% of its population is still illiterate; only 15% of Indian students reach high school, and just 7% graduate. According to
2011 census, India's post-secondary high schools offer only enough seats for 7% of India's college-age population, 25% of teaching positions nationwide are vacant, and 57% of college

professors lack either a master's or PhD degree. The same pattern is at school level, so the existing schools prepare child for medical and engineering or management level competitions.
There is a special attention to pupil-teacher ratio in private school for holistic development of child but absenteeism of teachers in public schools is also a major concern for the root level in
India.

III. Objectives:
1. To explore the contribution of Private schools in rural India and achievement of students as compared to public schools.
2. To review the effectiveness of quality education, modern methodology and process for overall socio-economic development in rural India.

IV. Data Source: The average expenditure per student pursuing primary education in rural India in a government school for students going to local body schools, private aided schools and private unaided schools were Rs 223, Rs 622 and Rs. 911 respectively (National Sample Survey
Organization 2000).the rate of increase in Schools and Fees in Private is more than the government. So it indicates now in rural areas parents are ready to pay for quality education for their children.

V. Methodology: NFHS data has been analyzed through basic exploratory statistical measures like mean, standard deviation, and estimates for the rural population to explore the need of school education for enrollment, student-teacher ratio; infrastructure facility survey has been carried out to find the route cause for illiteracy and school dropout rate in Rural India. Quantitative and qualitative measures for social, economic, behavioral measures have been compared for public and private education. Panel data analysis has been carried out for NFHS data sets collected in different rounds. Using the MHRD data for 2005 to 2007 a number of methodologies are used to produce a cumulative evidence base on the effectiveness of private schools relative to their government counterparts. Household fixed effects estimates yield a private school achievement advantage of 0.17 standard deviations and village level 3-year panel data analysis yields a private school learning advantage of 0.114 SD.

VI. Statistical Analysis:
Literacy status of India: 2011 census
Total

74.04%

Male

82.14%

Female

65.46%

One of the many changes in India since economic liberalization began in 1991 is the increased use of private schooling. There has been a growing body of literature to assess whether this is a positive trend and to evaluate the effects on child achievement levels. The challenge is to identify the true private school effect on achievement, isolating the effect of the schools themselves from other variables that might boost private school outcomes, such as a superior (higher ability) student intake.

In rural areas, one in five children age 6-10 is not attending school with a persistent gender gap (NFHs-IIPS-2008)

Public – Private Parternership Model (PPP) for Funding and infrastructure in Rural
Indian education: NIEPA study found out that 25% of public sector teachers are absent more than ten days in a month. Among teachers who were paid to teach, absence rates ranged from
15% in Maharashtra to 30% in Bihar. Only 1 in nearly 3000 public school head teachers had ever dismissed a teacher for repeated absence. A study on teachers by Kremer etc. found that 'only about half were teaching, during unannounced visits to a nationally representative sample of government primary schools in India.
A study of 188 government -run primary schools found that 59% of the schools had no drinking water and 89% had no toilets. 2009–10 data by National Institute of Educational Planning and
Administration revealed that only 3.5% of primary schools in Bihar and Chhattisgarh had toilets for girls. In Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Himachal
Pradesh, rates were 12–16%.
Summary & Conclusion: The Condition in the backward areas like rural villages effort is needed to achieve the target both in qualitative and quantities terms by opening private schools in rural areas not for profit but for service. The community development program of private schools needs through educating Rural India comprises agriculture, animal husbandry, cooperation, rural industries, rural engineering (consisting of minor irrigation, roads, buildings), health and sanitation including family welfare, family planning, women welfare, child care and nutrition, education including adult education, social education and literacy, youth welfare and community organization.
References:
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Setty, E.D. and Ross, E.L. (1987), "A Case Study in Applied Education in Rural India",
Community Development Journal, 22 (2): 120–129, Oxford University Press.

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www.education.nic.in