Expanding Education Market and Parental Choice for Secondary Schools in India: Evidence from IHDS Data

Abstract

This chapter explores parental choice for secondary schools in India, particularly in the context of an expanding private school education market. Using India Human Development Survey (IHDS) data, the study examines the factors that parents consider important in making choice for secondary schools for their offsprings. To capture the heterogeneity, I analyse the effect separately for region (rural/urban), gender and economic status of the households. The probit results find that female students are 3.8 percentage points less likely to be enrolled in private schools than boys in secondary education, and this difference is more in rural areas and among poor households. We also find that the choice for secondary schools is strongly determined by the paying capacity of the households—students from top income quintile are 21 percentage points more likely to access private secondary schools than the students belonging to the bottom income quintile, and this gap is higher in urban areas than rural areas. This study shows quite conclusively that the expansion of private schools has made significant changes in the parental aspirations and choice for secondary schools in India.