Government versus private primary schools in India

Abstract

Purpose – This paper is an effort to identify the difference between government and private primary schools in terms of physical infrastructure, schooling costs and student's performance. Further, the paper assessed the role of physical infrastructure and schooling costs on the performance of students. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This study used India Human Development Survey (IHDS) data. Bivariate, trivariate, χ2 and ANOVA test, factor analyses and Theil index are used as methods of analyses. Findings – The results present a distinct picture of government and private primary school education in India in terms of physical infrastructure standards, schooling cost and performance of students. In all the three selected indicators, private primary schools remained a forerunner or outperform the government primary schools in India. Besides this, the physical infrastructure and schooling cost found to have effect on performance of students both in private and public schools. Practical implications – Since government primary schools hold more than 70 percent of total students, there is an urgent need to improve the standards of primary education in these schools. Further, efforts are needed to reduce the gaps between private and public schools in terms of its basic physical facilities and performance of students in the country. Originality/value – The paper used the IHDS to examine the existing differentials between government and private primary schools. The analysis is purely an original work.