Why parents prefer private schools over government schools – despite similar learning outcomes

Balakrishnan V, a 44-year-old auto driver, has lived in the same locality all his life, an area predominantly occupied by low-income households, in Tamil Nadu’s Salem district.

Balakrishnan has four children: a son and three daughters.

The older two attend private schools. The son, who is in Class 11, is enrolled in a school that charges around Rs 50,000 a year. Balakrishnan’s eldest daughter, a Class 8 student, pays fees of around Rs 20,000 per year.

In contrast, the other two children study for free. His third child studies in a government-aided school and his fourth studies in a government school.

Balakrishnan would have liked to send his younger children to private schools also, but the fees for the first two are already a huge burden on the family. He explained that sometimes they have to even take loans to pay them.

But he has no doubt about the kind of schools he prefers. “Teachers are a lot better in private schools,” he said. “They pay more attention to individual students, and that will eventually help the child prepare well for their future as well.”

Such a preference among parents is reflected in attendance at the neighbourhood government school, where Balakrishnan studied as a child. He recounted that when he was there,...

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