Foster competition

Foster competition

Instead of targeting Delhi's private schools, improve government schools.
In a bizarre proposal, the Delhi government has told the high court that it intends to take over the management of 449 private schools that have failed to refund excess fees. The schools were identified as defaulters by the court-appointed Justice Anil Dev committee. While excess fees being charged by private schools may be an issue, the Delhi government threatening to take over these schools is a throwback to the old India of the 1970s. In that sense, the capital's ruling AAP dispensation appears to be left of even the Left in Indian politics.
It's welcome that the Delhi government has made education reforms a key agenda. However, its statist approach hampers improvements. Going after private schools for charging excess fees can be politically projected as an anti elite move. But it does little to address the main problem afflicting primary education ¬ lack of adequate number of quality government schools. There's a huge demand supply mismatch which results in parents fighting to get their children admitted in a handful of good private schools. If the Delhi government is serious about rising school fees, it should establish quality government schools that can attract students from all economic backgrounds.
This holds true for primary education across the country . According to a new study, between 2010-11 and 2015-16 student enrollment in government schools across 20 Indian states fell by 13 million while private schools gained 17.5 million new admissions. This shows a clear preference for private schooling and the corresponding poor standards of government schools. Solution to the rising fees problem lies in bridging this gap, not government taking over and running private schools to the ground. In the Delhi case, the high court questioned whether the state education department had even 50 trained officers to take over the 449 private schools in question. Instead of such ludicrous proposals, authorities would do well to improve quality and quantity of government schools.