Why do many still pay for school education when we have a fundamental right to free education?

Think about the last time you bought bottled water when a tap was free, hailed a cab for a short walk, or ordered delivery instead of cooking or eating college mess food. Each time, you made a deliberate trade-off where you spent money because the paid option gave you something the free one didn’t: convenience, safety, or quality. That gap in perceived value drove your decision. For millions of Indian parents, the free alternative they are walking away from is the government school.

Government schools are notorious for their abysmal quality, despite heavy investments. Many government schools have poor infrastructure and unsafe buildings. Government school teachers are frequently absent from classrooms, and students are not learning. Eventually, disillusioned parents and students turn away from such schools and opt for private schools.

Nearly half of India’s children are now in private schools, and the reasons aren’t hard to find. Private schools deliver better learning outcomes at lower cost, even after accounting for students’ socioeconomic backgrounds. Their teachers are more present and more engaged. Their campuses are safer and better disciplined. When COVID-19 shuttered classrooms, they adapted faster than their government counterparts to keep children learning. Parents cite ‘quality’ as one of the top reasons for why they choose private over government schools. Therefore, millions in a relatively poor country are choosing to pay for education even when a free alternative exists. The value that parents are paying for is real.

Reasons parents cite for choosing private schools