Private school students don’t outperform public school counterparts in India, finds study

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Washington, Oct. 12: Contrary to past researches, private school students in India do not outperform their counterparts in public schools, according to a new study.

The study by Amita Chudgar, a Michigan State University education researcher, challenges the claim that private Indian schools are superior to public schools – a hot issue in the Asian country and other developing countries that are expanding K-12 educational offerings.

“Our study finds no consistent benefit of attending a private school. The main implication is to recognize that the debate is not settled regarding public and private schools,” says Chudgar.

Chudgar analyzed the reading, writing and math performance of 10,000 Indian students aged 8 to 11, and narrowed the research sample to private and public school students with similar backgrounds, because private-school students generally come from families with higher income and education levels.

The study, which appears in Economics of Education Review, found that private school attendance is not associated with any systematic and specific benefit in terms of increased student achievement.

Chudgar said the results hold for rural and urban areas of India, and for both expensive private schools and low-fee private schools.

“There’s a perception among some that a child will enjoy better educational outcomes simply because she or he attends a private school, even a low-fee private school. But we hope for a more robust conversation on the benefits and limitations of privatization in the developing world,” Chudgar added. (ANI)