What features make a private school preferred over a government school?
These days we are seeing many corporate schools and private schools coming up and there is a big rush for admissions to these schools. Whereas the government schools are not attracting so many students even though they have qualified staff and additional attractions like free books, midday meals, etc. Why this is happening? The features that are making these private schools attractive are discussed in this article.
Introduction:
During the 1960s and 70s, there were no private schools. All students irrespective of their financial status were going to government schools only. But over a period of time, many private schools and corporate schools came into existence.
India is a very highly populated country and has the highest number of school-going children. Indian constitution has given the right to education to all citizens in the country. That is why the governments are spending a lot of money on education and many government schools are established to take care of the needs of the students. Because of the high population, the number of government schools is not sufficient to accommodate all the students. This problem is more pertinent in cities. This is one of the problems and there are many other issues that are making private schools come up. Many people came into this field of education as this field is proved to be very profitable.
Now, in our country, many parents prefer private schools over government schools. If we observe the results, the majority of the rank holders are from private schools only every year. This private school concept has penetrated villages also. The children there also prefer a private school over a government school.
All government schools are having good facilities like buildings, laboratories, and qualified teachers. But the number of students in these schools is coming down. Whereas in a small village also a private school without a pucca building and qualified teachers attracts students. Why this is happening? What features are making the difference? The government is giving free books, and free midday meals, and no fees are to be paid by the parents. Even some governments are providing free uniforms, and shoes also to the students. Even then parents show interest in private schools. Why? This article has presented some factors that are making private schools more attractive. The parents are finding many favourable points in these private schools to finalize a school for their child. Factors having influence:
The following are some of the factors that are having a big say on this issue-
In a government organization, the head of the organization can't take any quick decisions. He has to follow the procedures. He has to write to higher authorities and this will make the system slow. Nobody can take a decision immediately.
But government schools will have all qualified teachers only. But their continuation in the job will never depend on the performance of the students. They may be asked to give an explanation if the results are very poor. Otherwise, no action on them.
The teachers in government schools are having many other responsibilities. But in a private school, there will be administrative staff to take care of all other activities and teachers will concentrate only on teaching and monitoring the student's progress. A headmaster in a government school is more worried about midday meals for the students rather than the quality of the teaching.
In addition to the above, many private schools appoint teaching assistants. About 10 to 15 students will be attached to each teaching assistant. He/she has to monitor the performance of the student by interacting with the student and seeing that the student will work hard to come up with the studies. This feature is making a big difference and this concept is not at all there in many government schools.
In government schools, political interference will be high. The village panchayat head will boss over the headmaster. Teachers will be under tremendous pressure because of the interference of political leaders. They can't concentrate on teaching because of these interferences. Conclusion:
A parent always wants his/her kid to do well in education and they never hesitate to pay a little more money if that can help their kids to get a better education. That is why many parents are showing interest in private schools. Even in villages also we are seeing many private schools. The poor and middle-class people are also trying to send their children to private schools but not to government schools.
Private schools are thriving in our country very comfortably and some of them are making a good profit also. There is a good demand of private schools today as many parents prefer them for the education of their wards. This article has brought out many reasons as to why private schools are flourishing in our country like that.
One of the most important differentiation aspect between a Govt school and private school is that in private school there is a strict monitoring of the faculty by the management and no lapse is tolerated at any level. So there is the necessary discipline in the private institute that keeps the faculty on its toes and when they deliver high quality teaching material to their students then students have to be benefited by it. On the other hand, in Govt schools the strictness is comparatively less and there are not only political interference but even a lot of internal politics where fights between the teachers harms the overall atmosphere of good education practices. There is a lot of scope for improvement in the Govt schools.