In India, education is a subject in the concurrent list of the seventh schedule of the Indian Constitution and thus, school education falls under the jurisdiction of both the Union and State governments. At the central level, the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, passed by the Parliament of India, establishes a framework for the governance of schools. However, the educational landscape in India is characterised by a web of approximately 145 Acts enacted by states to regulate school education, resulting in a plethora of laws and policies governing the sector.

Edupreneurs have to go through a complex, multi-stage process in order to set up schools in India. Regulations in setting up schools (location, infrastructure, qualification criteria for teachers, procedural approvals) and fixing fees have stifled the growth of private schools capable of providing good quality education. According to the Annual Survey of Education Report (ASER) 2023 by NGO Pratham, 25% of the youth aged 14-18 years in India cannot proficiently read a class II textbook. The multiplicity of laws has compounded the challenges, particularly affecting aspiring teachers who face non-uniform qualification criteria and other legal restrictions for appointment. This coincides with the data by UNESCO, which reports an acute shortage of 11 lakh teachers. 

Private schools with improved teacher-student ratios are compelled to cap fees or levy charges comparable to government schools, further emphasising the challenges within the system. The existing regulatory environment inadvertently impedes the establishment of an education ecosystem where low-cost subsidised education can seamlessly coexist with thriving private schools. This prevents the sector from catering to diverse social categories based on specific needs. In 2020, the New Education Policy was rolled out, which proposes a new roadmap for the holistic development of students and good quality education. 

Through the study, CPPR will be able to suggest targeted solutions to ease legal barriers and facilitate a market-driven, demand-based education system which can provide quality education to students. The study aims to suggest policy changes that would enable edupreneurs to set up schools based on the learnings from state regulations that have existed for decades.

Project Objectives

• Develop and propose policy recommendations to create a more conducive environment for edupreneurs.
• Examine the existing laws, rules, and state education policies to identify barriers that hinder the establishment and operation of budget schools.
• Study how edtech is promoted in the NEP and its impact on unrecognised schools, and examine how these initiatives are integrated into state policies.
• Facilitate discussions among government stakeholders, academia, civil society, and industry experts to gather insights and build consensus on necessary policy changes.