Reports & Papers
Low fee private schools in Kerala : Regulation, Access and Quality
December 29, 2025
EP 70 | The Rules of the Game: Constitutions and Public Accountability — Public Choice Theory | Policy Beyond Politics (Malayalam)
December 31, 2025Bridging the Learning Gap in Andhra Pradesh: Exploring the Role and Potential of Low-Fee Private Schools in Enhancing Educational Outcomes
Low-fee private schools (LFPS) in Andhra Pradesh provide affordable education to children from lower- and lower-middle-income households. Charging modest monthly fees (₹400–₹3,500), these schools make English-medium and nationally affiliated education accessible to families who cannot afford high-end private schools. Over the past two decades, LFPS have expanded across urban, peri-urban, and rural areas, becoming a significant part of the state’s education ecosystem and a crucial pathway for families seeking quality education at manageable costs.
Despite their growing importance, LFPS face challenges that limit their ability to deliver quality education, as regulatory norms focus heavily on procedural compliance and input-based inspections rather than learning outcomes. The following paper analyses these challenges, maps the regulatory environment, and proposes reforms aimed at evidence- and learning-outcomes-focused regulation.
Key recommendations include:
- Independent Quality Body: Establish an autonomous body to assess schools, monitor learning outcomes, and ensure transparent accreditation.
- Budget Schools Category: Create flexible regulations for low-resource schools while maintaining essential safety and hygiene standards.
- Single-Window Clearance: Implement a unified digital portal for all approvals and certifications to reduce administrative burdens.
- Fee Regulation: Remove rigid fee formulas to enable context-specific fee-setting for LFPS.
- Improving learning outcomes via capacity-building interventions like mentorship programmes, teaching development, and deploying instructional coaches to low-fee schools; Guiding curriculum adaptation, assessment strategies, and pedagogical tools to support incremental improvements.
- Innovation & EdTech: Support blended learning and digital tools, and incentivise innovative teaching practices.
In conclusion, this paper highlights the role of low-fee private schools in Andhra Pradesh’s school education system and the need for reforms in private school regulation. By simplifying rules, strengthening quality assessment, supporting teacher capacity-building, and promoting education innovation, LFPS can enhance learning outcomes while maintaining essential standards, ensuring affordable, quality education for lower- and lower-middle-income households.
Nissy Solomon is an Hon. Trustee (Research & Projects), Dr D Dhanuraj is the Founder-Chairman and Afiya Biju is a former Research Assistant, at the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR), Kochi, India.
Views expressed by the authors are personal and need not reflect or represent the views of the Centre for Public Policy Research.
