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Low-Fee Private Schools in Telangana: Rethinking Quality, Equity, and Regulation

Nissy Solomon and D Dhanuraj at
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Low-Fee Private Schools in Telangana: Rethinking Quality, Equity, and Regulation

Telangana’s education landscape has seen rapid growth, with the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) rising from 21.5% in 1961 to nearly 95.7% in 2024. While government schools dominate in number, private unaided schools educate 64.7% of students, and 75–80% of these are low-fee private schools (LFPS), serving predominantly lower- and middle-income households. LFPS, also known as budget or affordable private schools, charge monthly tuition fees affordable to daily wage-earning households (₹400–₹3500) or operate with per-pupil expenditure lower than government schools (CCS, 2022).

LFPS have expanded rapidly to fill gaps in access and accountability. However, they face multiple challenges related to regulation, quality of teaching, and infrastructure. The following paper analyses these challenges, maps the regulatory environment, and proposes reforms aimed at evidence- and learning-outcomes-focused regulation.

Key recommendations include:

  • Outcome-Based Quality Oversight: Set up an independent accreditation and quality assessment body to evaluate both public and private schools using uniform indicators and publicly share student outcome data.
  • Teacher Support and Development: Provide mentorship and instructional coaching for teachers, pair low-performing schools with high-performing government schools, and allow flexible recruitment of qualified teachers, including support for TET preparation.
  • Regulatory Clarity for LFPS: Create a separate regulatory category for LFPS or budget schools and simplify approval processes and timelines for recognition and NOCs.
  • Flexible Infrastructure Requirements: Make infrastructure norms realistic for low-cost schools, including allowances for multi-building campuses, shared or rented facilities, and recognition based on assured access to essential resources.
  • Integration of EdTech and Innovation: Encourage adoption of digital tools and blended learning, provide grants or subsidies for electricity, internet, and basic digital devices, and promote innovative teaching methods to improve learning outcomes.

Implementing these reforms will shift the regulatory focus from inputs to outcomes, simplify compliance, and strengthen the capacity of LFPS to deliver quality education. By recognising and enabling LFPS as active partners in the state’s education ecosystem, Telangana can enhance equity, promote innovation, and ensure that every child, regardless of income, has the opportunity to learn, achieve, and thrive.

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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.

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Nissy Solomon is Hon. Trustee (Research & Programs) at CPPR. She has a background in Economics with a master’s degree in Public Policy from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore. After graduation and prior to her venture into the public policy domain, she worked as a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Analyst with Nokia-Heremaps. Her postgraduate research explored the interface of GIS in Indian healthcare planning. She is broadly interested in Public Policy, Economic Development and Spatial Analysis for policymaking.

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Dr Dhanuraj is the Chairman of CPPR. His core areas of expertise are in international relations, urbanisation, urban transport & infrastructure, education, health, livelihood, law, and election analysis. He can be contacted by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @dhanuraj.

Nissy Solomon and D Dhanuraj
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