Complexity, resistance, and forbearance in private markets for primary education in India

This essay shows how the Indian state’s uneven regulation of private schooling amid the rapid expansion of education markets produces persistent conflict and weak enforcement. It highlights how contextual complexity, resistance from private actors, and state forbearance shape the governance of education markets.

Published in Research Handbook on Education Privatization and Marketization

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Abstract

A child born in India today is more likely than not to complete at least six years of schooling. This is a remarkable achievement for a country that previously had low social indicators in education. At the same time, private provision of schooling has also grown rapidly, to contend with which the Indian state has passed regulatory legislation. We argue that these legislative moves have only created greater political conflict over the private sector's role in providing education through three mechanisms: complexity, resistance, and forbearance. They have increased the complexity of enforcement, private schools have resisted legislation, and state-level governments have engaged in regulatory and legislative forbearance for fear of backlash from schools and citizens. We explore these tensions by briefly outlining a history of the growth of private schools in India and then examining the various ways in which legislation has affected the relationship between the state and private actors in education. The size of the public sector, especially after COVID-19, and the inconsistencies in regulation, point to the political economy of education, particularly around the connections between parents, private actors, and the Indian state, as a fruitful avenue for future research.