The Kothari Commission (1964-66) believed that social equality can be reached in India through the common school system. However, an overview of educational statistics on children enrollment by school management demonstrates the compartmental model of schools across the states. Private schools are mushrooming not only in urban areas but also in rural areas throughout the country despite different degrees of development. Lack of commitment, teachers’ absenteeism, poor quality of education, deficient teaching staff, lack of basic facilities and withdrawal of rural elite from the government schools are some of the reasons for both poor performance of government schools and emergence of private schools. At this juncture, the present paper aims to study the rationale of the private school managers for establishing private school/s in small towns. Besides, the paper reveals key factors for mushrooming of private schools. The paper is an outcome of an empirical research carried out in Huzurabad town of Telangana State. The researcher conducted face to face in-depth interviews with school managers of private schools by adopting convenience sampling. The study finds a positive relationship between the culture of agriculture and the culture of learning in Telangana. Though most of the first generation private schools were started due to unemployment, wherein the owners consider schools as a source of livelihood, over a period of time, the business interests started dominating the service motive and philanthropic culture. Hence, the study recommends the government to enforce strict rules to end commercialization of school education.

Authors:

About the Presenter(s)
Sreeramulu Gosikonda, Assistant Professor of Sociology at School of Law, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Hyderabad, Telangana, India. His areas of research include Sociology of Education, Sociology of India & Teacher Education.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sreeramulu-gosikonda-6a069969/

See this presentation on the full schedule – Schedule

Bookmark