India’s Constitution guarantees free and compulsory education under Article 21A, while the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 expands this promise to universal schooling from ages three to 18 by 2030. Yet, for millions of families, schooling is far from free. Rising private school enrolment and the parallel growth of private tuition have quietly shifted the financial burden of basic education from the State to households. New data from the NSS 80th Round (2025) offers a revealing picture of how expensive “free” education has become.
From constitutional right to household responsibility
Article 21A places the primary responsibility of school education on the State. However, parental choices increasingly diverge from this constitutional intent. At the national level, only 55.9% of students are enrolled in government schools, while nearly one-third attend private unaided schools. This shift is far more pronounced in urban India, where over half of school-going children study in private institutions.
The trend is not static. Compared to the 75th NSS round (2017–18), private school enrolment has increased across both rural and urban areas and at almost all stages of schooling. This steady movement towards fee-charging schools directly translates into higher household expenditure on education.
Who goes to private schools — and where?
The rural–urban divide is stark. In rural areas, government schools still dominate, with private enrolment ranging between 21% and 28% across stages. In contrast, urban India shows a clear preference for private schooling, especially at lower levels:
- Pre-primary: 62.9%
- Primary: 55.3%
- Middle: 49.8%
- Secondary: 44%
- Higher secondary: 42.3%
As education levels rise, private enrolment declines in cities, reflecting rising costs and capacity constraints. Gender gaps exist but are relatively narrow, indicating that affordability, rather than gender bias, is the dominant factor shaping access.
How much do families pay for schooling?
Despite the promise of free education, a significant proportion of government school students also pay fees. In rural areas, 25.3% of government school students reported paying course fees; in urban areas, the figure rises to 34.7%. For private schools, fee payment is nearly universal.
The cost differential is striking:
- Government schools: Annual fees range from ₹823 to ₹7,308 in rural areas and ₹1,630 to ₹7,704 in urban areas.
- Private schools: Annual fees range from ₹17,988 to ₹33,567 in rural areas and ₹26,188 to ₹49,075 in urban areas.
When converted into monthly terms, private schooling costs between ₹1,500–₹2,800 in rural areas and ₹2,200–₹4,100 in urban areas. These amounts are not marginal: private schooling at the pre-primary level roughly equals the monthly income of the poorest 5% of households, while higher secondary fees align with the consumption levels of households in the third income decile.
Private tuition: the hidden layer of costs
School fees are only part of the story. A growing proportion of students rely on private coaching, further inflating education expenses. The NSS survey shows that 25.5% of rural children and 30.7% of urban children take private tuition, with participation rising sharply at higher levels of education.
Expenditure on private coaching increases with grade level and is consistently higher in urban areas:
- Rural: from ₹3,980 (pre-primary) to ₹13,803 (higher secondary)
- Urban: from ₹5,815 (pre-primary) to ₹22,394 (higher secondary)
Private tuition is more common among children from wealthier, better-educated and urban households, reinforcing existing inequalities. Ironically, reliance on coaching is also higher among private school students, reflecting concerns about teaching quality despite high fees.
Why families turn to private schools and coaching
Several factors explain this shift:
- Perceived better learning outcomes and discipline in private schools
- Inadequate teacher availability and quality in many government schools
- Underpaid and underqualified teachers in low-fee private schools, leading to dependence on tutoring
- Private tuition as a marker of aspiration and social prestige
Research suggests that private tutoring often compensates for weak school quality rather than enhancing already strong systems.
Implications for equity and universal education
The data exposes a fundamental contradiction. While education is constitutionally guaranteed, access to quality schooling increasingly depends on a family’s ability to pay. Poor households either stretch finances to enter the private system or remain in under-resourced public schools, widening learning gaps.
The growth of private tuition further entrenches inequality, as better-off students gain additional instructional support that disadvantaged children cannot afford. Over time, this undermines the ideal of equal opportunity embedded in Article 21A and NEP 2020.
Why strengthening government schools is critical
Evidence points to a clear solution pathway. A 2024 study published in The Journal of Development Studies finds that private tuition is negatively associated with school quality — students in better schools rely less on coaching. Improving public school quality can therefore reduce both private schooling pressure and the tutoring burden.
Key priorities include teacher quality, classroom instruction, school infrastructure and accountability for learning outcomes. Without this, universalisation up to secondary level risks becoming nominal rather than substantive.
What to note for Prelims?
- Article 21A and its scope
- NEP 2020 target of universal schooling up to age 18
- NSS 80th Round findings on school enrolment and expenditure
- Rural–urban differences in private schooling and tuition
What to note for Mains?
- Critically assess the gap between constitutional guarantees and actual education costs
- Analyse private schooling and tuition as drivers of educational inequality
- Discuss the role of government school quality in achieving NEP 2020 goals
- Examine whether education in India is increasingly becoming a market good rather than a public right
