Human Development in India - NCAER

education 836–14 year old, about 40 per cent participated in privatesector education either through enrolment in private school(20 per cent), through private tuition (13 per cent), or both(7 per cent).Growth of private tuitions also increases the work burdenon children, as documented by Box 6.1. Children who receiveadditional tutoring continue to spend the same or greateramount of time at school, and doing homework resulting inan additional eight to ten hours of work per week.In general, boys are more likely (than girls) to be enrolledin private school (29 per cent versus 26 per cent) and to haveprivate tuition (22 per cent versus 19 per cent), resulting inthe gender difference in educational expenditure noted inFigure 6.4. But gender differences are smaller than socialclass differences in access to private schooling.Additionally, regional differences in the prevalence ofprivate school enrolment are noteworthy (see Table 6.3b).The greatest prevalence of private school enrolment isin Punjab and Haryana. But lest we attribute this to statelevelwealth, even in a poor state like Uttar Pradesh about43 per cent attend private school. Assam and Orissa seemto have the lowest private school enrolment. The variationin school expenditures across different states presented inTable 6.2 is also noteworthy. While expenditure variationfor children going to government schools is relatively minor(with higher expenditures, for example, in Jammu andKashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and the North-East, wheretransportation costs are high), the variation in expendituresfor children going to private schools is quite large, rangingfrom Rs 6,273 in Himachal Pradesh to Rs 1,636 in Assam.This growing preference for private schooling and thereliance on private tutoring must be seen in the context ofdifferences in skill acquisition of children in governmentand private schools. As Table A.6.4a indicates, there is asubstantial difference in the skills of children who attendgovernment schools compared to those who attend privateschools. Among private school children, 69 per cent canread a simple paragraph, while only 50 per cent of those ingovernment schools can do so. Similar differences exist inarithmetic and writing skills. Private school benefits persist inall categories of households but are greater for children fromless-advantaged backgrounds. Children from less developedvillages, the poorest households, and those in which parentshave had the least education seem to benefit the most fromattending private schools. Some of the differences betweengovernment and private schools may be attributable to thehigher incomes and motivations of parents who send theirchildren to private schools. However, even when we comparechildren with similar backgrounds, in terms of parentaleducation and income, children from private schools performsomewhat better on reading and arithmetic tests than theirgovernment school counterparts. A variety of explanationsBox 6.1Private Tutoring Increases Work Burden for ChildrenThe IHDS found that in the year precedingthe survey, about 20 per cent ofchildren aged 6–14 received privatetuition after school, or on weekends.Some children receive tutoring the yearround; others, just before the exams.Some received private coaching fromschool teachers for additional payment,and others attended coaching classes.However, one thing seems clear. Thetime spent in private tutoring does notreduce the time spent in school, ordoing homework. Children who receivetuition spend nearly 50 hours per weekdoing school related work.Parents of young children in Indiawould not be surprised to see thesefigures. Most children are expected todo homework for a couple of hours perday. Those who are enrolled in privatetuition spend one to two hours per dayin tuition and often have homework fromthe tutor. All of these combine to createan incredible burden on children.Source: IHDS 2004–5 data.