The literature on school choice in India indicates a preference for private schools over government schools by parents in rural and urban settings. The reasons for school choice vary from the medium of instruction and perceived quality of education to the availability of infrastructure and social pressure. 

The researchers noticed a ​‘reverse’ trend in Maharashtra, that is, parents selecting a government or public school over a private school despite factors such as school proximity and medium of instruction. In this study, they aimed to unpack the reasons for reverse school choice from the perspective of different stakeholders.

In the first phase of the study, they analysed the data on school enrolment in Maharashtra accessed from the SARAL database to identify schools that demonstrated the reverse trend. They then identified 30 schools spread across nine regional educational boards. 

In the second phase, they conducted discussions and interviews with parents, teachers, students, and school management committee members to understand the reasons for reverse school choice. 

In the last phase of the study, the researchers conducted classroom observations and interviews with teachers from a select subset of schools to understand the pedagogical practices in classrooms. 

In this presentation, the findings from the second phase of the study, that is, interviews with the stakeholders will be discussed. The researchers focus on the similarities and differences in their perception of quality education and use the analysis to problematise the (un)professional burdening of the teacher.

About the Speakers

Shikha Takker is currently a postdoctoral fellow with the WITS Maths Connect Secondary Project at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa.

Ritesh Khunyakari is a faculty at the School of Education and convenor of the SC-ST-EO cell, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Hyderabad.

Kishore Darak works as Manager, Education at the Tata Trusts, one of India’s oldest organisations in the development sector in India.

Pralhad Kathole is a ZP school teacher from Wada block, Maharashtra. He has been teaching all subjects to students of Grades 1 to 5 for 18 years.

Rishikesh B S is a faculty member, School of Education, Azim Premji University.