“Had they been covered, the (proportion of) private enrolment would have been even less (because these families are likely to be poorer).”Banerji attributed the trend mainly to Covid hitting incomes. The rise was driven by a mushrooming of budget private schools and an improving economy changing lifestyles and fanning parental aspirations for their children. It’s this segment that mostly sent its children to budget private schools, many of which have closed down in the past two years, he added. Some 79 per cent private school students have a smartphone at home, compared with 63.7 per cent of their government school peers. The overall rise in government school enrolment has been driven by states such as Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.

Source: The Telegraph November 18, 2021 09:24 UTC