We The People: Quality Education – Free Or For A Fee?

This week Supreme Court upheld the Delhi High Court verdict that made it mandatory for private unaided schools, built on Delhi Development Authority land, to seek permission of the Delhi Government before hiking tuition fees. The AAP government has hailed this decision as historic and warned schools of strict action if they don't comply. On We The People, we ask: can the fee regulation solve the demand-supply gap? Will micromanaging school fees disincentivise educational entrepreneurs? While Right to Education is a fundamental right, in reality, India offers education of acceptable quality only to those who can pay for it. Multiple studies have highlighted miserable quality of education in our government schools. One in six teaching positions in government schools are vacant. So are private schools the answer? On the other hand, have private schools made education a business where the focus is only on profit books? We debate.