PRIVATE VERSUS GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS
Schools are the temples of knowledge and a place that helps in the holistic development of the individual. Education is the backbone of our nation and schools are the platform that strengthen the education sector and thus developing this sector is always a part of great consideration by the government. The primary focus is on the development of the education sector at the school level. After this, the focus shifts towards the development of schools be it government or private. For some students, the choice of school does not matter as they are flexible in learning at any environment. But majority of students do a thorough research on both the schools and then decide which one to choose. Although this choice of choosing either government or private school is highly debatable, but through many researches it was found that there lies a huge difference between the two.
What are Government schools?
Government school is a type of school which is funded and controlled by the local, state and national government. Education in government schools is offered and mandated to all children without charge. Since these schools are controlled by government, they are wholly or partly funded by taxation. The curriculum is designed at the state and national level and all government schools follow the same curriculum. Admission is determined by the geographical location of the student.
What are Private Schools?
Private school is a type of school which is neither funded nor managed by the government. They are controlled and administered by the private body and wholly or partly funded by the student’s tuition fee, which is comparatively higher than government school. Private schools follow the same curriculum as designed by the government but the method of delivery is administered by the school board. The schools decide the criteria for admission of students and recruitment of teachers.
Which is better?
The debate between the comparison of government and private schools is never ending. Every school has its special significance which caters to needs of the children. Both types of schools nurture and produce the individual which contribute to the development of the nation.
There are certain factors which help us to determine which school is suitable and caters to our needs:
Infrastructure
The infrastructure in Government schools is ill-equipped as compared to Private schools. Because of poor infrastructure, government schools fail to provide the atmosphere for learning and result in low physical and mental development of the student. Infrastructure not only includes having tall and well-constructed buildings or classrooms. It also includes various infrastructural facilities like separate clean and hygienic washrooms for boys and girls, clean drinking water, playground for extra-curricular and sports activities, well equipped labs for children to foster experiential learning. Most of the government schools lack such facilities whereas these are well found in private schools.
Quality of Education
Providing good quality education is the topmost goal of every parent. It helps in moving the child towards his/her goals and a path to achieve those goals which results in overall development of the child. The mode of education in most of the government schools is Hindi whereas private schools inculcate the use of English in students. Most of the private schools offer foreign languages to students which gives them global opportunities in the future whereas government schools only focus on regional languages, thus limiting their expose.
Learning Style
Having a good and well drafted learning style is important in a teaching-learning process. Teachers in government schools only focus on the traditional method of teaching, that is, lecture method whereas the focus of teaching shifts towards highly technological and innovative way in private schools. Teachers in private schools use various teaching learning resources to develop their cognitive, psychomotor and affective domain. Their main focus is on experiential learning which makes the teaching learning process interesting and effective.
Also, adequate attention is given to every student in private schools which makes them disciplined, punctual and obedient. Such attention lacks in government schools.
Extra-curricular Activities
Education is not only limited to learning from textbooks. It also involves interacting with the surrounding environment. Private schools bring more ideas related to extra-curricular activities and social activities to involve students in social environment and enhance their social interaction. Government schools do not focus on developing their social skills rather the education is simply achieved through textbooks.
Facilities
Having good facilities in schools is the topmost thing that parents want for their children. Government schools often lack some of the basic facilities like electricity in classrooms, clean drinking water, clean and hygienic washrooms for boys and girls, proper benches for students, labs and lab equipments, playground, etc. whereas private schools put a great emphasis on these facilities in order to ensure good quality education. Having a good atmosphere for studying makes the learning efficient.
Academic opportunities
The curriculum designed in both the private and government schools is same and both the schools are affiliated to CBSE or ICSE board. Curriculum followed in government schools focuses on basic education whereas curriculum followed in private schools focuses on the holistic development of the child. In private schools, teaching is not limited to bookish knowledge rather they provide external opportunities for students like seminars, workshops, educational trips, competitions, etc. Such kind of exposure is not given to the students of government schools.
Quality of Teacher
Teachers in government schools are highly qualified as compared to teachers in private schools. Despite this, teachers in government schools fail to show better results than private schools. The responsible factor for this is the dedication of teachers towards their role and responsibility. It is seen that teachers in government schools perform their household chores whereas teachers in private schools focus on different teaching strategies and continuous evaluation of the student.
Fee Structure
Private schools try to provide excellent facilities to students for their overall development and so they charge good amount as tuition fee from them. They sustain on student’s fee for school maintenance and other facilities. This makes people from low-income groups difficult to spend on their child’s education. Whereas education in government schools is free up to class 8 so that people from low income groups can educate their children.
Safety and Security
Safety is the major factor which decides the future of a child. Private schools provide high class security to all the employees as well as to students. Whereas lack of security is the major problem faced by students in government schools.
Thus, choice of a good school results in holistic development of the child and prepares them for building and growing the nation.
