Understanding the (Un)Affordability of Low-Fee Private Schools: A Case Study of Punjab,India Social Change

Abstract

Affordability of private schools has been a point of contention in the school choice debate and has intensified with the global upsurge of low-fee private schools. Drawing on the qualitative case study encompassing multi-stakeholder perspectives from the Indian Punjab, this article problematises the affordability of these schools by venturing into the complex realm of lived experiences of households choosing private schools. To analyse the dynamics of affordability, the study delves into parental understanding of schooling expenses, their strategies and negotiations to meet the financial challenges of choosing private schools, their offspring’s schooling experiences and the institutional perspective on parental struggle to afford the educational cost. The findings of the study re-establish that claim for affordability of private schools for poor needs to be taken with a ‘grain of salt’ as ‘accessibility should not be understood as affordability, and should not come at a cost of basic necessities of daily life’.