Pandemic Effect: More Than 1000 Schools In India Up For Sale
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
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By Linus Garg
First publised on 2020-09-23 13:03:09
About the Author
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
View all posts by this Author
The education and the hospitality sectors have suffered the biggest collateral damage due to the pandemic. As schools remain closed almost all over the world (they had opened in Europe and some other countries but the second coming of coronavirus has once again forced them to down shutters) children are suffering. While online classes are being conducted and it is being said that the future of education lies in delivery through the online medium, not all students are comfortable with it. In poorer countries, the infrastructure and questions of access and affordability puts students from weaker sections at a disadvantage. Hence, classroom study cannot be replaced and it is going to be the medium of education delivery, maybe combined with online classes in some cases.
But the continued uncertainty and the capping of fees by many states have made many school administrations rethink the business model. Modern schools need huge capital investment in infrastructure and then continuous revenue expenditure for maintenance, administration and providing staff salaries. Due to increasing competition, good teachers now command huge remuneration. Since fees are capped and parents are wary of sending their wards to school even if they reopen (a survey in Kolkata showed 90 percent of the parents were not ready to send their children to school even if they reopened now), some school administrations are becoming jittery. In these times of falling ROI, it has been reported that more than 1000 schools (from KG to Class 12) across India are up for sale. These are the schools which form the bulk of educational institutions in India.
But the situation is not likely to remain like this for long. It is expected that once an effective vaccine is out, is available freely and administered to a majority of the population, parents will start sending their children back to schools for regular classes. That means that it is just a question of somehow taking care of the online study and examinations (if they are allowed to be held) for the academic year 2020-21. But many school administrations are not in a position to tide over this period (more so because banks are wary of lending to them due to the uncertainty) or they do not see a future in the education sector (which is unfortunate, for post the pandemic, education is one sector which will grow by leaps and bounds). Fortunately, there will be many others who will grab the opportunity and will have, or arrange the resources, to buy out those who are willing to sell. Hence, a good number of schools are likely to reopen under new administrations from the next academic year or even before that.
Picture for illustration purpose, not of actual schools for sale
