With the new Right to Education Act (RTE) comes an exciting opportunity to change the way private unaided schools are regulated and gain recognition in India. The role of the private unaided sector in India is crucial for achieving “Education for All”. The RTE Act provides an opportunity for state governments to explore ways in which to assure even better quality from private unaided schools.
This paper outlines an alternative strategy for the regulation of private unaided schools, allowing them to continue to make a significant contribution to “Education for All”. The paper is set out as follows. First, the research findings concerning private unaided unrecognised schools in India are reviewed. Secondly, the recognition norms as set out in the RTE and the ‘Model Rules Under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act’ 2009 are specified. And finally alternative systems of regulation from both developing and developed countries are considered in order to provide examples of forms of regulation that could now be adopted and adapted for the private school’s market in India.
