Public vs Private Schools

Private vs Public schools 

It is said that a school is a second home for a child. It is where children spend most of their time. Here they learn, interact, teach and also experience some of the most important lessons of their lives. The learnings can be both academic as well as practical learning. These learnings eventually shape their professional as well as private lives which will contribute to society. School is one of the most important institutions in building the nation too. The students at schools are taught information which can be assimilated in their daily lives and in society. For its importance, many people from different backgrounds have their own perspective on whether ‘education should be privatized or not.’

I have had an opportunity to experience both public as well as private schools. Private schools and public schools are the major education systems in Nepal. In public schools, the monetary resources and other materialistic resources are usually provided by the government. Hence, the fee charged at public school is less compared to private school because they are funded by the government.
On the other hand, private schools have the complete upper hand over the free structure. Private schools usually rely on their student’s fees and external donations. This has led the private school to be more expensive and inaccessible for the economically challenged family. Therefore, critics of private school argue that private school has been used as a platform to conduct business and gain profit rather than provide quality service. However, parents are still more inclined towards choosing private schools for their children, I believe that even my own parents would choose private school over public school. Though the fee might be on the high end at private schools, their quality service is what attracts their customers.
The facilities could be better at public schools as they sustain regular funds by the government, however, due to their failure of utilizing the available resources as well as limited knowledge of using such resources plays a great role in failing to provide standard education.

Class size in the above-mentioned systems is also another important aspect to look into. I have seen that in public school, the class size is larger compared to private schools.  The teacher-student ratio in the classroom can have an adverse effect on the teaching method as well.
The teacher might be exhausted due to a large number of students or are unable to give the required attention to the individual students. This will consequently influence the overall learning of the students. Private schools can utilize the funds that are available at their disposal from their high-budget fees in hiring experienced as well as trained teachers. Likewise in public schools, according to Grossberg in her article 5 major differences between public and private school, she states ‘public school teachers always need to be certified, private school teachers often don’t need formal certification.’
Nevertheless, even such certified and experienced teachers sometimes show reluctance in focusing on the comprehensive learning of the students. Limited monitoring and evaluation systems in such schools have induced such attitudes among teachers.

Even for their worthy service, private schools are better than public schools to a certain extent, however, there are rooms for improvement. For instance, private school has been praised for their quality service however, the students in private schools are also prone to rote learning.
For me because of the competitive environment which I was in at school. I had to achieve a very high percentage, hence, I would rote learn the context whether I understood the context or not. Also, higher grade attainment in private school may be prevalent, but they limit themselves when it comes to creativity.

It should not be an issue as to where a student should be sent to learn - Public or Private as long as the quality remains. As widely known, ‘Today’s children are tomorrow’s future.’ We should ensure we are giving the correct guidelines to these children who will once build our nation.