What does it take to open a private school in Delhi?

#ResearchingReality

Nearly 40% of students in India are enrolled in private schools. This enrollment rate has been rising over the years. However, the supply of private schools has not been increasing commensurately. To understand why more high-quality affordable schools do not rise in India, this summer as part of our Researching Reality programme, we documented the regulatory requirements of the Directorate of Education that must be met to open an unaided non-minority private school in Delhi.

We find that schools have to obtain three certifications from the Directorate of Education: the Essentiality Certificate, approval for the Scheme of Management and the Certificate of Recognition. The process involves over 40 officers and requires the submission of 125 documents.

Although legislation prescribes 4 months for processing the application for the Certificate of Recognition, it can take almost 5 years for approval. Many documents obtained from other Departments such as Water Test Report and Fire Safety Certificate expire during this delay. These findings not only raise larger questions about the processual efficiency but also the need for licensing. 

To learn more, find our research here: 

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