Let us understand the sub-categories of  each one of them have:

Government run schools

Private schools

Government Schools

These are also known as public schools. They have minimal school fees as almost all the funding comes from the government. These schools are run by central government, state government, public sector undertakings or autonomous organizations fully financed by the government. Schools run by the government (central, state or local) come under this category. Public schools usually follow state guidelines to set their curriculum, assessment methodologies, class size etc. Administrative support, budgets and funding handled by the government.

Central Government Run Schools

Government schools can be further classified into various types.– Kendriya Vidyalayas, Novodaya Vidyalayas, Sainik Schools, Army Schools, Naval Schools & Air Force Schools. Some schools under this category are:

Defence Schools: These schools were established to impart education to children of defence personnel. They are located in the cantonment area.

• Air Force Schools: These are for children of air force personnel. These schools usually follow CBSE curriculum.
• Army Schools: These schools are for children of army/military personnel. These schools come directly under the control of ministry of defence.

National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS): This school caters to the needs of children who by any reason- physical, mental or economical could not complete or continue their education. The education provided is equivalent to other stream. The system gives flexibility compared to other types of formal education prevalent in India. There is no age limit, freedom of choice in subject and self-learning study material with an ease as per students capacity to appear for one or more paper at a time; are distinct features of NOS.

Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan: These schools provide education to children of transferable central government employees, including defense and para-military personnel who move to different cities and towns of India. There is uniform standard of education, quality of teaching is high with appropriate teacher student ratio and common program of education so that children of this mobile population gets quality education wherever they move in India also some countries outside India too.

Navodaya Vidyalayas: These schools are meant for children of rural areas. They are completely financed by the government and are managed by Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti. All these schools are co-educational. Education is usually free in these schools including the lodging, books, uniforms, mid day meals etc. A nominal fee of Rs. 200/- per month may be collected from the Children not belonging to SC/ST, girls and families with income below poverty line from IX to XII class.

State Government run schools- Various states of India run education set-up to cater to the needs of residents to bring the regional flavor of the local area. Each state has it’s own Board of Education to look after academic affairs of schools, including the curriculum, policies etc.

Local or Municipal Body run schools- Local body schools are run by municipal commmittes/corporation/ NAC/ Zila Parishads/ Panchayat Samities /Cantonment Board etc.

Private Schools

These schools are controlled by private bodies with little funding from the government or no funding at all from the government. These schools have their own management, policies and set of standards to follow. We are witnessing growth of private schools at rate of 4% annually yet they account for 40% share of student enrollment.

The private schools are of two types:

Private Aided Schools: Schools run by private management but funded largely by government’s ‘grant-in-aid’, are  referred to as private aided schools or Semi-Government Schools. These are the schools which are partly funded by government and partly by private organizations.

Private Unaided Schools: These schools are run by private management or individual and do not receive any grant or maintenance from any level of government.

Schools categorised as per affiliating body

As per the curriculum schools are divided into the following types:

·         Schools supporting CBSE, ICSE, IB or IGCSE curriculum

·         International schools supporting home country curriculum

·         Alternative learning schools supporting any philosophy like Montessori, Steiner etc

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