India School Market Report

Market Overview:

The India school market size reached USD 54.2 Billion in 2024. Looking forward, IMARC Group expects the market to reach USD 135.6 Billion by 2033, exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 10.2% during 2025-2033.

India holds an important place in the global education industry with around 1.55 million K-12 schools and a student base of 218 million. The Indian school system can be segmented in various categories according to the level of education provided such as preschool, primary, middle, secondary and higher secondary. On the basis of ownership, it can be segmented into government, local bodies, private aided or unaided institution and on the basis of affiliation, it can be segmented into having Indian or international board affiliations. The School education in India has traditionally been characterised by overcrowding of classes and ineffective learning for students. However, as a result of infrastructure growth, increasing private and public investments and technological advancements, the school infrastructure in the country has witnessed significant growth with the mode of teaching also shifting to digital learning and smart class formats. This has assisted the students in improving their academic performance significantly and made teaching more effective.

The primary factor driving the Indian school market is the huge population in the country and a significant shortage of the number of schools to provide quality education. With a constantly growing population of around 1.37 billion, India represents the world’s second largest populated country after China. This represents a huge consumer base for the education sector. Another factor driving the Indian school market is the significant amount of monetary support received from the government as well as private Institutions. This has resulted in significant upgradation of the education infrastructure across both rural and urban regions. Additionally, reforms such as New Education Policy (NEP), foundation of Eklavya schools, etc, introduced by the government in order to promote girl education and provide equal opportunities for all has also driven the market positively. Moreover, technological advancements in the methods of teaching such as smart classes, digital libraries, augmented reality, etc, has also made learning more interactive for students, exhibiting immense scope for the Indian school market.

IMARC Group’s latest report provides a deep insight into the Indian school market covering all its essential aspects. This ranges from macro overview of the market to micro details of the industry performance, recent trends, key market drivers and challenges, SWOT analysis, Porter’s five forces analysis, value chain analysis, etc. This report is a must-read for entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, consultants, business strategists, and all those who have any kind of stake or are planning to foray into the Indian school market in any manner.

Key Market Segmentation:

IMARC Group provides an analysis of the key trends in each sub-segment of the India school market report, along with forecasts at the country and regional level from 2025-2033. Our report has categorized the market based on level of education, ownership, board of affiliation and fee structure.

Breakup by Level of Education:

• Primary
• Upper Primary
• Secondary
• Higher Secondary

At present, the primary level of education represents the largest segment on account of numerous programmes initiated by the Government of India for encouraging parents to send their children to primary schools. For instance, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) focuses on universalizing elementary education, bridging gender and social gaps in education and enhancing the learning levels of children.

Breakup by Ownership:

• Government
  • Primary
  • Upper Primary
  • Secondary
  • Higher Secondary
• Local Body
  • Primary
  • Upper Primary
  • Secondary
  • Higher Secondary
• Private Aided
  • Primary
  • Upper Primary
  • Secondary
  • Higher Secondary
• Private Unaided
  • Primary
  • Upper Primary
  • Secondary
  • Higher Secondary

Government-owned schools account for the majority of the total market share as they provide the infrastructure for the physical and mental development of students. Some of the top government schools in the country include Kendriya Vidyalaya, Navodaya Vidyalaya, Sainik School, Military School, Air Force School, and Naval School.

Breakup by Board of Affiliation:

• Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)
• Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE)
• State Government Boards
• Others (NIOS, IBs, etc.)

Schools operating under the state government boards dominated the market as they generally charge lesser fees than CBSE schools.

Breakup by Fee Structure:

• Low-Income
• Medium-Income
• High-Income

The low-income segment holds the largest market share in the market. The fee charged by the government educational institutes, which are operated by municipal committees, corporations or schools, is very nominal. As a result, people from the lower sections of society prefer to send their children to these schools.

Breakup by Region:

• North India
• East India
• West and Central India
• South India

Amongst these, North India enjoys the leading position in the market as governing agencies are undertaking initiatives to enhance the condition of public schools of the region.

Competitive Landscape:

The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of the key players.

Report Coverage: