Consider the paradox of America and India. In today’s world of industrial interconnectivity, outsourcing, and global community, the two are profoundly intertwined. Now consider the polarity of the educational destinies for the youth of each nation. Of course, there are exceptions to both. There are Indian preparatory schools, as there are American preparatory schools, where children awake to a world of ironed linen and crisp ties, the fruits of life encased in a financial hammock.

In America, should a child not have chosen wealthy parents to be born into but still have educational motivation, he or she may excel in one of the thousands of high-quality, public school systems. On the contrary, if poor Indian parents want to send their child to school, they have the option of choosing an abysmal government education taught in a regional language, or a low-cost, private education plagued with a poor infrastructure, unqualified teachers, and an unbalanced quality of schooling.

Government Education

In spite of the poor quality of education offered by these institutions, 75% of Indian children attend government schools. A Poverty-Action study¹ in Mumbai run by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology showed that 25% of all students in Classes III and IV could not recognize letters, while 35% of students could not identify basic numbers.

A World Bank report² stated that, on any given day, 25% of government school teachers are absent from their classes, and only 50% of those present are actually engaged in teaching. As a result, in recent years there has been a mass-exodus to private schools that promise accountability and, more importantly, an English-based education more effective in helping children succeed in a booming Indian economy.

Private Education

Research indicates that private schools for the poor provide a better quality of education than government-funded schools. However, they face the challenges of a regulated education sector in which government approvals are extremely difficult to attain.

Private entrepreneurs, or “edupreneurs”, are denied finance by banks. Those serving low-income communities are unable to charge high fees and are therefore forced to recruit unqualified, inexperienced teachers incapable of delivering a high quality of education. As a result, the promise of a decent education remains unfulfilled both by the public and the private sectors.

What, then, is the solution for the parents of low-income communities who want their children to receive a suitable education at an affordable price?

Solution: School-in-a-Box Private Schools for the Poor

The Spark Group, a for-profit education startup founded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni, is creating School-in-a-Box (SIAB), a chain of branded-schools that will deliver a standardized quality of education at an affordable rate of three dollars per child, per month. SIAB facilities will be owned and operated by local private edupreneurs instructed by Spark with expert guidance at every stage, including feasibility studies, operational processes, staff recruitment, educational content, curriculum design, performance assessment, furniture, and teaching materials.

Spark is adopting two approaches to deliver its services: a build, operate and transfer model for inexperienced edupreneurs, and a franchise model for seasoned edupreneurs looking to buy a brand and its associated services.

It’s not all schooling and sunshine, however, as SIAB edupreneurs face four main challenges. The first of which is the Indian regulated education sector, which forbids educational institutions from generating profits. This obstacle, combined with a lack of guaranteed subsidized financial support, could pose a constant potential threat to SIAB endeavors. Tied in to financial constraints is the potential absence of good quality teachers, miring the entire purpose of Spark schooling facilities. These factors, combined with inadequate resources in comparison to the scale of the Indian educational playing field, may place the SIAB system inherently at odds with its original purpose.

Innovation in Action

In response to these dilemmas, Spark’s innovative business model addresses the above challenges through mechanisms of regulation, financing, teaching, and scale. The unity of all Spark institutions under the central Indian government ensures quick state approval. To secure financial security, Spark has partnered with India’s largest private bank, as well as several other equity investors, to provide debt-financing to emerging edupreneurs. A centralized training program will provide SIAB teachers with constant guidance and support, as well as exposure to an attractive career path with many opportunities in the educational sector. Furthermore, Spark will employ a franchise-model projecting the addition of 10,000 schools in the next 10 years.

Several aggregate entrepreneurial principles will be used to bring the aforementioned strategies into action, including investment security, service support, streamlined implementation, a multi-faceted institutional identity, economic feasibility, and an efficient and effective institutional model with which to follow.

A philosophy of “grassroots private enterprise” aims to maximize quality and economic outcomes by investing in the power of local, “grassroots” entrepreneurship. Local entrepreneurs are expected to deliver a decent quality of education if armed with adequate inputs.

Standardized support services, ranging from regulatory guidance to management support, will set a smooth system of industrial uniformity. In addition, Spark plans to implement a goal of “ink on the contract” to “chalk on the board” in 100 days, placing strict emphasis on the efficiency of the SIAB design. This, combined with usage of economies of scale, will provide Spark with an expansion strategy aggressive enough to place an SIAB institution in every Indian state within five years’ time.

Adapted for local needs, yet integrated under one brand, the School-in-a-Box institutions will be instantly recognized on a multi-level basis. The poor will recognize them for their prestige, phenomenal accessibility and educational opportunity, as will the government of India for their tremendous impact on the caliber of national education. SIAB is a school-chain whose processes and services are based on a combination of the best practices from other educational sectors around the world.

Network Enterprise

Recognizing the futility in trying to reinvent the wheel, Spark is partnering with global thought leaders to both leverage their credibility and tap into their knowledge base. School-in-a-Box is built on the “network enterprise” principle; rather than building in-house capacity, Spark prefers to catalyze the growth of existing suppliers of education products who bring together a deep understanding of the sector, but lack the resources or formal business skills to scale.

Spark is creating a central portal capable of connecting the circuits between producers and consumers of education material. This philosophy of bringing together all stakeholders in the spirit of collaboration is fundamental to the formulation of School-in-a-Box, and pivotal to its success.

Education for the Masses

School-in-a-Box will empower the poor through greater educational choice and unparalleled accessibility. By providing high quality, relevant education, it will equip students with the skills required to compete in the global economy. Education is the widely-acknowledged first step to development and poverty alleviation. Through continuing efforts with the School-in-a-Box collaboration, Spark is harnessing the power of private enterprise to deliver a high quality, affordable education to the masses, fueling a successful environment of economic practicality and educational possibility.

Student editor: Justin Wheeler is an undergraduate at Cornell University and a member of the Class of 2011. Aside from editing articles for the Johnson School of Management's Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise, Justin studies Communication and Applied Economics and Management. Justin hopes to pursue a career in the media or advertising worlds.

References

1. Remedying Education: Evidence from Two Randomized Experiments in India
   Abhijit Banerjee, Shawn Cole, Esther Duflo, Leigh Linden, October, 2006
2. Chaudhury, Nazmul, Jeffrey S. Hammer, Michael Kremer, Karthik Muralidharan, and F. Halsey Rogers, "Missing in Action: Teacher and Health Worker Absence in Developing Countries". Journal of Economic Perspectives