UNDERSTANDING THE MARKETING STRATEGIES OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN A PROVINCIAL TOWN IN RAJASTHAN, INDIA

Abstract

This paper, based on an empirical study of private schools (n=35) and families (n=105) in select localities (n=3), explores how diversified school market(s) operate in Alwar city in Rajasthan in India. It observes that private schools execute a range of strategies, both ethical and unethical, to influence parents and attract admissions. School strategies range from the most modern methods such as advertising through local television channels, WhatsApp, Facebook, roadside billboards, wall-paintings, door-to-door visits, etc., to the invoking of primordial affiliations such as kinship ties, caste, and religious identities to reach out to parents. Schools use promises like offering better English-medium education, ensuring the safety and security of children, strict discipline, and providing coaching to prepare students for admission to prominent government schools and the engineering and medical institutes of the country as marketing strategies to help them flourish in a competitive education market.