Understanding the Affordable Private School Market in India - Program to Improve Private Early Education (PIPE) - Glossary of terms

Sep 11, 2026

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This document defines key terms used in research on India’s Affordable Private Schools (APSs) and the Program to Improve Private Early Education (PIPE). It explains the fee range and grade coverage of APSs, outlines Early Childhood Education (ECE) definitions, and clarifies concepts such as English-medium education, activity based learning, and structured markers for assessing learning recall versus conceptual understanding. It also introduces PIPE partners, teacher roles, and measurement tools like STARS.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatPDF

Pages67

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Glossary of terms

Affordable Private Schools (APSs)

Early Childhood Education (ECE)

Activity based learning (ABL) and PIPE solutions

PIPE partners and teacher roles

Measurement tools and school types

Contents

Scope and objectives of PIPE research on the APS market in India

APS market in India

The APS business

Motivations of APS owner

Buying behavior of APS owner

ECE provision and pedagogy in an APS

Introduction to PIPE and FSG Inclusive Markets

Appendix

[www.fsg.org/pipe](www.fsg.org/pipe) [pipe@fsg.org](pipe@fsg.org) Understanding the Affordable Private School Market in India PROGRAM TO IMPROVE PRIVATE EARLY EDUCATION (PIPE) Glossary of terms (1/2) ⚫ Affordable Private Schools (APSs): Schools that charge fees up to INR 28,500 per annum, and typically provide education up to grade 10 ⚫ Early Childhood Education (ECE): The formal education a child receives between the ages two through five. Typically early childhood is considered to range from birth to age six, this narrower definition has been chosen to reflect the research’s interest in the years when formal pre-primary education is typically provided in India ⚫ English-medium education: Education where the language of instruction is English ⚫ Markers: Indicators or signs that parents use to assess whether their child is learning – Markers to test recall: Questions used by parents to assess their children for content memorized using rote methods (e.g. , asking the child to recite numbers) – Markers to test concepts: Questions used by parents to assess their children’s conceptual understanding of any topic (e.g. , asking the child to count items) ⚫ Preschooling/ Pre-primary classes: All formal educational classes prior to first grade ⚫ Program to Improve Private Early Education (PIPE): Program that aims to replace rote with activity based learning in all 300,000 APSs in India ⚫ Activity based learning (ABL): Learning through structured play-based activities, games, and experiences that provide developmental benefits across the cognitive, physical, and socio-emotional domains ⚫ ABL solution provider: Private companies providing ABL solutions including curriculum materials, teacher training and continuous support for proper implementation of the program ⚫ Partner: Private companies that have partnered with PIPE and provide high-quality ABL solutions to APSs ⚫ Partner solutions: Play/ activity based programs including curriculum materials and continuous support for proper implementation of the program, provided by PIPE partners Glossary of terms (2/2) ⚫ PIPE teachers: Teachers teaching in APSs served by PIPE partners ⚫ STARS: Scoring Tool for Assessing Readiness at School to assess the impact of ABL in APSs ⚫ PIPE APSs: APSs using PIPE partner solutions ⚫ Control APSs: APSs using no external interventions ⚫ Full curriculum PIPE APSs: PIPE APSs using full school curriculum ⚫ Single subject PIPE APSs: PIPE APSs using single subject curriculum ⚫ 1 year PIPE APSs: APSs with partner solutions for 1 year ⚫ 2 year PIPE APSs: APSs with partner solutions for 2 years ⚫ 3 year PIPE APSs: APSs with partner solutions for 3 year ⚫ 4 year PIPE APSs: APSs with partner solutions for 4 years Contents | 1 | Scope and objectives of PIPE research on the APS market in India | | --- | --- | | 2 | APS market in India | | 3 | TheAPS business | | 4 | Motivations ofAPS owner | | 5 | Buying behavior of APS owner | | 6 | ECE provision and pedagogy in anAPS | | 7 | Introduction to PIPE and FSG Inclusive Markets | | 8 | Appendix | 5 key objectives of the research 1 Understand the Indian APS market 2 Understand APS owners’ buying process for ‘non-traditional’ purchases i.e. , purchases not uniformly made across schools, especially those linked to improvements in quality 1 3 Assess how APS owners view the Early Childhood Education (ECE) business 4 Understand how the ECE section of an APS functions 5 Identify the top challenges faced by APSs, and the approach APS owners take to address these challenges 1. Improvement in quality is defined as the owner’s perception of a positive change in any aspect related to the school © FSG | 5 Findings are based on interviews with a cross-section of stakeholders, observations at APSs, and secondary research Primary research Secondary research ⚫ Structured interviews at 28 schools across 3 cities (Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad) – 28 APS owners

FAQs

What is an Affordable Private School (APS) in this document?

An APS charges fees up to INR 28,500 per annum and typically provides education up to grade 10.

How does the document define Early Childhood Education (ECE)?

ECE refers to formal education received between ages two through five, using a narrowed definition aligned with India’s typical pre-primary provision years.

What is activity based learning (ABL) and how is it implemented through PIPE partners?

ABL is learning through structured play-based activities and experiences supporting cognitive, physical, and socio-emotional development. PIPE partners provide ABL solutions such as curriculum materials, teacher training, and continuous support for proper implementation.

Sep 11, 2026

Uploaded by Melati