Daybreak India's elite schools are getting pickleball courts. Their teachers are getting pay cuts
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Feb 26, 2026 Mutasim Khan, a reporter who digs into PE deal mechanics in education, and Valli Vikram, an investigative reporter on PE’s impact inside schools, unpack private equity’s playbook. They discuss flashy campus upgrades like pickleball courts alongside cuts to teacher pay and training. They explain property-operating splits, related-party rent extraction, and how short investment horizons reshape elite Indian schools.
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Student Teaching Herself When Teachers Vanish
- An 11th grader at Glendale taught herself economics via YouTube because her school lacked a consistent teacher during a critical year.
- Valli Vikram found her after talking to parents at an education conference who complained about falling standards at PE-run schools.
Why Private Equity Sees Schools As Safe Bets
- Private equity views schools as low-risk, recession-resistant assets with steady cash flows and real-estate upside.
- Mutasim Khan explains returns come from property appreciation and ancillary vendor monopolies, not typical profit distributions due to not-for-profit rules.
Flashy Upgrades Mask Classroom Degradation
- PE operators prioritize visible upgrades like pickleball courts and tablets to attract affluent parents while simultaneously cutting costs in less-visible areas.
- Valli Vikram describes classrooms with multiple teacher changes in a term after salary freezes and event cancellations.