As for the public/private debate, at least for schools, I can some points. Indian school system is very different from the US ones. Majority of the schools, both public and private follow curriculum set by either two central boards (CBSE and CISCE) or the individual state boards. In either case, the level of education based on the curriculum is not very different between public and private schools. So many students are now enrolled in private schools solely because the public schools have highly inefficient management with teachers hardly qualified enough to teach to them not turning up at all.

The case is entirely opposite in higher education. People swear by public institutes and universities and private institutes (barring a few big ones) are looked down upon because they have historically charged more for a lesser education compared to the highly subsidized and excellently staffed public universities.