Schools have become brands, education has become the product, and students are the packaging.
Once upon a time, schools were just schools. A place where children went to learn, perform cool science experiments and maybe sometimes eat glue. Times were simpler. These institutions, which hold so much significance, lived up to what was expected of them. They weren’t so fancy, but they did what they were supposed to do: educate. Fast forward to today, and schools have become something else entirely.
Fancy uniforms, private clubs, special study notes. Think exclusive memberships and glossy brochures. Think…brands.
And so began the branding of education. It stopped being about finding the right school for your child and became all about getting them into The Best School. But here’s where it gets tricky: the definition of “best” quietly changed. Sure, on paper, it is about faculty, curriculum, and alumni. But let’s be honest: a huge campus in a posh neighbourhood, a strategically curated public image, and teachers with a British accent are what really seal the deal.
Marketing 101: Making a School a Brand
It took some time for schools to crack this one, but they have now. They really do know exactly how to appeal to their audience, aka parents who are just looking for the best for their children.
Like any other corporate firm, schools are doing quite the same thing, hiring a PR company and building a narrative.
Something like:
- “Empowering global citizens!”
- “Preparing tomorrow’s leaders” (excuse me, you run a Montessori!)
- “Holistic development with STEM integration
Know of any other empowering buzzwords? They are all going to be there.
But it does not stop there. They take it up a notch by adding a drone shot, panning across shiny campuses, huge football fields, and those ever-popular “state-of-the-art libraries,” and voilà, you’ve got academic aesthetic at its finest.
Gone are the days when PR teams only stepped in to manage scandals. Now, they are full-time storytellers. Every student’s win becomes an Instagram reel. Every graduation is a social media sensation. And every new building is labelled a “flagship campus,” like it were the next Apple Store.
Meanwhile, parents are subtly nudged to believe that if their child’s school does not have a swimming pool, a high-tech gym, and a campus that looks like it could host the MET Gala, then their kid is not getting an education.
Students or Customers?
If schools are now brands, then who exactly is the customer? You would think it is the students, but most are too young to make decisions for themselves. So, the real weight falls on their parents. In fact, the answer is simple: whoever pays the fees is who truly matters in today’s education system.
Education is no longer a collaboration between teachers and parents. Instead, schools operate more like corporate entities, with parent-teacher meetings often feeling like appraisal sessions, complete with surveys and progress reports. All the while making things complicated, but hey, as long as it comes with a fancy cup of coffee, all is good!
However, the pressure can get real for the teachers, too.
The teacher whose batch performs best is celebrated. Others, even if only slightly behind, risk losing their “customers”, or rather, their students. And if the rat race within schools isn’t cutthroat enough, coaching centres are more than ready to take over.
You have probably seen the ads:
- “City’s Best Teacher Teaching an Exclusive Batch”
- “Apply Before Deadline Closes!”
- “A Record of 1 Million A’s in CAIEs!”
The claims are endless and exhausting.
And the students? They are no longer just learners. They are the actual product: polished, packaged, and proudly paraded. You will find them on school websites, billboards, and TEDxYouth stages, talking about innovation, change, the future of the country, etc., while still learning how to do basic fractions. They have become walking testimonials for their schools, or should we say, for the brands.
So, Who Rules “Good Education?”
Let’s call a spade a spade. There are a handful of schools in Pakistan that own the education system. We all know the names, and we are all aware of the impact they can create.
KGS? More like the Harvard of Karachi.
LGS? Pretty much the same effect but in Lahore
Bay View, Roots, The Lyceum, Frobel’s? Just more boutique chains with big-brand names.
And while I am not here to downplay the level of education they offer, let us not pretend they became household names purely for academics. Annual world tours, NASA trips, designer uniforms, foreign teachers, and an air of exclusivity; those things matter too, and they have played a huge role in building the brand.
Smaller schools, that unfortunately cannot afford this shiny top layer, end up getting crushed under the brand recognition, despite how good their education is, how excellent their teachers are and how impressive their curriculum is. And thus no one talks about them.
What Does this Do to Our Heads?
Education has become performative, and like all other performances, this one has a psychological impact too.
From a very early age, students start believing that their worth is defined by the status of the school they attend. It gets worse if a friend or someone in the family is part of one of these elite schools. The comparison starts early and often leaves children questioning themselves. But it is not just the children who suffer; parents suffer equally, just differently.
They often risk their entire savings and mortgage their futures to put their children in the right schools, so that next time someone asks them where their child goes to school, they can say it proudly. Little do they realise that a child’s potential can shine no matter where they are.
But can we really blame them? Society today has turned school logos into status symbols. Intelligence, class, even a child’s future prospects, are all conveniently linked to the name stitched on their uniform. A kid in a “branded” blazer often gets treated very differently from one who is not. These distinctions seep in quietly, one person at a time. The more exclusive the school, the fancier the cars idling at pickup time.
Where Do We Go from Here?
A child easily spends over a decade in school, so where you send them truly matters. While the biggest names in Pakistan’s education system scene might be the go-to choice for many, it is worth asking yourself: Why are you choosing them?
Is it because their name sounds impressive over dinner? Because the campus looks like a five-star resort? Or simply because the exclusivity is too tempting to resist?
If that is the case, it might be time to pause and reflect, because your child deserves more than to be a flex at a dinner party.
