New Delhi, July 13 -- Private equity investors are returning to India's school sector after a five-year lull, betting that brick-and-mortar K-12 education offers predictable cash flows, long-term demand and limited disruption from artificial intelligence.

The renewed interest marks a reversal from the pandemic years, when investors shifted capital into fast-growing edtech companies. As investors become more selective about technology investments, physical school chains are once again emerging as a resilient asset class, industry executives told Mint.

"Education is now an attractive asset class for financial investors for three reasons-high cash flows with negative working capital, very high customer life-time value because a student sta...