A Dime a Day: The Possibilities and Limits of Private Schooling in Pakistan
Contributor Name:
Kavita Parab
Limits to the growth of affordable private schools in Pakistan
Pakistan received global attention due to widespread perception that the stress on its educational system is radicalizing more and more young people through madrassa-based religious education. The authors showcase the growing trend of self-owned, non-religious, for-profit private schools.
The dramatic rise of private schools in Pakistan can be attributed to the low fees that they charge. The authors discuss the sustainability of the low-cost model, limits to private school growth, focusing on conducive as well as restricting characteristics of villages. They state that:
- Villages with private schools show overall greater enrollment;
- Private schools hire moderately-educated, single local women as teachers at low salaries;
- Spread of private schools is constrained geographically to villages with a ready stock of educated women;
- Private schools will have to hire teachers from outside the village to grow to the secondary education level, dramatically increasing costs,
- Initial big investment to create batches of secondary-educated women could lead to self-sustaining growth of education through private schools.