Private and Public Schooling in Low-income Areas of Lagos State, Nigeria: A Census and Comparative Survey
Contributor Name:
Kavita
The presence of low-cost private schools serving low-income families in developing countries is widely acknowledged. Existing literature, however, suggests reservations about the private unregistered sector in education.
The authors present findings from a census and survey of schools in selected poor areas of Lagos State which explored the nature and extent and quality of private education. Study findings indicate potential of private schools in helping to meet the Millennium Development Goals in education. Study findings include:
- Over 70 percent of all schools were found to be private, with more unregistered private schools than government and registered private schools;
- 33 percent of school children were enrolled in private unregistered schools and 75 percent in private schools in general;
- Teaching activity was found to be considerably higher in private than government schools;
- Teacher absenteeism was lowest in private schools;
- Most school inputs showed either comparable levels of provision in government and private schools, or superiority in private schools.