Private Schools for the Poor
Contributor Name:
Kavita
Quality of private schools for the poor
In general, it is assumed that private schools serve the privileged, while the poor need government assistance for education.
The author questions this assumption and states that in developing countries such as India, China and Sub-Saharan Africa, there is a sizable private school sector serving the poor. He conducted extensive research to study the low-fee private school phenomenon. Findings include:
- In Hyderabad, India, the team found 918 schools of which only 35 percent were government-run;
- In Ga, Ghana, the team found 799 schools of which 25 percent were government-run;
- Some of the poorest schools in Ghana allowed daily fees, where children could attend school on days their parents could afford to send them;
- In Gansu, China, the research team found 696 private schools, with 593 schools serving 61,000 children in most remote villages;
- Unannounced school visits indicated that teaching in private schools was superior in most cases;
- Student achievement in English and Math were found to be superior in private schools.