South Africa: More Parents Put Faith in Low-fee Private Schools

In a remote corner of rural South Africa, a private school in an abandoned office building strives to provide local parents with the type of schooling they demand for their children. The school has put up a sign setting out its core values: it detests laziness, absenteeism, late-coming, profane language, lying and 'chewing Chappies'.

Schools like this exist all over South Africa. They are low-fee private schools operating in poorer communities, largely hidden from the view of those seeking solutions to South Africa's education challenges. The Centre for Development and Enterprise spent two years assessing whether low-fee private schools exist in disadvantaged areas of South Africa.