South Africa: Why Even the Poor are Going Private?

Over the past two years, the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) has conducted ground-breaking research into a highly significant development in South African education, namely the growth of low-fee private schools catering for poorer sectors of the population. Private schooling for the poor is a global phenomenon which is gaining massive momentum in developing societies such as India, Pakistan, Chile, Ghana, and Colombia. However, its emergence in South Africa has been insufficiently recognized.

While still on a smaller scale than in other developing societies, this is an important development, with far-reaching implications. How big Is this sector? How fast is it growing? Can it provide meaningful numbers of learners in poorer communities with a good education? Can it help to relieve the enormous challenges facing the public schooling system? And should the public do more to recognize this sector and encourage its growth?