Private Schools for the Poor
Authors: James Tulloch, Aline Kramer, & Lisa Overbey
Endeva Working Paper 03, April 2014

Abstract: Low-cost private schools can help the poor bridge the basic education gap. Indeed, they already play a significant role in educating the children of millions of poor families throughout the developing world - charging the equivalent of just a few dollars a month in tuition fees. The bottom-up, demand-driven nature of low-cost private schools allows them to meet the specific needs of poor parents, many of whom choose to send their children to fee-paying private schools rather than have them attend free public schools. Low-cost private schools succeed where poor parents believe public schools frequently fail - meeting their demands for Affordable and Accessible education for their children, provided by teachers and administrators who are held Accountable for the quality of instruction and educational outcomes. This "Triple-A rating" that families are giving low-cost private schools suggests that they are an educational choice for low income parents that is here to stay. However, there is plenty of room for improvement...

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