I have been researching low-fee private schooling for over a decade. In fact, the term, ‘low-fee private schooling’ did not exist until I coined it. In 2001, when I began researching the sector, there were almost no published studies in the scholarly literature. People spoke of ‘budget schools’, ‘private schools for the poor’, or ‘teaching […]

Introduction Over the last decade or more there has been a considerable increase in ‘low-fee’ or ‘low cost’ private schooling in many developing countries. Countries as diverse as India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana, Mongolia, China and Vietnam have all seen a dramatic growth in private schools aimed at some of the poorest families these countries. […]

In recent years there has been growing interest from donors in supporting low cost private schools in low income countries as part of global efforts to achieve progress on education. Indeed there is growing support from donors like the World Bank and DFID despite the lack of evidence that this is an effective use of […]

From attitudes and tradition to poverty and lack of infrastructure, communities are often seen as the biggest barrier to girls’ education. But those same communities can act as the primary agents of change in addressing these barriers, and ultimately, improve education outcomes for out-of-school girls.  This presentation highlighted the challenges of working in communities where […]