[School Stories] Private Schools for the Poor

Hyderabad, India. On one side stands a new city lined with cutting-edge buildings, but cross just one river and India’s old reality of poverty is revealed. As befits a city that has taken shape since the 16th century, shacks cling together like barnacles, and the roads are dirty, narrow, and winding.

Professor Tooley of the United Kingdom, who was researching private schools around the world, came upon something entirely unexpected in this filthy, cramped, foul-smelling slum in India: private schools. Not private schools for the rich, but private schools attended by the children of the poor. Since he had believed that private schools were only for the wealthy, these old and shabby private schools came as a complete surprise. And there were not just one or two of them, but more than 330, accounting for 37% of the area’s total 918 schools.

But it would be a mistake to imagine that these private schools resemble the impressive institutions we usually think of, with grand buildings, dormitories, and athletic fields. Their buildings barely provide shelter from rain and sun, and the teachers do not even have teaching certificates. It would almost be more accurate to call them unlicensed private schools.

These low-income private schools exist because their tuition is cheap. Their monthly fees amount to just over 1,500 won, considerably lower than the 2,200 won average at formal private schools (Hyderabad’s minimum wage is 46,000 won per month). Schools of this kind for the poor exist not only in India. Similar unlicensed private schools are flourishing in Gansu Province in China, in the slums of Accra, the capital of Ghana, and in the vast slums of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.

One should not assume that the quality of education is low simply because these schools charge little, have poor facilities, and are run by uncertified teachers. According to Professor Tooley’s research, teachers at these private schools were found to be more enthusiastic about teaching than those at public schools.

The students also performed better. Tests of Hyderabad students’ math and English ability showed that students at unlicensed private schools significantly outperformed those at public schools.

Money alone does not guarantee good education. As the owner of one low-income private school in a Ghanaian slum put it: “Education is not about facilities. What matters is the passion of the teachers. We love the children and do our very best for them.” When students are able to choose their schools, schools and teachers begin to cultivate love for their students.

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Original title: [학교이야기] 빈민을 위한 사립학교

Author: Center for Free Enterprise (CFE)

Date: 2008-06-30

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=column&pn=18&idx=10716