In the slums of Hyderabad, India, nestled among grim Third World realities, are establishments that usually call to mind American suburbs and rich kids: private schools. These private schools, often unnoticed or ignored by governments and non-profit groups, educate many poor children in developing countries.

During a 2004 lobby led by the Global Campaign for Education, Nelson Mandela said that he spoke on behalf of “millions of parents, teachers and children around the world … calling on governments to provide free, good quality, basic education for all the world’s children.”

As these people fight for public education, just as many advocates have slipped away, creating a phenomenal growth of private schools for the poor. Today they are to be found everywhere–Somaliland, Sierra Leona, tiny Himalayan villages, beside the Lagos lagoons in Nigeria and in between the cardboard huts of Africa’s largest slum, Kibera, Kenya.

Besides its very existence, this “underground education” holds many surprises. After extensive research, James Tooley, a professor of education policy at the University of Newcastle in England, discovered that for most poor areas in developing countries, the majority of children attend private schools rather than public. Most are run as businesses, not charities, and their school facilities and drinking water are generally superior to those found in public schools.

When it comes to teachers, private schools also seem to win. While private school teachers are paid less than their public school counterparts, it is public schools, not private, that suffer teacher shortages. In addition, teachers at private schools are absent less and more active in classrooms when they are present.

Not only do these private schools seem like a possible alternative for poor families, they prove to be a better choice academically and often financially. Poor private school children outperform poor public school children on math and reading tests. In terms of affordability, after governments charge small levies and parents pay the “hidden costs” of public schools, such as transportation and uniform expenses, the small tuition charged by private schools is the less expensive option. Also, many private schools charge “per day” and provide scholarships, making tuition payment possible.

Although many development experts continue to disregard the importance of private school growth in developing countries, in their current state, public schools alone will not be able to reach the 2015 goal of primary education for all children. As local public schools fail, private schools often become the only means of decent education.

While private schools in cardboard slums seem foreign to Americans, we can learn some lessons from the success of these private schools for the poor. Like the poor in developing countries, the American poor in crumbling public schools have another option besides desperately waiting for government salvation. As Tooley says, “self-help” through private education is a real possibility.

The issue of education, both at home and abroad, is complicated and will not be solved quickly. It is an oversimplification to label public schools “bad” and private schools “good.” Total privatization of the system is not the answer; public school is not a lost cause. However, it would be a mistake not to take notice of these tiny, independent schools who have stepped up while public schools struggle to clean up their acts.


Katie Vick is a junior in the College of Arts & Science.