Do Private Schools Improve Learning Outcomes? Evidence from Within-Household Comparisons in East Africa and South Asia

Abstract

A contentious debate in academic as well as policy circles relates to the growth in private schooling in Sub-Saharan Africa and other low-income regions. While proponents highlight the superior learning outcomes of pupils in private schools, others have argued that this is merely a reflection of the more advantaged family background of private school pupils, rather than an effect of private schooling itself. We contribute to this debate by providing estimates derived from household fixed-effect models, which control for any observed or unobserved differences between government and private school pupils at the household level. We argue that these can be interpreted as an upper bound estimate of the effect of private schooling on learning. We rely on large-scale, comparable household survey data from Kenya, Uganda, India and Pakistan, focusing on children enrolled in grade 2 to 6 of primary school. Private school attendance ranges from 12% in Kenya to 33% in rural India, with substantial withinhousehold variation. Preliminary findings show that controlling for family background almost eliminates the positive effect of private schooling in rural Pakistan and reduces it by around half in rural India, Kenya and Uganda, to about a quarter of a standard deviation. Subgroup analyses show that the effect of private schooling does not differ substantially between highand low-SES families. We discuss implications for educational policy.

Critical approaches to private education in the Global South

“…Studies by Gruijters et al. (2020), who surveyed households in India, Pakistan, Kenya, and Uganda, and by Simmons Zuilkowski et al. (2018), who registered parents' perceptions in Kenya, reveal similar findings.…”

“…Aside from the potential to learn English, which stands out as a marker of middle-and upper-class status, Edwards and Means, 2019, as part of a longterm mixed methods study in Zambia, interviewed parents who tied the cost of private schools to quality instruction, overall, a finding that was replicated in each of the 12 communities they visited. Studies by Gruijters et al (2020), who surveyed households in India, Pakistan, Kenya, and Uganda, and by Simmons Zuilkowski et al ( 2018), who registered parents' perceptions in Kenya, reveal similar findings. While parents were unable to observe the effects of private schools in comparison to government options, they nevertheless perceived the regular attendance of teachers in a positive light, especially when their children performed well on government exams and other tests.…”

“…Children in public systems lacking proper resources who see no viable path to success are also the most likely to abandon their education and turn to informal work (Hanushek et al., 2008; Kaffenberger et al., 2021). Private schools further reinforce longstanding gender disparities, as well, particularly in rural areas, where families prefer to invest in boys as future economic leaders, while sending girls to public schools, and only then, for a few years, before calling upon them to assume gendered care work in the home (Barcellos et al., 2014; Gruijters et al., 2020; Siddhu, 2011).…”

Teacher Beliefs about Disadvantaged Students in the global South: Theory and Evidence

“…Moreover, as the number of students increased, large numbers of new-often female-teachers entered the system, and the status of the teaching profession has declined in many countries (Sriprakash, 2012). An increasing number of teachers work in lowfee private schools, which have mushroomed in many low-and middle-income countries (Gruijters et al, 2021;Härmä, 2021). Private school teachers often receive much lower salaries and have lower levels of job security than government school teachers.…”

Fundamental Shift in Saudi Education System: Increasing Expenditure on Private Sector to Improve Learning

“…While encouraging public-private partnership initiatives could address the limitation of the Saudi education system, access to the financing this ability seems to be the basis of improving education through curriculum development and the training and recruitment of educators. Private school might not continuously produce impressive learning outcomes compared to government-affiliated schools (Gruijters et al, 2021). This claim does not point to a private schooling context as not associated with improved learning, but it is a clear indication that government's regulation is necessary.…”