A new report from the Global Campaign for Education casts serious doubt on the ability of low-fee private schools to achieve quality education for all. The new report on privatization in education that was dubbed ‘private profit, public loss’ was previewed today at a press conference in Nairobi.
The low-fee private schools have been on the rise with schools such as Bridge International being the most widely spread in the country. The Global Campaign for Education (GCE) mentions the main advocates for the low-fee program as the multinational publishing giant Pearson PLC, billionaires Bill Gates and Mack Zuckerberg, the World Bank Group and the UK’s Department for International Development.
According to the report, an estimated 121 million children are out of school and the rise in private school enrollment has risen by 5%.
The initial argument made in favour of Low-Fee Private Schools (LFPS) was that they offer better quality education, are affordable, expand access, are more efficient and innovative and that they respond to parental demands, yet that’s not the case.
Quality education should foster creativity and knowledge but very few LFPS address this full definition. Much of the evidence relies heavily on test scores and proxy for quality education.
Affordability was also mentioned as another major challenge of LFPS. The fees charged at the schools are not affordable even to the poorest families. Even for those who are able to afford it, there are serious sacrifices to be made as fees reduce disposable income to spend on essentials.
The burden of fees means that the girl child is more likely to be left out when it comes to accessing education as most parents prefer educating the male child over the girl child.
The report also indicates that private schools have increased public expenditure on private provision as they are deemed to be more efficient and innovative and as a result technology has been used to replace quality teachers.
Education is one of the strongest tools a government has to reduce inequality, lifting up the poorest citizens and levelling the playing field. As a result, the government was urged to increase funding in public schools so as to see the level of education go up. According to Anjela Tanjela, the head of GCE, “Unequal education leads to social segregation.”
The same views were also echoed by Janet Muthoni of Elimu Yetu Kenya, “Unveil the hidden quality of public schools in order to encourage parents to take their children to private schools,” she said.