An "educational revolution is under way" in India, writes the New York Times, as millions of low-income parents dig deep to furnish private schooling for their children, a luxury once reserved for the well-to-do. Dissatisfaction with deteriorating public schools is driving the creation of hundreds of low-cost private schools, some charging just a few dollars a month in tuition-still a significant cost in a nation where per capita income is around $500 per year. The shift to private education is so profound that one government economist predicts that," within 10 to 15 years, government schools will be almost wiped out." James Tooley, a British researcher quoted in the Times, has been looking into these schools and others in Third World countries for several years (see http://www.edexcellence.net/gadfly/issue.cfm?issue=4#42). We look forward to the findings of his massive longitudinal study of private schooling, now underway in a dozen countries.
"India's poor bet precious sums on private schools," by Amy Waldman, New York Times, November 15, 2003