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Approaches to engaging with private schools – Lessons from Nigeria

Wed, April 17, 3:15 to 4:45pm, Hyatt Regency, Floor: Bay (Level 1), Bayview B

Proposal

With 1,200 primary-age children for every available public primary school, Lagos state has the fewest number of public schools per capita in Nigeria. Lagos is one of the fastest growing megacities in the world, with its population due to increase two-fold by 2050 according to some predictions. Thus, pressure on meeting the need of educating the next generation can only be expected to intensify. Despite having the smallest number of public school services per capita, only 4% of primary-aged children in Lagos were out of school in 2011. High enrollment rates are made possible by private schools filling the gap in provision. In 2011, 60% of primary and secondary students in Lagos studied in more than 12,000 private schools.
Until recently, little was known about the quality of most of these private schools in Lagos. Were they better, for instance, than public alternatives that do not charge school fees? Which student, teacher and school characteristics are correlated with more learning? What are the opportunities and challenges to supporting better regulation, information flows, and financial and business services for small-scale private education providers? What are the merits and risks of direct subsidies to chains of for-profit education providers?
Over the past 5 years, Oxford Policy Management has carried out three in-depth research studies on private schools in Lagos. First, we conducted a mixed methods evaluation of the Developing Effective Education Markets in Nigeria (DEEPEN) programme in Lagos, the first to employ a market systems approach to education with funding from the Department for International Development (DFID). Second, we studied learning outcomes at the Primary 4 level in public and private schools, to further interrogate findings from DEEPEN baseline on (sustaining) learning outcomes. Third, to help inform the debate about public subsidies to for-profit education chains, we carried out a comparative study designed to describe the learning levels of students in Bridge (subsidised by DFID to enter the Lagos market), public, and private schools in Lagos. The study also identifies factors that may help account for differences in achievement. The presentation will summarise key lessons from this extensive research and provide recommendations for future engagement with private schools in Lagos and beyond.

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