Private schools, inclusion and learning: evidence from Lagos, Nigeria

The growing reality of education provision by private schools in developing countries raises fundamental questions on their effects on learning outcomes, access, and equity. Does the private sector serve both rich and poor?... [ view full abstract ]

The growing reality of education provision by private schools in developing countries raises fundamental questions on their effects on learning outcomes, access, and equity. Does the private sector serve both rich and poor? Does it offer better learning outcomes once students’ backgrounds have been taken into account? What makes private schools better or worse than the public schools in the same neighbourhoods?

We present in-depth evidence on literacy and numeracy skill acquisition among private and public school pupils in Africa’s largest city, Lagos. Around 70% of primary school enrolments in Lagos are in private schools, and both the number of private schools and the proportion of children they serve are growing. We present mixed-methods analysis of findings from two new surveys and a qualitative study. The first survey is a new linked survey of 320 schools and 1250 households, conducted for a DFID-funded project, Developing Effective Private Education Nigeria (DEEPEN). The second is a representative survey of 103 private and 81 public schools in Lagos.

Controlling for students’ backgrounds, students in private schools appear to have better English literacy and numeracy outcomes in primary grade 2, and better English literacy outcomes in grade 4. Public schools have better numeracy outcomes in grade 4. We find no evidence of gender differences in private school attendance and learning. While Lagos private schools cater for boys and girls from across the socioeconomic spectrum, we observe less learning in private schools with a high proportion of pupils from poor households. In the context of Lagos – with large areas that remain under-served by the public primary school system – private schools appear to be increasingly important in ensuring that students from poor households have access to some form of education, but with relatively muted effects on learning outcomes.