LOW-FEE PRIVATE SCHOOLS International experience and South African realities

In South Africa, as in other developing countries, low-fee private schools are growing. CDE estimates that

those charging fees below R12,000 a year are educating a quarter of a million children in disadvantaged

communities. The debate about their role in the education reform South Africa seeks is thick with ideology

and thin on facts. What do we know about low-fee schools here? What can we learn from other countries?

Can we find the right combination of public and private provision to ensure that more and more young

South Africans have access to a good education as soon as possible?

May 2015

Cover: Vela School, Mthatha, Eastern Cape

The Centre for Development and Enterprise, South Africas leading development think tank, focuses on vital

national development issues and their relationship to economic growth and democratic consolidation.

Through examining South African realities and international experience, CDE formulates practical policy

proposals for addressing major social and economic challenges. It has a special interest in the role of business

and markets in development.

Published in May 2015 by The Centre for Development and Enterprise

5 Eton Road, Parktown, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa

P O Box 1936, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa

Tel +27 11 482 5140 Fax +27 11 482 5089 info@cde.org.za www.cde.org.za

The Centre for Development and Enterprise

All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced, stored, or transmitted without the

express permission of the publisher. It may be quoted, and short extracts used, provided the

source is fully acknowledged.

ISBN: 978-1-920653-20-0

Series editor: Ann Bernstein, Executive Director of CDE

This report is based on the presentations by Sir Michael Barber, Chief Education Advisor to Pearson PLC, and Dr

Jane Hofmeyr, CDE's Education Policy and Advocacy Director. The report was written by Dr Kim Draper, CDE's

Education Research Manager, and Dr Jane Hofmeyr.

The full report is available on CDE's website www.cde.org.za.

Centre for Development and Enterprise

Contents

Introduction 1

CDES Perspective on Education Reform 2

Low-Fee Private Schools: International Experience 3

Low-Fee Independent Schools in South Africa: Facts, Trends and Issues 10

Concluding Remarks 18

Endnotes 19

Appendix A: CDES Research on Low-Fee Independent Schools 23

Appendix B: Growth of Independent Schools in Three Provinces 24

Appendix C: Chains of Independent Schools 26

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AcronymsALTs Advanced Learning Technologies

ANAs Annual National Assessments

APEX Academy for Professional Excellence

ASER Annual Status of Education Report

BRAC (formerly) Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee

CAMPAC Campus and Property Management Company (Pty) Ltd

CDE Centre for Development and Enterprise

CER Cornerstone Economic Research

DBE Department of Basic Education

GDE Gauteng Department of Education

ICTs Information and Communication Technologies

LCPS Low-cost Private Schools

NECT National Education Collaboration Trust

NSC National Senior Certificate

OMIGSA Old Mutual Investment Group of South Africa

PAEPL Provincial Average Estimate (of expenditure) Per Learner

PALF Pearson Affordable Learning Fund

PED Provincial Education Department

PIC Public Investment Corporation

PPP Public-Private Partnership

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

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Introduction

Private education is expanding rapidly in rich, poor and middle-income countries. Between 1991 and 2003,

according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), private school

enrolments across the globe grew far quicker than those of public schools. The fastest growth was in Africa:

113 per cent as opposed to 52 per cent for public education.1 In 2012, across all income groups in sub-Saharan

Africa, 16 per cent of pupils were in private primary schools, and 21 per cent in private secondary schools. In

southern Asia the figures rise to 18 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively.2

In the developing world, however, it is low-cost private schooling3 that is gaining traction: in 2010, researchers

estimated that there were one million budget (low-fee) private schools in countries like Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria,

China, Pakistan, the Philippines and Uganda.4 Between 1990 and 2010 the percentage of students in low-

income countries attending private primary schools doubled, from 11 to 22 per cent.5

In South Africa private schools (officially termed independent schools) have also been increasing rapidly

but the sector, at officially 6.5 per cent of all schools in 2014, is small compared to other developing countries.

Low-fee independent schools are also growing at a significant rate and becoming a key feature of the sector.

The South African public education system is in serious trouble and proving a major obstacle to development.

The drop-out rate from public schooling is very high: of 100 students that started school in 2003, only 48

wrote matric in 2014, 36 passed and 14 qualified to go to university.6 Learner achievement is also especially

poor, as evidenced by South Africas own national examinations and assessments, as well as all regional and

international comparative surveys, where South Africa is among the lowest performing countries.7

This is despite interventions and investment by government. The allocation to basic education of R203 billion

for 2015/2016 comprises 16.7 per cent of total expenditure. In 2013 South Africa spent some 6.2 per cent of

GDP on education, one of the highest percentages in upper middle-income countries.8 According to the 2015

UNESCO report Education for All, the average education spend as a percentage of GDP in upper middle-income

countries was 5.1 per cent, and 14.9 per cent of their national budgets were spent on education.9

South Africas dialogue about reform has focused largely on the public sector: how can government improve

the delivery of quality schooling? Historically the private sector has played a role in improving education,

but this has been largely as a provider of funds to initiatives within the public sector. However, South Africa

could be leveraging the contribution of business, markets, edupreneurs and philanthropic resources far more

effectively to deliver better quality schooling to disadvantaged learners in the education system.

One area where the private sector is making a difference is in low-fee independent schools, an area of

research for the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) since 2008.10 We have highlighted their growth

and contribution to choice and access to quality education in disadvantaged communities, and have made

suggestions about how best the country can respond to this development.

To investigate this issue further, in November 2014 CDE hosted a discussion with Sir Michael Barber, a

leading authority on education reform and low-cost private schools internationally. This report summarises

his presentation and the discussion, and also includes an up-to-date analysis of the latest developments, new

and emerging players, and the significance of the increasing number of low-fee independent schools in South

Africa.

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CDES Perspective on Education Reform

Ann Bernstein, Executive Director: CDE

South Africans debate the education question more perhaps than any other subject. It is widely perceived as

one of our biggest challenges; for the vast majority of young people and their families society has failed to

provide them with a quality education.

In the past 20 years South Africa has excelled in increasing access to basic education, but struggles to provide

quality education on a broad front. Improving quality is no easy task, and should be seen as one of the largest

management challenges in the country. In the schooling sector, there are about 12.4 million learners in just

under 26,000 schools. Some 425,000 educators in nine different provinces and 86 districts around the country

teach them. At this scale it is unlikely that there are any simple solutions or easy answers. System reform is

complex.

Any solution to the dismal education that most of South Africas children are receiving has to focus on

accountability. Teachers who dont come to school or who dont teach must face the consequences of non-

performance, or the system will never improve. Performance management linked to accountability and

effective professional development is absolutely vital for the quality of schooling.

There is ongoing debate about the