2 The rise of non-state schooling

2.1 A global phenomenon

The role of non-state providers in achieving universal basic education has gained growing prominence in recent years. Across South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, parents in countries like India, Pakistan and Kenya have felt frustration with the public system and sought alternative options for their children’s schooling (Andrabi et al., 2015). Indeed, the non-state sector has made valuable contributions in the period up to 2015 as ballooning class sizes have highlighted the inadequacy of public resources to meet an expanding demand (Kitaev, 2004; Lincove, 2007). Beyond access, independent schools purport to deliver education for a fraction of the government cost, while offering parents increased choice to educate their children in accordance with their own heterogeneous values, linguistic preferences or religious beliefs (Kingdon, 2005; James, 1993; Rose, 2007).

Nevertheless, the rise of non-state schooling has faced considerable resistance and opposition, from governments and academics alike. Some view private schools as being driven solely by profit and commercial interests, or exploiting the hopes of uneducated parents unable to discern the real quality of their children’s schooling (Härmä and Adefisayo, 2013; PROBE Team, 1999). For others, non-state provision undermines the fundamental right to education and can create social injustice by requiring the poor to pay “for a service that could make a material difference to the future of their children, a service that should by law be freely available to them” (Härmä, 2013, p.549).

The quality of education available in non-state schools has proved a source of particular contention. Early accounts report decentralised management, increased efficiency and short routes of direct accountability between schools, teachers and parents (Kingdon, 1996; World Bank, 2003). These appear to manifest themselves through improved learning inputs such as smaller class sizes, greater teacher attendance and more time on task (Tooley, 2005). In terms of learning outcomes, studies across countries as diverse as Colombia, the Dominican Republic, India, Tanzania and Thailand, suggest that pupils in private schools perform better than those in state schools, even after controlling for their different socio-economic backgrounds (Kingdon, 1996; Colclough, 1996). More recently, a rigorous review of existing international literature found strong evidence of better teaching in private schools, as well as moderate proof that their children score relatively higher than those in public schools (Day Ashley et al., 2014). In absolute terms, however, many children still fail to achieve basic competencies, even in non-state schools, and learning gains are relative only.

Competing claims around the inclusiveness of independent education and its impact on equity, especially for poor children and girls, have further fuelled the debate. Studies have suggested that among some cities’ most deprived neighbourhoods, enrolment levels are high with private schools offering alternative education options and accommodating many children from low-income families (Alderman et al., 2001; Tooley, 2005). Indeed, Tooley and Longfield (2014) argue that “if some proportion of the poor and poorest is able to afford private schools now…this means…some private schools have managed to find ways of bringing their costs low enough to serve the poorest” (p.39). Nevertheless, even at minimal costs, nonstate schooling may be beyond the reach of the most marginalised and reproduce social inequality across various divisions (Lewin, 2007; Rose, 2007; Watkins, 2004). For example, evidence suggests that girls are less likely than boys to access private schools, particularly in contexts with security concerns around travel or fewer career prospects for women in the labour market (Day Ashley and Wales, 2014; De et al., 2002; Drèze and Gazdar, 1997; Brighouse, 2004; Kingdon, 1998).

Enabling environments for education: Resourcing requirements for inclusive non-state schooling in Nigeria

Notwithstanding the ideological discourse and debates on equity and quality, millions of parents have already ‘voted with their feet’ and as long as they perceive greater opportunities in non-state education, the situation looks likely to continue. Governments worldwide face the reality of burgeoning non-state education and must find an effective way of engaging with private players to improve the learning of all children. In many cases, the forced and often reluctant cooperation represents unknown terrain as authorities reconceive themselves as facilitators, and not just providers, of education.

This new role raises questions around resourcing requirements and how best governments and the market can foster a more enabling environment. Research to date paints a somewhat bleak picture: save in limited contexts (such as Punjab in Pakistan), governments across developing countries lack the capacity, understanding or fundamental data to support non-state education effectively (Day Ashley et al., 2014). Efforts to create policy frameworks experience unsuccessful implementation, often undermined by mutual suspicion after years of extortion, antagonism and suppression. Regulations are unrealistically stringent and unequally enforced. Meanwhile, systemic constraints in different aspects of the education market prevent growth and improvement (Andrabi et al., 2015). Limited or asymmetrical information impedes stakeholders, notably parents, from demanding better quality, and schools struggle to access formal finance or external services to enhance their practices.

2.2 A Nigerian perspective

The need for effective resourcing for non-state education has likewise been building in Nigeria. In response to public shortages, the country has witnessed nationwide private school proliferation since the 1970s and “unapproved schools are providing schooling opportunities to a significant number of children, particularly in urban and peri-urban areas” (Adelabu and Rose, 2004, p.64). Across Nigeria, one in four children is now enrolled in an independent school (NPC, 2010), while in the northern states 8.7 million pupils attend Islamiyya, Qur’anic and Tsangaya institutions (UBEC, 2010).

The situation in Lagos, one of the fastest growing cities in Africa and the focus of this paper, is similarly mixed. A 2010/2011 census revealed the existence of over 12,000 private schools educating at least 57 percent of all children (in excess of 1.4 million) and 70 percent at nursery and primary levels (Härmä, 2011). With 961 new schools opening in 2010 alone and current total estimates possibly closer to 18,000 (DFID, 2013), the sector continues to evolve rapidly and dwarf the state system of around 1,600 schools. Independent education is hugely diverse in scale and clientele, catering for both wealthy and poor, and delivered by actors including “NGOs, faith-based organisations, communities and commercially-oriented private entrepreneurs… each with different motives for their involvement in education” (Rose, 2007, p.2). In many cases, however, private schools are small, owned and managed by an individual proprietor, funded through the payment of fees and targeted to meet the needs of lower socio-economic households (Härmä and Adefisayo, 2013; Härmä, 2013).

In terms of quality, learning inputs and outcomes vary, even across more affordable private schools. On the one hand, classes enjoy lower pupil-teacher ratios, closer monitoring of teachers and greater time in teaching activities than their government counterparts (Adelabu and Rose, 2004; Härmä and Adefisayo, 2013). On the other hand, many schools employ untrained and unqualified teachers, and operate with unsuitable infrastructure in poor quality physical environments (Härmä, 2013; Save the Children, 2013). Nevertheless, findings on actual performance present a potentially brighter picture. Tables 1 and 2 below show a comparison of children’s scores in English literacy and mathematics from two studies in Lagos, with higher results recorded in private schools. In the case of the 2006 data, scores are adjusted for

Enabling environments for education: Resourcing requirements for inclusive non-state schooling in Nigeria several background characteristics, including variables relating to the selection of schools and the effect of peer-groups. Similarly, emerging data from the DEEPEN programme disaggregate performance using proxies for household wealth and reveal markedly higher average scores for children attending private schools across all socio-economic bands.

Data source: ESSPIN (2010)

Recent statistics on enrolment and school choice also suggest an inclusive system of non-state schooling. Studies by Yngstrom (2014) and Tooley (2013) in Lagos corroborate earlier findings (Härmä, 2013; Save the Children, 2013) that parents do not discriminate by gender in selecting their children’s school. Girls are equally likely to attend a private school and represented at all levels of education. In some communities, secondary-aged girls even appear to outnumber boys who drop out to learn the fishing trade. In terms of poverty, the data also show that a majority of children are enrolled at private schools at every decile of family income (Tooley, 2013). Figure 1 shows the trends of enrolment against household wealth. Although scholarships, concessions or the underreporting of parental earnings might account for children in the lowest decile who appear to attend private schools, the figures suggest a largely inclusive system that appears to accommodate the budgets of a large proportion of poor families.

Resourcing for the sector, both in terms of government and market support, has been limited to date. Like authorities in similar contexts, the Lagos State Government has set such demanding approval standards2 with so few benefits that a majority of private schools (74 percent) operate ‘illegally’ without approval (Adelabu and Rose, 2004; Härmä and Adefisayo, 2013). This situation has created a relationship of tension and distrust between schools and the state, exacerbated by government officials’ interference to extort payments and ‘taxes’. Schools have therefore created representative associations to influence the

2 There are also suggestions that many public schools would not meet such standards.

Enabling environments for education: Resourcing requirements for inclusive non-state schooling in Nigeria content of the regulations and to lobby government on the multiplicity of different taxes claimed (Adelabu and Rose, 2004).

The prevailing informality of non-state education causes wider challenges within the sector. Many schools already struggle to collect their fees and few can access financial resources to effect quality improvements:

It is reportedly more difficult for schools to access loans when they are unapproved, resulting in a vicious cycle, since it is difficult to meet approval requirements without credit (Härmä and

Beyond finance, proprietors display little concern to enhance the capacity and practices of their staff (Härmä and Adefisayo, 2013). Head teachers provide in-house training with questionable skills and little reliance on external expertise, save that offered by publishing companies to complement their particular textbooks.

Looking forward, Lagos State Government already has limited capacity to inspect and resource its own schools (Adelabu and Rose, 2004). The enforcement of regulations against institutions whose very existence stems from shortcomings in public supply and whose success affects the future of so many children raises difficult political and ethical questions. Arguably, a lighter touch approach to regulation could help to create a more enabling environment for other market players to provide more direct support. The study below therefore examines what affordable non-state schools in Lagos actually need, and makes suggestions for how such requirements could be met.