This surprised me and I think it will surprise you especially if you are interested in education, aid to the poor or development of the Third World.
Cheap private schools are educating poor children across the developing world despite the handicaps states put upon them and without much encouragement from the international aid establishment.
James Tooley did research in India, parts of China, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria.
In every case, private education is a principal lifeline for the abjectly poor
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On the whole, dime-a-day for-profit schools are doing a better job of teaching the poorest children than the far more expensive state schools. In many localities, private schools operate alongside a free, government-run alternative. Many parents, poor as they may be, have chosen to reject it and to pay perhaps a tenth of their meager incomes to educate their children privately. They would hardly do that unless they expected better results.
The Ten-Cent Solution (link fixed)
You've never heard of James Tooley...The reason you haven’t heard of James Tooley is that his work is something of an embarrassment to the official aid and development industry. He has demonstrated something that many development professionals would rather not know—and would prefer that you not know, either.
Hat tip to Amy Wellborn.