Real Issues No. 346 - Private education

Maxim Institute - Real Issues - No. 346 31 July 2009 www.maxim.org.nz

The Beautiful Tree

In The News Aid Must Increase Despite The Downturn Addressing Welfare Dependency

The Beautiful Tree

We're accustomed to wrangling about the costs of education, and who should foot the bill for it. Last week, the news media went hot with the story of a solo mum in Masterton allegedly being pressured to pay a 'donation' to her son's integrated school. Issues like league tables and union fears over performance-related pay are the staple stuff of our education debate. But bringing a broader perspective to questions about education is a new book, The Beautiful Tree, which stunningly reminds us what or who education is for, and demonstrates how private schools are a crucial way forward for the poorest of the poor.

The Beautiful Tree is written by James Tooley, and it tells of the success of private schools in the developing world&--slum schools in places like Nigeria, which the poor run for themselves. Paid for by scrimping and saving, making the best out of substandard facilities, these schools bring education to those who are so often written off, or the subjects of patronising, top-down do-goodery. Tooley tells story after story of teachers and schools with a deep commitment to their children, doing exceptional work. In Ghana, Kenya, India and China&--the places Tooley's book stems from&--private education confounds stereotypes. In many of these places, government schools are failing. They are too remote, too bureaucratic or too out of touch to do their basic work of educating children. In contrast, community schools are built on the backs of sacrifice and solidarity, filling the educational gap for the sake of the children they are committed to. Tooley quotes a teacher from Ghana: 'This is an offering job ... you sacrifice yourself for the children.'

Education is about more than bureaucrats writing a curriculum, or finding ways to pass exams. In the words of 'Sajid-Sir,' headmaster of a community school in Hyderabad, 'There are three corners of the triangle&--parents, teachers, and students, and this triangle must not be a scalene triangle, it must be an equilateral triangle.' The stories in The Beautiful Tree are a reminder to us in New Zealand, that schools exist for the children and families they serve&--as outgrowths and flowerings of local community, pride and involvement. It is about helping children to grow, to stand independent and connected in their communities. In a nation with a plethora of schools, used to arguing over who should pay for education, this must still be our vision. Education, whether in Kenya, China or New Zealand, is about growing good people&--this is the task our teachers, students and parents are called to. Read a full review of The Beautiful Tree http://www.maxim.org.nz/index.cfm/policy___research/article?id=1907 Listen to James Tooley deliver the Hayek Memorial lecture http://www.iea.org.uk/files/upld-news483mp3?.mp3

IN THE NEWS

AID MUST INCREASE DESPITE THE DOWNTURN Former Prime Minister Helen Clark has appealed to international leaders to honour their promises of aid despite the economic downturn. Now Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, Clark urged all countries who had promised aid to 'maintain' if not 'increase their current level of support' to nations in need. Clark stressed that providing assistance was a 'moral imperative' especially because 'those least responsible for the economic crisis stand to bear the brunt of its effects.' She talked specifically of the need to empower women and assist those in extreme poverty, saying that it is in everyone's interests to help those in need.

Regardless of debate surrounding the nature of government aid, the appeal to generosity in a time when budgets are tightening is an important reminder that strong societies depend on people taking responsibility to support one another.

Read Helen Clark's 'Statement to the Women's Foreign Policy Group' http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/2009/july/helen-clark-statement-to-the-womens-foreign-policy-group.en

ADDRESSING WELFARE DEPENDENCY A new paper discussing Maori dependence on welfare has suggested removing the Domestic Purposes Benefit in favour of temporary single-parent assistance, and replacing 'state-funded unemployment benefits with private unemployment insurance.' 'Maori and Welfare' is part of a series of working papers on 'Maori Economic and Social Progress' produced by the New Zealand Business Roundtable. It discusses the history of Maori through the introduction of welfare in New Zealand, proposing several explanations for the disproportionate number of Maori on welfare. It also offers policy suggestions for how this dependence can be reduced.

Read 'Maori and Welfare' http://www.nzbr.org.nz/documents/publications/Maori%20and%20Welfare%20by%20LM%20FINAL.pdf

TALKING POINT

'... some of the poorest parents on earth ... are abandoning public schools en masse to send their children to budget private schools that charge low fees of a few dollars per month, affordable even to families living on poverty-line wages. In the shantytowns of Lagos, Nigeria, for instance, or the poor rural areas surrounding Accra, Ghana, or in Africa's largest slum, Kibera, Kenya, the majority of schoolchildren--up to 75%--are enrolled in private schools.' James Tooley, The Beautiful Tree

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