Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect of direct or indirect Government overseas development assistance expenditure on low-fee, for profit private schools on the performance of those schools.

Through targeted investments in programming and research DFID is helping to build, and expand, the emerging evidence base on the performance of the low cost private education sector. It is also directly enabling children to attend school.

In East Africa, CDC’s investments have led to 245 schools opening, educating 60,000 children in areas with limited state school provision. Latest evidence shows that children educated in private and philanthropic schools in developing countries often fare better in terms of both teaching and learning than those in educated in public schools. However it remains the case globally that too many children are either out of school altogether or not achieving basic competencies, which is why the government continues to invest in providing a decent education for millions of children in developing countries.