Education International Research Report: Quality and Equalities: a comparative study of public and low-cost private schools in Lagos

Education International just released a new research report as part of their global response to the growing commercialisation and privatisation of education, Quality and Equalities: a comparative study of public and low-cost private schools in Lagos by Elaine Unterhalter, Lynsey Robinson and Jibrin Ibrahim.

Since the 1980s, there has been inadequate state provision for primary schooling in Lagos. A huge private sector has grown with limited effective regulation. It is estimated that 18,000 private schools now operate in Lagos – a 50 percent increase since 2011. Furthermore, aid money has supported the expansion of private schools. Notably, in 2014, £3.45 million from the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID) was paid to Bridge International Academies, facilitating its entry into Lagos.

The research focused on three different neighbourhoods in Lagos. In each neighbourhood researchers visited a public school, a school that is part of the Bridge International Academies (BIA) chain of private schools, supported by UK development assistance, and another low cost provider.

In view of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 on the provision of free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education to all children by 2030, endorsed by the Nigerian and British governments, the research particularly focused on levels of fees charged in the different types of school, the attendant working conditions of teachers, and the ways in which quality and equalities were understood and put into practice.

Read a summary of the key findings and recommendations and download the report: