I got speaking to Pete today about a recent Radio 4
broadcast – ‘The Education Business’ (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01rgmbh)
It sounded interesting so I had a listen to the broadcast and have summarised
below…
The broadcast was focussed on education as a business –
looking at all levels of education. I was most interested in James Tooley – the
Chairman of Omega Schools in Ghana. http://www.omega-schools.com/
Omega Schools provide low-cost private education in Ghana
and are making the move into Sierra Leone. The general idea of the schools is
to provide low cost private schooling to those in the slums in Ghana. Most
private schools charge termly which can mean that parents must save a large
amount of money before being able to send their child to school. Omega Schools
charges by the day (roughly 30-40p).
The reason behind the ‘pay-daily’ set-up is due to the
nature of the parents’ pay – most work as farmers, fishermen, market traders
etc. and so their wages are daily. Thus, daily payment for school suits the way
that these families receive their money.
Government schools in the area are poor and so many choose
private school or no school at all. The daily cost for Omega Schools includes a
hot meal, uniform and books, which are generally charged as extras in other
private schools.
The business works on a low margin, high volume basis and
they are currently putting all profits back into developing more schools. They
are providing opportunities to families that were not there before – however is
it right that they profit from this? Should education be a business?
