The Harvard Kennedy School Magazine did a fascinating article about schooling in Pakistan.  There are 47,000 private schools in Pakistan.  Students in the private schools out performed those in public schools.  Most of these schools are run by one educated woman. There was a minimal difference, 2%, if the teacher had post-secondary education.

 Private schools were in competition so it kept the price down. The average is 60 rupees a month, less then a day's unskilled wages.  Thus its not surprising to see that the teachers in these private schools earned quite a bit less then those in public schools.

 Another interesting finding was that "parents were relatively aware, regardless of whether they were literate or illiterate, of how different schools performed and how hardworking, or prone to absenteeism, the teachers were."

As we think about education in the developing world I think one thing we should be thinking about how to support these high school educated entrepreneurs who start their own schools. How can we help them improve their pedagogy?  In some ways this may be easier then improving the government schools because they face competitive forces. If the parents think a school is doing a better job they will immediately get more students and more money.