Affordable Private Schools in Crisis and Conflict-Affected Countries

The purpose of this paper is to provide the findings of a literature review on the topic of affordable private schools (APS) in crisis- and conflict-affected countries. Seven key questions guiding the current study are:

1. What is "affordable" within the context of crisis/conflict countries?
2. What is the level of quality of private schools relative to public schools?
3. What are the unique features of a crisis/conflict country that might impact the affordable private schools (APS) sector?
4. What are the major constraints that APS face in developing countries and are they different for crisis/conflict countries?
5. What role must the host-country government play in APS in crisis/conflict countries?
6. Are there exemplary APS models that provide insight on how best to leverage and capitalize APS in crisis/conflict countries?
7. Are there prerequisites that must be in place within the crisis/conflict countries to ensure sustainable investments in APS?

These questions were developed in partnership with USAID and were designed to examine the possibilities for donors working in the APS sector in these countries. They were also created in order to gather information necessary to develop a set of lessons learned and recommendations for USAID and other donors on how best to capitalize and leverage the private school movement as governments in post-crisis/conflict countries attempt to rebuild their education systems. 

These literature review findings are one portion of a three-part study which will also include key informant interviews and specific crisis/conflict country case studies. The findings from the literature review will inform the other two parts of the study. Together, the literature search, interviews of key informants, and the case studies, will lead to a report outlining the lessons learned and recommendations for donors working in APS in crisis/conflict countries.