Can public sector take a leaf from charity schools’ playbook?

A mother squabbled with the gatekeeper in a school in Punjab, fighting for admission for her daughter,” narrates the CEO and President of The Citizen Foundation (TCF), Zia Akhtar Abbas. TCF had just taken over a boys-only government school in the boondocks of Punjab, but the mother held her daughter’s hand firmly and argued for a seat. In Punjab, a Learning and Educational Achievement in Punjab Schools (LEAPS) study asked villagers what they wanted most from the government. The top answer was jobs, but the second, even ahead of clean drinking water and healthcare, was access to a secondary school. “That’s why, whenever we open a school in the most remote areas, we often see a line of people waiting outside,” said Mr Abbas.