Private Schools for the World's Poor

Recent articles in the Economist and the New York Times document that in the developing world, more and more parents are making sacrifices to send their children to private schools. For example, in India, anywhere from one-quarter to one-third of students are estimated to attend private schools, as public schools cannot always handle the influx of students after a 2007 law made an elementary-school education compulsory. And in China, people who migrate from one city to another are not guaranteed a spot in a state-run school, so private schools have sprung up to educate these students, who number half a million in Beijing alone. These schools are beginning to educate the world's poor, but 72 million children around the world are still estimated not to attend any school at all. Read more about private schools to educate the world's poor.

Photo: A school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia/Chris Hondros, Getty Images News