Why the popularity? : a case study on a low-fee private school in Cambodia

Abstract

The rapid growth of low-fee private schools in developing countries has attracted much scholarly attention in recent years. In contrast with the traditional private schools that mainly serves elites and the rich, low-fee private schools target the relatively poor households by charging low tuition fees. Some believe that low-fee private school is “the poor’s best chance” to receive quality education while others question the quality of low-fee private schools and whether they are affordable to the most disadvantaged population.

The present paper is a case study on a low-fee private school in Cambodia, a country where the low-fee private sector is unexplored. Through in-depth interviews with households and other stakeholders including the government officers, school owner, teachers and students from the low-fee private school, the study seeks to understand reasons beyond the growing popularity of the low-fee private sector and its implications to education in Cambodia.

Findings revealed that interviewees believe that the low-fee private school is of better quality and expressed dissatisfactions toward the public sector. The paper discusses the implications of low-fee private schooling on the issues of quality and equity and the role of state in the education provision in Cambodia.