“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” – W.B.Yeats
Education is key to economic growth, civil society and to the advancement of peace. Nations that fail to educate their young are often characterised by stultified growth, conflict and many forms of child exploitation. Legatum therefore focuses on initiatives that help provide education to children in developing countries, with a particular emphasis on opportunities for girls and women, which we believe produce especially high social returns.
Low-cost Private Schools in India
Legatum has committed over USD 2 million to provide disadvantaged rural children in India with scholarships to allow parents to choose the best school for their children, improving educational outcomes. The programme, designed by Harvard University's Karthik Muralidharan and Michael Kremer and administered by the Azim Premji Foundation, one of India's most respected non-profit organisations, will empower individual families to decide how best to allocate educational resources and encourage competition in private rural education. Legatum's investment will cover the full cost of tuition, books, and other expenses for thousands of eligible children in 100 villages in Andhra Pradesh, until the completion of their primary education.
Yale University's Innovation for Poverty Action will independently evaluate the impact of Legatum's grant and help us understand the effectiveness of the programme in improving schooling outcomes. The evaluation team will monitor results, publish and share findings with The World Bank and the State Government of Andhra Pradesh to help inform better educational policies for all children in India.
“Speed Schools in West Africa”
In the three West African countries of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, an estimated 3.2 million children are out of school or have never attended a class. Female literacy rates are among the lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa at 15%, 16% and 17% in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso respectively.
The West African Children’s Education initiative is an innovative $4 million three year programme jointly funded by the Strømme Foundation providing 32,000 children with basic skills required to allow them to join formal schools after nine months of Speed School and passing a qualifying exam. The programme has trained 565 teachers and parents to understand the importance of sending their children to school and has been so effective that in 2008, 92% of Speed School students passed the qualifying exam and joined formal schools at the fourth grade. Given the success of the programme, Legatum is exploring ways to scale up the approach to other countries in the developing world.