Abstract:
The objective of this study is to understand why parents in rural areas
choose low-cost private schools when free public schools are available.
The study employs data from the Privatization in Education Research
Initiative (PERI) School Choice Survey, 2011. The sample under study
comprises 5–18-year-old children enrolled in private or public schools
at the primary, secondary, or high school level in eight rural tehsils
across Punjab, Pakistan. Our methodology entails specifying a
probability choice model to understand what determines school choice
in a rural setting. The variable of interest is parents’ perceptions of their
child’s competence, the quality of the child’s school, and the
employment opportunities available to the child. The model also
controls for a range of child-, parent-, and household-specific
characteristics. Five main factors emerge as important determinants of
private school choice. These include the socioeconomic status of the
household, the degree of a school’s accessibility, the cost of schooling,
parents’ perceptions of school quality, and their perceptions of the
available employment opportunities in the region.
