What can we do to fix government schools?

Many academics and policy wonks wrestle with the question of what can fix government schools. This question assumes that government schools are best suited to expand access to quality and affordable education for all children. But is that true?

Government-run schools have a poor return on investment, weak feedback loops, and an incentive structure that does not prize quality. Being funded by taxpayers and shielded from competition means there is limited pressure on the system to be efficient or deliver on its promised goals. The links between parents, students, teachers, the school administration, and policymakers are tenuous. What works and what does not is slow to reach decision-makers and hard to act on. Even at its best, the system lags. It moves slowly and learns reluctantly. These structural features make government schools poorly suited to deliver quality education at scale.

The question of fixing government schools conflates the end with the means. The end is to expand access to quality, affordable education for children. The means is government schooling. Suppose you wanted to get fit. Would you ask how to use your half-broken treadmill to get in shape, or ask what exercises will help you get fit? Or suppose India wanted to become a $5 trillion economy. Would you ask how agricultural production can lead us there, or what policies will drive economic growth? Fixating on government schools as the solution locks us into one approach before we have properly defined the problem.

A focus on fixing government schools is often driven by concern for those who cannot access private schools. The key issue then is affordability and access, not the performance of government schools. If we care about children’s learning, we should step back and ask a different question. How do we ensure that all children have the freedom to attend schools that suit their needs and where they learn well?