The Beautiful Tree Read Online Free PDF

we’re teaching them altogether.” “They’ll be absent every day,” the deputy district education officer said—the first of many comments from government officials that impressed me—if that’s the right word—with their matter-of-fact candor when addressing the failures of the system for which they were responsible. There were two other classes with similar numbers of children, whereas all the other classrooms were empty. Perhaps such crowded classrooms were the reason why parents preferred the private schools? But were they really better, I wondered, or were parents mistaken?
    Finally, I learned of the school owners’ frustrations with government regulations. At first, I was baffled to hear how often the government inspectors called on their schools—perhaps three to five times a year—showing a surprising dedication to quality and standards, I thought. Then Khurrum took me to one side and told me that they didn’t come to inspect, only to “be made happy.” I was naive enough then to be shocked, until others told me the same story as I was brought into their confidence, and realized that bribing officials was an unfortunate but necessary way of life in their community. Very quickly, I too become quite blasé about the presence of bribes—“unofficial payments” as they were labeled in Sajid-Sir’s meticulous accounts. There were simply too many regulations to meet—“how can I have a playground of 1,000 square meters?” said Wajid of Peace High School, pointing to the crowded street where his school was situated. Detailing his problems with government inspectors, and his desire for official recognition, he said something I’ll never forget: “Sometimes, government is the obstacle to the people.” So they had to resort to bribery to remain registered or to keep the inspectors from closing them down. This was in stark contrast to the way the managers of the wealthy elite colleges that I was simultaneously investigating for the International Finance Corporation responded when I asked them about difficulties with regulations and inspectors: “Regulations?” they would nonchalantly say, “Oh, if anyone gets in my way, I pick up the phone to the CM,” that is, the chief minister.
    I realized that something quite remarkable was going on in the back streets of Hyderabad. It seemed that my expertise in private education might have some relevance after all in my urge to help the poor. Clearly, what was happening must have implications for the way we viewed education in developing countries? If so many parents were choosing to send their children to private schools because they perceived that the public schools were so bad, this was surely a profound discovery that would interest the development experts? I was in for a rude awakening.

2. . . . That Was No Discovery After All

The 500-Pound Gorilla
    Oddly, my “discovery” was no discovery at all, or at least not to some people. Leaving Hyderabad, I returned to Delhi to meet again with World Bank staff before moving on to continue my “field trip” in other countries. I was eager and excited to tell them what I’d discovered in the back streets of the Old City of Hyderabad and to gain their insights on the way forward.
    They weren’t at all impressed. I met with a group of staff members in their pleasant offices, replete with potted ferns and pretty posters of cute children. Most, it was true, had never heard of private schools serving the poor, and they were frankly puzzled about how schools charging only $10 a year could exist, except through charity. And they told me that I had found some nongovernmental organizations working in the slums, opening a few schools, that was all. They told me this, assuming I was simply misguided, even though I had told them it was something else altogether. However, one of the group, Sajitha Bashir, had herself seen a few private schools in Tamil Nadu, although she insisted there were none in Karnataka, where she