A common assumption about the private sector in education is that it caters only to the elite. (1)_____, recent research points in the opposite direction. If we want to help some of most (2)_____ groups in society, then encouraging deeper private sector (3)_____ is likely to be the best way forward. Several developments are (4)_____ in India, all of which involve the private education sector meeting the needs of the poor in distinct ways. But India is not (5)_____ in this respect—similar phenomena are happening all over the developing world. As a point of (6)_____, how do government schools serve the poor? Usefully, the government sponsored Public Report on Basic Education in India from 1999 paints a very (7)_____ picture of the' (8)_____ 'of the government schools for the poor. When researchers (9)_____ unannounced on their random (10)_____ of schools, only 5% had any 'teaching activity' going on. Alarmingly, the team noted that the (11)_____ of teaching standards was not to do (12)_____ disempowered teachers, but instead could be (13)_____ 'plain negligence'. They noted 'several cases of irresponsible teachers keeping a school close for months at a time'. But is there any (14)_____ to these school? Surely no one else can do better than government (15)_____ the resources available. As it happens, the Report pointed to private schools that were serving the poor and (16)_____ rather reluctantly that such problems were not found in these schools. Most parents believed that private schools were successful because they were more accountable. 'The teachers are accountable to the manager who can fire them, and, (17)_____ him or her, to the parents who can (18)_____ their children.' Such accountability was not present in the government schools, and 'this contrast is (19)_____ with crystal (20)_____ by the vast majority of parents'.