Gyan Shala low-cost private school chain is set up in India aiming to ensure the government’s student enrolment push is supported by quality education affordable to the poorest families.

1.5 million children graduate from the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee (BRAC) Non-formal Primary Education programme in Bangladesh which totals 34,000 schools. BRAC set up the first low-cost private school for out-of-school children in 1985, relying on donations.

Association for Formidable Educational Development in Nigeria is established to regulate and support the growth of private primary and secondary schools.

UNESCO sets Millenium Development Goal for universal primary schooling and renews its commitment to the Education for All goals established in 1990 for access, quality and equity.

Professor James Tooley and Dr Pauline Dixon publish Private Schools for the Poor: a case study from India, highlighting the existence of private schools in India’s slums and villages.

CK Prahalad and Stuart L Hart publish The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid proposing new business models for serving the world’s poorest communities.

The People's Forum on Millenium Development Goals, Bangladesh is established as part of the Campaign for Popular Education, a coalition of more than 1,000 non-governmental organisations involved in literacy and education in Bangladesh.

The Punjab Education Foundation, established in 1991 to promote quality education through public-private partnership (PPP), launches its flagship Foundation Assisted Schools (FAS) programme. The programme provides financial assistance to schools through PPP to improve access to education for underserved communities.

Kenya Independent Schools Association (KISA) becomes involved in the growth of the non-formal education sector.

Educating Amaretch: private schools for the poor and the new frontier for investors is published by Professor James Tooley and increases investor interest in the affordable learning sector.

Research on private schools in one low-income, peri-urban area of Ghana shows 75% of schools are private (registered and unregistered) and 64% of local children attend private schools.

Partnerships for Education (PfE) launched by UNESCO and the World Economic Forum. PfE aims to create global, multi-stakeholder partnerships, including the private sector, to support the delivery of Education for All goals.

Gray Matters Capital (GMC) investment company focuses its services on improving quality and access to education for poor children in developing countries.

Omega Schools is set up as a for-profit business, creating low-cost private schools for poor families in Ghana.

World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) is established to support the future of education through innovation.

Privatisation in Education Research Initiative (PERI) is established to encourage debate about alternative education provision.

The size and quality of education in low-cost private schools in Asia and Africa is documented in The Beautiful Tree, a personal narration by Professor James Tooley on how the world’s poorest people educate themselves.

Bridge International Academies opens its first school in Kenya, with ambitions to reach over 1 million students from poor families.

Research shows the Foundation Assisted Schools programme in Pakistan improves pupil outcomes and identifies it as one of the cheapest interventions for raising enrolments.

Pearson invests in Bridge International Academies, Kenya, which aims to deliver high-quality primary education for $4 per child per month.

Research identifies more low-cost private schools in areas of South Africa than shown in previous government estimates. It also indicates a lower level of teacher absenteeism in low-cost private schools than in public schools (CDE, Hidden Assets, 2010).

BRAC's work in education reaches 10 million children, having expanded from Bangladesh to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Southern Sudan, Uganda and Haiti.

The Punjab Educational Reform Roadmap is launched, including a voucher scheme for out-of-school children.

National Independent Schools Alliance is founded in India, bringing together low-cost private schools from eight states.

Private school enrolments in rural India increase to 26% in 2011 from 19% in 2006 for 6 to 14 year olds (ASER).

Punjab Education Foundation’s FAS programme grows to support 1,334 schools and 600,000 students free of cost. A further 500 schools are planned to join the programme.

KISA involves 1,600 independent community schools serving low income households, most of which are in urban slum areas of Kenya.

January: Pearson initiates multi-country evaluation of the low-cost private school market, visiting school chains and education service providers in developing countries.

June: 115,000 additional children enrol in Punjab schools since November 2011 as a result of the Punjab Educational Reform Roadmap.

July: Pearson launches the Pearson Affordable Learning Fund and makes its first investment in low-cost private school chain Omega Schools, Ghana.

August: Affordable Private Schools (APS) Sector Analysis Report - 2012 is the first research to analyse what makes low-cost private schools effective (Gray Matters Capital, 2012).