A great deal of research now shows that importance of the private unaided sector in meeting the educational needs of the poor, in India, and other developing countries.  One of the major reasons is the problem of teacher absenteeism and low level of teaching activity in government schools.  The influential “Probe Report” found that in only 53% of government schools in four Indian states was there any teaching going on at all! Indeed, in the government schools for low-income families, it reported that ‘generally, teaching activity has been reduced to a minimum, in terms of both time and effort – it has become a way of life in the profession'. Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen also reported a high incidence of teacher absenteeism in government schools in research carried out by the Pratichi Trust in West Bengal and the Oxfam Education Report gives teacher absenteeism in government schools as a major reason why poor households choose to send their children to the private alternative.

The Educare Trust, during 2003-2005, contributed to a very important project carried out by Professor James Tooley from the University of Newcastle which looked at the role of private schools in low-income areas of Asia and Africa. This research was funded by the John Templeton Foundation in America. Not only was the project conducted in India - Delhi, Mahboobnagar, and Hyderabad – but also in China, Nigeria , Ghana and Kenya . The Educare Trust assisted Professor James Tooley and the E.G. West Centre to carry out the research in Hyderabad and Mahboobnagar. Other institutions around the world involved in the research were the University of Ibadan, Nigeria; the University of Cape Coast, Ghana; IREN Kenya, Nairobi; and Indicus Analytics, New Delhi.

The research was undertaken to find out the extent of the role private schools play in educating children from poor backgrounds as well as their effectiveness and efficiency. Similar findings were ascertained around the world, where in low-income urban areas private schools are catering for the majority of school children. Looking at the raw scores in maths and language tests, private schools are achieving higher results, at a fraction of the teacher cost.

The Educare Trust also carried out research concerning the improvement of English literacy teaching in private unaided schools. The six months research found that using a synthetic phonics package from the UK product from Jolly Learning Limited - Jolly Phonics – improved the reading, spelling and writing ability of children to much greater extent than if these children carried on with their own traditional English lessons.