Three types of privatisation are identified--involving demand-side financing, reforms to the educational supply-side and "de facto" privatisation, where responsibilities are transferred to the private sector, through the rapid growth of private schools, rather than through reform or legislation. Although "de facto" privatisation may arise because of parental dissatisfaction with state education, it is perceived as undesirable in the literature. Findings from a recent study on private schools in Ghana, Nigeria and India are outlined to explore this issue. The results show a majority of enrolment is in private schools in poor urban and peri-urban areas, and a significant minority in rural areas. Regarding teacher activity, private schools appear superior to government schools, while private school children outperform government children on maths and English, even though expenditure on teacher salaries is much lower in private than government schools. In the context of this evidence, three major objections to the place of "de facto" privatisation in meeting the educational needs of the poor are explored and challenged. (Contains 5 tables.)