This article suggests that one needs to consider education as inherently political to better understand some of the problems in education policy in developing countries. It suggests that using political metaphors as a discursive framework can enhance the understanding of some of the limitations of formal schooling in developing countries. Political metaphors can be an alternative approach to the predominant market metaphors in education policy and can provide valuable insights for future research and policy that go beyond current approaches. By using Ghana as an example, this article focuses on the implications that strong informal communities and markets can have for formal schooling in developing countries.