Had Oprah Winfrey built a nice but simple school for girls in South Africa, I wonder what the critics would have said.

Had the structure been merely adequate and comfortable -- not grand and highly appointed -- would the billionaire media queen been taken to the woodshed for cheapskatery? 

Had the enrollment included, say, two or three or 10 times the 152 girls selected for this most special academy, might Winfrey have been zapped for ignoring merit? Or would there have been a backlash because there weren’t 20 times as many slots?

No matter how she cut it, Winfrey was bound to draw fire. Such is life when you’re on top of the world and most folks are in your dust. Down here below, the old adage flips. If you can’t join ‘em, beat ‘em.

Not that it is all unadulterated hatin’. On a continent chock-full of the desperately poor, there’s room for legitimate debate at the advent of a $40 million “leadership academy” that boasts 22 lush acres, 28 magnificent buildings and a small, hand-picked enrollment.

After all, we’re talking about a continent where millions of children risk death from war, malnourishment or disease, and 20 percent of those who die succumb to malaria, a pernicious mosquito-borne disease whose toll could be cut in half if only children had insecticide-treated nets. You could buy a lot of those for $40 million.

Indeed, there is so much basic need in Africa, that someone was bound to question the wisdom of soaring fireplaces and soft bed linens when millions huddle in shanties and long for clean drinking water and pain relief.

But Winfrey said she wanted to expand the imaginations and dreams of African children. For sure, you can’t reach a star you can’t see. Undoubtedly, the plush surroundings will make some of the girls raise their own ceilings. And while not even South Africa can likely afford to replicate Winfrey’s model -- and it is the richest African country -- the new school could raise the bar to, at least, decent accommodation.

Still, I hope Oprah will not give up on this side of the ocean where public schools grow more decrepit by the day.  In discussing her South African venture, she lamented the condition of “inner city schools,” where Winfrey says she no longer goes. “The sense that you need to learn just isn't there," she said. "If you ask the kids what they want or need, they will say an Ipod or some sneakers. In South Africa, they don't ask for money or toys. They ask for uniforms so they can go to school."

That disheartening quote cries out for perspective. American children need to be convinced that the value of education is in its promise, not its guarantee. African children seem to understand that.

But, to be fair, the promise is greater in Africa.  There, only a little more than half of young children attend school and most don’t finish. The alternative to school is often hard labor or warfare, so going is a relief, a privilege and, frankly, a relief.  Having a diploma or certificate of completion is usually well-rewarded.

Here, young people are expected to be in school and, until they reach a certain age, chronic absences can get their parents hauled into court.  Having a high school diploma or its equivalent don’t get you much, job-wise these days. Even college graduates are finding the market crowded. Basic education, useful as it is personally, doesn’t pay like it once did.

Too, bankrupt schools and dispirited teachers have turned many big city schools into hostile holding pens where youth are written off, misdiagnosed and discouraged. There, too, you will find children who deserve more than tiny dreams.

May we back off passing judgment on Oprah’s philanthropic choices.

May she back off passing judgment on the children who need a miracle here.