Schools etc used a complex (8)
I believe the answer is:
educates
'schools' is the definition.
('educate' can be a synonym of 'school')
'etc used a complex' is the wordplay.
'complex' indicates an anagram.
'etc'+'used'+'a'='etcuseda'
'etcuseda' with letters rearranged gives 'EDUCATES'.
(Other definitions for educates that I've seen before include "Trains the mind and abilities" , "Trains, teaches" , "Instructs, teaches" .)