PRIVATISATION OF EDUCATION: GLOBAL TRENDS, MULTIPLE MANIFESTATIONS AND COMMON CONCERNS

ANTONI VERGER

Education

Privatization

Pure privatization

Public-private mixes

PURE PRIVATIZATION:LOW-FEE PRIVATE SCHOOLS

• “Private school that has been set up and is owned by an individual or group of individuals for the purpose of making profit, and are supposed to be ‘affordable’” (adapted from Phillipson 2008)

• Countries: India, Pakistan, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Malawi, Perú

• Growing phenomenon: “In Punjab, Pakistan’s urban areas 67% of students attend low-cost private schools. In Accra, Ghana it is 64% and in Lagos, Nigeria it is 70%” (Pearson Inc)

• From an esponatenous to a celebrated and promoted phenomenon.

WHO IS PROMOTING LOW-FEE PRIVATE SCHOOLS?

Aid Agencie

s

Int’l organiza

tions

International

Funds

Micro-financing initiative

s

Foundations

REASONS

- “LFPSs are inherently better than governmental schools”

- “They are affordable”

- “Provide with choice opportunities to the poor”

- “They are a cost-effective way to advance education for all”

- “Teachers are more committed in LFPs”

- “Profit goals are compatible with more noble goals like education for all”

From individual village entrepreneurs to international chains

WARNINGS & QUESTIONS

1. ‘Choice’ or lack of/inappropriate public education offer?

2. Are LFPs growing because the public sector does not recognize sufficiently linguistic or religious minorities?

3. Are LFP schools really ‘affordable’ for the poor?

4. What happens to kids that cannot pay the daily fee?

5. Are LFP schools aggravating gender inequalities?

6. What its the quality/level of accountability and participation in LFP schools?

7. What are the career prospects for teachers that are so badly paid and not trained (“trained in-house”)?

8. Is profit-generation legitimate in education systems with scarce resources?

Education

Privatization

Pure privatization

Public-private mixes

THE CASE OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

•Contract between the public and the private sector: public sector buys a service to the private sector for a certain period of time at a certain price (and according to results)

Objectives•Cost-efficient way to provide ‘public’ education•Promote competition between schools•Promote innovation and diversification in the education system

PPPS AS A ‘CONTINUUM’

Contracting out Charter schools School

choice& vouchers

• The Netherlands

• Belgium• Spain• Argentina

• US• Colombia

• Chile• UK

PPP REPORTS

SCHOOL CHOICE AND VOUCHERS

WARNINGS

• Choice is restricted by physical constrains and information limitations

• To overcome information limitations, standardized evaluations systems are created.

• Standardized evaluation conditions excessively teaching-learning processes and contributes to standardization (not diversification)

• Competition between schools provides incentives to schools to choose the most favorable students > market segmentation and segregation

• Addressing all these ‘market imperfections’ requires of substantive public investment > Challenges the idea of markets in education as a cost-efficient measure

Education

Privatization

Low-fee private schoolsPPPs