Education: would public-private partnerships work?

03 June 2005
id21

Education is no longer the sole responsibility of the state. Chronic financial constraints in developing countries, together with the positive results of privatisation, have led to new private and community management, financing, and investment in education. Education is increasingly taking on a more commercial attitude. As it becomes a marketable product, what are the implications for equity and efficiency? Can private provision be promoted whilst at the same time ensuring social unity?

A handbook produced by the Centre for British Teachers (CfBT) and the World Bank seeks to encourage discussion, disseminate information and outline a model for involving the private sector in delivering education.

The CfBT handbook defines private education as any type of formal school that is outside the public education system, perhaps financed by a non-governmental organisation, church, trust, foundation, state agency or municipality.

Most private delivery systems analysed in the handbook have emerged spontaneously, in response to excess demand. The growth of the private education sector has been unregulated and unsupported within a strategy of public-private partnership.

Private schools face major constraints:

Anti-privatisation feeling is encouraged by state-employed teachers' unions, public sector institutions and international organisations.

'Edupreneurs' often lack access to capital and to skilled and qualified teachers.

Slow and lengthy registration and regulation procedures, together with the absence of an enforceable legal framework for private sector provision, force many providers to operate on an unregistered basis or with only provisional state approval.

The lack of private sector associations prevents effective interaction with the government and hinders any form of self-regulation from within the industry.

The public sector is not accountable for the quality and equity of its service provision, as is the private sector.

Both the centralised public sector and the individualistic private sector have their flaws. Lack of competition in the public sector limits incentives for efficiency and effectiveness, while in the private sector there are problems with regard to a lack of information, too many examples of opportunistic behaviour and problems with access. A more practical approach based on partnership between the two systems needs to be explored for more effective basic education provision.

CƒBT and the World Bank acknowledge that there is no public-private partnership model that can be applied to all situations but call for fresh thinking on three traditional government roles in education –as financier, regulator and provider. They advocate:

extensive national analysis of current private practice, its strengths and weaknesses

more analysis and dialogue between providers of public and private education services and a sharing of resources

establishment of mechanisms within the private sector that encourage views and feedback from different types of private providers and their clients

appreciation that partnerships require changes within national bureaucracies and planning processes: only through joint planning and discussion can the roles and responsibilities of each sector be clarified

recognition that regulation is not uniform for government and private providers, such as the discriminatory requirements for teacher qualifications and pay.

The state must take the lead in developing public-private partnerships that are built on a common understanding, providing information to support consumer choice, a favorable legal and regulatory framework, transparency and the state's ability to recover any profits to use for sharing resources across sectors.

Contributor(s): Norman LaRocque, Michael Latham and James Tooley

Source(s):

'Private sector participation in education: a handbook on a review of possible ways and means', Centre for British Teachers and World Bank, by Norman LaRocque, Michael Latham and James Tooley 2002

Funded by: Centre for British Teachers

id21 Research Highlight: 25 May 2005

Further Information:

Norman LaRocque

New Zealand Business Roundtable

P O Box 10-147

Wellington

New Zealand

Tel: 64 4 4949102

Fax: + 64 4 4711304

Email: nlarocque@nzbr.org.nz