Public and Private Partnership in Education.

 Public and Private Partnership in Education. 

During the last couple of decades Public and private partnership (PPP) is a popular and fashionable slogan all around the world. It has been a new and flexible way to make phenomena to develop a country. All countries of the world accepted these phenomena even those countries banned private rules in the first decades. This partnership was extended to build different sector of a country as the development of an airport, railway, roads and so on. Even the PPP influenced every country this much, there was no role in fundemental\human rights. Education One of the important fundamental right of a people was completely under the control of the state. But gradually the history of PPP extended to education over the last three decades as well as the health sector. It involves many ways like building infrastructure, funder voucher, stipends, subsidies, capitation grants.

 

Definitely, there are negative and positive effects behind this partnership. Effects of partnership in the educational sector majorly involved in the quality and equity of education. India is a more privatised country in the educational sector comparing to the other developing countries. Even primary education and childhood education also be under this partnership. 

Here, going to point out what is the public and private partnership, what are the effects of partnership in the educational sector.

 

Defining public and private partnership of education

It can define the contractual relationship between the government and private organization to do some project. Like the involvement of the public and private sector in education with share rewards and benefits. And support and understanding each other to further developments. Both parties would have some rules and regulation and they will plan how it will work together. 

Model of working 

PPP has a different model to work. In some project both would work together like the government will make a plan in the educational process and invite the private sector to join with them or private would have some plan and invite the government to join them. For example, the private and government sector involve together to set up an institution, run an institution and apply any activity in education. Another model is the private sector providing infrastructure and service delivery, and take responsibility for designing, financing, building and operating. The private sector would get the expense of this work in the last of the year. Or they would collect from the users.

 

There are also other models

The government provide infrastructures and private sectors to operate it. Here the government give the expense of the students to the private sectors.  The private sector provides infrastructure and the government to operate it. Here the government would give annualised or lump-sum payment to private sectors. 

The private sector builds infrastructure and runs, here the government give some scholarship to particular students. And private sector collect other money for expanse from other students like, to promote higher education and lack of colleges, scholarship for higher educational institutions.

This partnership not only involve in the setup and run but, it will expand to policymaking, formulation of plan, evaluations, management, special educational programme, teachers training programmes, examinations, extra academic aspects.

 

There are several purposes under this private and public partnership. The government makes the opportunity for people by using private sectors because of the lack of facilities from government sectors. We can see many schools in this country work as explained above model. If that not happened many students would not get access to the school especially those who are disadvantaged. And some private sector works for philanthropic reasons. Their work not for profits but focus to develop the nation. Like Azim Premji foundation’s work in the educational field and schools. Among this partnership, the private sector could make profits. It is very sad that education became a big platform for business in India.

 

One of the examples of PPP is government AIDED schools. Management by the private sector and procedure from the government. Private management voluntarily provides building and lands for education but all process like admission, fees, and salary structures are under the government. It looks like a public school. But it is not a full part of the public. Teachers salary provided by the government.

 

Another most important example is the voucher system in education. The government providing funds for students as individuals and parents have to select to enrol their children. This new system launched in several parts of the world. And also This scheme implemented in some part of India like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan. The government-funded money will go to the private sector who control the educational institutions.

 

Need fo PPP in education

Pritha Gopalan (2013) point outed that “ needs partners outside the government to keep it up to date, efficient, transparent, and engaging. Government is necessary to be a partner with private when the government had no money for a project. Why it is necessary is, if it does not happen, there would not be more accessible to children in the school and there would not be quality in education.

 

• PPP overcome the weakness of the public system. The government sector can’t be autonomous. This partnership can provide flexibility in relaxing restrictions. 
• It increases competitions and brings inefficiency. Reduce the cost of fee in school. The fund which collects from this school bit than private domine institutions. 

And the government argues that PPP does not mean the government privatising the education sector but it allows people to serve or educate their citizens. And be a part of the national progress. As pointed to Barbara Valintine, research and development for institute for training and education for capacity building “ Education is a societal duty and the responsibility not only of government but also of civil society. The effects of our history on the fabric of our whole society, including education, have been so profound that it will take the efforts of all sectors to build s stronger education system.

 

In short, the aims and objectives of the PPP model in the Indian education system to uplift the quality of the Indian education system. And to increase the enrolment ratio of students, and reduce the overload of the government.

 

Benefits

private providers have the flexibility to innovate and introduce better management and pedagogical techniques. Most of the privately funded institution might be built infrastructures with technology and new trending methods of the educational system. Here teachers and children can explore their studies with this technology. 

Many research says that, most of the parents of our country desire to send their children to private English medium school by the most desire to learn English. The private and public-funded school which highly focus on the English language would be the solution for it. Parents send their children to English medium school which remains government education systems. It is most beneficial to low-income parents and their children. 

Model from other countries

 

countries around the world have used this over many decades. It is common and trending in all countries to develop and progress their nation. As we discussed the outcomes of this partnership in India, all over the countries have the same outcomes and quality performance. 

Charter schools in the US 

The first charter school law was passed in 1991. it operated by state or district level control. Now in the US, 6000 charter school educating which involve 6 percentage of students in the US. Charter school receive 60 to 100 percentage fund from the government. Many studies show that the quality of the students who study in charter school has increased than traditional schools. Public and private partnership in the US could increase learning achievement among the students.

The operational fund allowed by the government to private schools is adequate. Even many countries can’t be adequate in giving the fund. Charter school select well trained and qualified teachers. There is no option to run non-performing schools. Authorities have the authority to shut down that kind of schools. 

England 

England set up the “Academies” system which independent from local government and freed of constrain such as teacher pay regulation and national curriculum. There are three types of academies converter academy, sponsor academies, and free schools.

 

The financial model of England is academies are financed by the central government on a per-pupil basis at the exact same rate as state schools. And funding to students who needed only. And philanthropic also provide academies. 

Uganda 

Uganda government’s partnership with private sectors mainly focused to develop the access of students in secondary level education. There were few institutions and facility to provide secondary education before. It maintains this partnership. Universal secondary education started in 2007. private secondary schools are paid a subsidiary level of USH 47,000 ( 1,200) per student’s uniform, stationery and meals. There should be clear, robust and transparent systems and processes to make reimbursements. People can trust this system by strengthening the financial control of the government.

 

Pakistan 

government conceived this programme in 2007. to focus on different achievement of the students in the elementary ratio and quality education. The government provide a cash subsidy for students. And not allowed schools which take the fund by the government to take a fee from students. The programme pays to participate in private schools per students subsidiary 350 to elementary and 400 to secondary. Governments and management structures, and maintaining capacity is critical in the success of the programme in Pakistan. Political help and pressure from political parties could help to move with successful steps. 

In the Indian context 

As we said earlier, several plans of the Indian government became part of this partnership. Especially in the eleventh five-year plan of the government provided more opportunities to progress the nation. Among the other development, government provided 6000 new model school in secondary education. 2500 schools from this were under the PPP .thid school built in the remote area of our country to help students those in the poor background family. 65 lakh students get the opportunity to access quality educations. 25 lakh was from socially disadvantaged students. There was a low fee for students that monthly 25 per head from SC, ST, Other backward students. And for those students who are from socially deprived and non-income tax-paying family had to pay a monthly 50 per head. Other expenses paid by the government. All India Council for technical education (AICTE 1994) allowed the loan to students to promote them for higher education. 

The national skill development corporation ( NSDC) formed in 2008, for the development skill of the 500 million youth by 2022. under this organization set up 150 new industrial training institution and 500 new skill development centre.

 

Challenges of Public and private partnership

 

The PPP system in India faces many challenges.

While processing the programme based works, sometimes have some critical risk such as construction risk, financial risk, market risk, demand risk. It is very difficult to thrive properly.  If need profits, have to do many things like assumed risk, the competitive level, the complexity of the project.  Policies regarding the land is another challenge to do this programme properly in our country.  Lack of better coordination and satisfying contact between government and private sector. By this contradiction, many plans have not successfully complete. 

Some projects became a failure because of the mismatch of the overall coasting projects. Corruption is a big issue for any developmental process in our country. By the involvements of many peoples in this work, highly corruption cases reporting and the programme couldn’t work successfully.

 

Mr Chidambaram ( Finance minister in 2006) listen to many important weakness of the programme in India. 

To successfully of this programme, good policies and regulatory frameworks must be needed. But lack of active participation in government because there are many projects that move under the government. For this reason, the Indian government couldn’t completely successful in this programme. The government have weak to provide equity and debt financing needed by infrastructure for long term instruments.

In India, there is no facility on the shelf of the credible and bankable infrastructure project. Because of this reason government can’t offer financing to the private sectors.  Many programmes under this partnership would take a long year to complete. Therefore it needs many workers and management. But, many public institutions and officers can’t control this process. Lack of this capacity is a major weakness in India.