The Role and Impact of PPPs in
Education: Learning from International
Experience
Institute for Democracy and
Economic Affairs
31 May 2011
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Norman LaRocque
Senior Education Specialist
Asian Development Bank
Introduction
Defining Partnerships
•
Definition of partnership differs in terms of scope,
nature and formality of arrangements:
-
“risk sharing relationship based upon an agreed aspiration
between the public and private sectors to bring about a
desired public policy outcome.”
– Commission on UK PPPs
-
“cooperative venture between the public and private sectors,
built on the expertise of each partner, that best meets clearly
defined public needs through the appropriate allocation of
resources, risks and rewards.”
– Canadian Council for PPPs
PPPs: Key Elements
•
Key Elements:
-
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Formal arrangement between public and private sectors
Private financing and/or private delivery of public services
Ultimate responsibility remains with public sector
Arrangement often based on explicit contract
Focus on service delivery and outputs/outcomes, not inputs
Sharing of risks/rewards between public and private sectors.
•
Range of objectives: improved efficiency, enhanced
quality, increased access.
•
Various forms of PPP:
– Service delivery
– Infrastructure
– Finance.
Potential Benefits of PPPs
Increase efficiency – improved incentives and
increased competition
Improve quality of service delivery
Secure specialized skills not available in sector
Overcome public service operating restrictions –
salary scales, civil service work rules
Quicker response to changing demands and facilitate
adoption of service delivery innovations
Government focus on areas of comparative advantage
Increase access, especially among poorly served
groups
Increase transparency of government spending.
PPPs in Global Perspective
Classifying PPPs in Basic Education
Education Service
Delivery Initiatives
• Private management of
public schools
• Contracting with private
schools for delivery of
education services
• Contracting with private
providers for the
delivery of specialist
curricula
• Provision of before and
after school care
• Provision of tutoring
services
• Outsourcing of ancillary
functions at schools
Philanthropic
Initiatives
Infrastructure
PPPs
• Private Finance
Initiatives - finance,
construction and
maintenance of
core and non-core
educational assets
• Private leasing of
public school
facilities
• Equipment and
maintenance of IT
laboratories
• Private sector
school construction
Demand-side
Financing Programs
Education Support
Initiatives
• Publicly and
privately financed
voucher programs
• Targeted
scholarship
programs
• Payment of
subsidies to
students at private
schools
• Tax credits/tax
assistance
• Private involvement in curriculum
development
• Private sector
involvement in
quality assurance
• Private
information/
testing services
• Private sector
school review
• Scholarships, private voucher programs
• School sponsorships, Adopt-a School programs
• School construction
Examples of Partnerships in Education
Partnership Type
Examples
Education Service Delivery
•
•
Contracting for the
Delivery of Education
Services
•
•
•
•
•
•
• Private Management of •
Public Schools
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Infrastructure PPPs
•
Government Sponsorship of Private School Students, Cote
d’Ivoire
Educational Services Contracting, Philippines
Alternative Education, New Zealand
Foundation Assisted Schools, Punjab (Pakistan)
Universal Secondary Education, Uganda
Promoting Private Schooling in Rural Sindh, Pakistan
Concession Schools (Bogota), Colombia
Railways Schools/Management of Government Schools
Lahore/Developments in Learning, Pakistan
Fe y Alegria, South America
Independent Schools, Qatar
Contract schools and Charter Schools, USA
Khazanah Trust Schools, Malaysia
Private Finance Initiative, UK
Leasing of Public Schools to Private Operators, Pakistan
School Private Finance Projects in Australia, Canada,
Germany, New Zealand
Build Transfer Lease Scheme, South Korea
Examples of Partnerships in Education
Partnership Type
Demand-side Financing
Philanthropic Initiatives
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Examples
PACES voucher program, Colombia
Voucher scheme, Chile
Private school subsidies, Cote d’Ivoire
School funding system, the Netherlands and Sweden
Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, USA
Voucher scheme, Qatar
Punjab Education Foundation programs, Pakistan
State tax credit programs, USA
WEF Global Education Initiative – Jordan, India,
Egypt, Palestinian National Authority
• Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• Academies Program, UK
• League of Corporate Foundations, Philippines
Education Support Services
• Philippines and Pakistan adopt-a-school programs
• Private sector school review in UK, Dubai, Thailand,
Abu Dhabi
• Private sector accreditation services, Philippines
• School testing services, USA and Philippines
Education Service Delivery Initiatives
•
•
•
Government contracts with private schools to enrol
students at public expense or contract private sector to
manage non-performing public schools
Often used where there is insufficient public sector
capacity and/or quality of public education is low
Key features:
– Formal contract
– School paid a fixed amount per student enrolled
– Education is delivered using provider’s
infrastructure or public infrastructure
– Schools accountable for performance
– For-profit or not-for-profit schools
Foundation Assisted Schools (FAS)
Program, Pakistan
•
Key features:
– Schools paid Rs350/month for each student
they enroll (up to set maximum)
– Schools located in poor urban and rural areas
– No tuition or other fees
– Regular quality assurance tests
– Continued program participation dependent on
school performance
Rapid expansion – from 54 schools/20,000
students in late 2005 to 1,157 schools/
500,000 students in early 2008
Foundation Assisted Schools
Program, Punjab (Pakistan)
1600
600,000
1400
500,000
400,000
1000
800
300,000
600
200,000
400
100,000
200
0
0
2005
2006
2007
Number of Schools
2008
2009
Number of Students
Number of Students
Number of Schools
1200
Educational Service Contracting, Philippines
Government contracts with private secondary schools to
enrol students in areas where there is a shortage of
public places
Administered by the Fund for Assistance to Private
Education, a private not-for-profit organization
Certification program for schools participating in ESC to
address ‘ghost students/ghost schools’ issue
In 2008/09, 477,000 recipients, > 2,000 private schools
½ of secondary schools had ESC grantees in 2008/09
Per-student payment is PhP4,500
450,000
2,000
400,000
1,800
350,000
1,600
1,400
300,000
1,200
250,000
1,000
200,000
800
150,000
600
100,000
400
50,000
200
0
0
ESC Grantees
Participating Schools
Number of Participating Schools
Number of Grantees
ESC Recipients and Schools, 1986/87-2005/06
Concession Schools, Colombia
•
•
Key features:
– Competitive selection process
– Newly constructed schools
– 15 year contract
– Schools paid $US500 per student per year
– School autonomy
– Operate in disadvantaged areas
– Educational outcome targets
– Formal contract specifying delivery standards
25 schools serving over 26,000 students and plans for
further schools
Vouchers and Voucher-type Programs
•
Many countries are making use of vouchers and vouchertype programs in education, including subsidies to private
schools
•
More than 30 countries using demand-side financing
mechanisms to finance education - vary from
small/targeted to full/national programs:
- Colombia – PACES program
- Swedish school choice program
- Denmark, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Canada,
Senegal and others – public funding of private schools
- Chile – national voucher program
- USA – Florida, Milwaukee and Cleveland voucher schemes
- Pakistan – Punjab Education Foundation
National Voucher Program, Chile
•
•
•
•
•
•
Nationwide voucher program implemented in 1980
Applies to public and private schools – secular and
religious
Monthly payments are made to schools on a perstudent basis
Initially, subsidized private schools could not charge
top-up fees
Voucher schools must follow certain operational
guidelines (eg. basic facilities, certified teachers, class
size, etc)
Vouchers cover most or all of the tuition at eligible
schools
School Infrastructure Initiatives
•
•
•
Governments contract with private sector to design,
finance, build and operate school infrastructure
Key features:
– Private sector builds schools and operates them
for a set period
– Schools returned to government at end of contract
– Long-term contracts – 15-30 years
– Government employs teachers, while private sector
employs non-teaching staff
– Performance based payments – specified services
and agreed performance standards
Examples include Canada, UK, Australia, Germany.
PPP for New Schools, Egypt
•
•
•
•
•
PPP to build 2,210 new
primary and secondary
schools in Egypt
First stage involves
construction of 345 schools
in 18 governorates
Government provides land
Private sector designs,
constructs, finances and
furnishes schools and
provides non-educational
services
15 year contracts
Education Support Services
•
Various forms of educational support are delivered via
PPPs – teacher training, school review, performance
evaluation
•
Examples include:
−
−
CfBT undertakes teaching/learning support and
personnel/evaluation functions in Gulf States
CfBT and Cambridge Education both undertake school
reviews/inspections – China, Dubai, Thailand, UK
Public authorities in Colombia contract with the Escuela
Nueva Foundation to train rural school teachers,
distribute textbooks and update curricula
Punjab Education Foundation trains private school
teachers
Philanthropy
•
•
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Wide range of philanthropic ventures in education in
many countries – some centrally coordinated/
regulated and others not
Examples include:
Adopt-a-school programs
School improvement programs
School construction
Private sector venture funds
Some countries coordinate/regulate philanthropic
initiatives – eg. Philippines, Pakistan
League of Corporate Foundations,
Philippines
•
•
•
•
•
Established 1993 and officially registered in 1996
Governed by 7 member Board
More than 50 corporate foundations and business
organizations
Role:
Provide services to enhance institutional
capabilities to member firms
External advocacy role – information,
coordination, networking, research
Full time Secretariat
Amount of Education Investments, LCF,
2002-2007
600
543
500
Millions of Pesos
400
367
296
300
200
194
189
165
100
0
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Adopt-a-School Program, Philippines
•
•
Private sector philanthropic venture that provides
resources and support to public schools
Key features:
–
–
–
–
–
•
•
Established 1997
Public primary, secondary schools and tertiary institutions
Targeted on poorest provinces
Assistance can involve staff development, construction/
upgrading of facilities, books and learning materials and
technology
Tax incentives for participating individuals, organizations
and firms
$284 million invested from 2000-2008
Sometimes combined with private management of
public schools initiatives
Private Sector Support Through Adopt-aSchool, Philippines
7,000
6,307
6,000
Millions of Pesos
5,000
3,972
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,965
1,000
0
2000-2006
2007
2008
Making
Public-private Partnerships
Work
Regulating for PPPs
Provide legal recognition for private education
Introduce realistic and objective criteria, and
streamlined processes for the establishment
and operation of private schools
Allow for-profit schools to operate
Provide financial incentives to private schools
Provide families with information on school
performance
Encourage philanthropy
Regulating for PPPs
Establish quality assurance processes
Develop government regulatory capacity
Promote and facilitate FDI in the education
sector
Ensure flexible operating environment for
private schools
Provide support services to schools
Other PPP Success Factors
• Split purchaser/provider roles within government
• Ensure capacity of contracting agency
• Transparent, competitive process for selection of PPP
providers
• Establish appropriate performance measures, incentives
and sanctions
• Effective contract monitoring framework
• Introduce longer-term contracts with providers
• Independent evaluation of provider performance
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Conclusions
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Wide range of PPP models available
•
Increasing international experience with PPPs.
Countries have adapted general PPP model to a
variety of country and developmental contexts
•
Considerable interest and growing expertise in PPP
design among donor agencies such as ADB
•
Context important – country governance, financial
management/administrative capacity, size/nature of
private sector, fiscal situation, demographics
•
Debate should be about role of government, not
whether government is involved or not in education
“It doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white, as
long as it catches mice.”
-
Deng Xiaoping
ADB Education
Website
www.adb.org/education
nlarocque@adb.org