Governments around the world, and particularly those in developing countries, face significant educational challenges. Despite progress in raising education enrollments at the basic education level, much remains to be done. Today, about 77 million children in developing countries are not in school, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Higher education participation rates remain low in many developing countries, and public higher education institutions (HEIs) struggle to absorb growing numbers of secondary school graduates. Public universities face ongoing challenges, including a lack of teaching and research resources, and the loss of qualified staff to developed countries. The inability of public sector educational institutions, particularly in developing countries, to absorb growing numbers of students at all levels of education has seen the emergence of private schools and HEIs. This paper briefly examines the international experience concerning the regulation of private education at the school and higher education level. It begins with an overview of the private school and higher education sectors and a short discussion of the potential benefits of increased private participation in education. The remainder of the paper focuses on the following questions and sets out propositions for governments to consider.
T he approach to regulating private sector education is as unique as the countries in which the institutions are located. Governments are under considerable pressure as they endeavor to meet access to education targets at all levels, from basic to tertiary. Increasingly, governments are recognizing that they are unable to meet these demands without investment from private providers and thus are eager to ensure that providers and investors are of the highest possible quality. Many governments are endeavoring to determine the most appropriate policy framework that will enable the private sector to contribute to national education goals. Regulation of private education is an issue of critical importance for all stakehold-ers involved: government, providers, investors, parents, and students. How the govern-ment frames its regulatory policies will determine the ease, or difficulty, for private providers to enter the market. At their best, regulations can be welcome guidelines to enable quality providers to understand the req uirements for working in a given jurisdic-tion. When regulations are transparent and appropriately applied, they can provide information for parents and students in e nabling them to make rational decisions on education choice. This publication is a compilation of papers that were developed as background for a Colloquium hosted by the World Bank Group in conjunction with IFC’s international con-ference on private education which was held in May 2008. The opening piece in this pub-lication is a report prepared by two international experts, namely John Fielden, Director of CHEMS Consulting based in London, England, and Norman LaRocque, Policy Advisor, Education Forum, Wellington, New Zealand. This report sets out a brief contextual analy-sis of developments in regulation of private ed ucation before setting out eight propositions for governments to consider in their policy development. The second part of this publica-tion is a series of country case studies prepared by participants attending the aforemen-tioned Colloquium. The case studies were submitted on an informal basis to serve as background information for colloquium participants and should not be considered as for-mal reports setting out a definitive context for regulation of education in a particular coun-try. The purpose of this publication is to serve as the basis for further discussion on the development of regulatory policies and to provide case studies through which others might gain insight of different approaches. This publication has been produced through the joint efforts of three departments within the World Bank Group and numerous individuals beyond the Bank who have made significant contributions. The WBG departments are: the Health and Education Depart-ment of the IFC, the Education Team of the Human Development Network, and the Human Development Department in the Africa Region of the World Bank. Individuals attending the conference were from the following countries: Australia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam.
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Svava Bjarnason Harry Anthony Patrinos Jee-Peng Tan
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The editors wish to acknowledge the financial assistance in the preparation of this pub-lication from the Norwegian government through the Norwegian Post-basic Education Fund (NPEF) managed by the Human Development Department in the Africa Region of the World Bank.
The Evolving Regulatory Context for Private Education in Emerging Economies
By John Fielden and Norman LaRocque
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■ What are the potential regulatory barriers to private sector growth from both an educational and financial sector perspective? ■ What are some possible policy initiatives that would address these barriers? ■ What are the key elements to be addressed in developing regulatory frameworks for private provision? ■ Are there examples of good practice among existing policies, either in whole or in part?
Introduction
C H A P T E R 1
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G overnmentsaroundthewoalrlcdh,aalnlednpgaers.ticDuelsapriltyetphroosegrienssdienverlaoipsiinnggceoduunctartiieosn, face significant education 77 million children in developing countries are not in school, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Higher education participation rates remain low in many develop-ing countries, and public higher education institutions (HEIs) struggle to absorb growing numbers of secondary school graduates. Public universities face ongoing challenges, including a lack of teaching and research resources, and the loss of qualified staff to devel-oped countries. The inability of public sector educational institutions, particularly in developing countries, to absorb growing numbers of students at all levels of education has seen the emergence of private schools and HEIs. This paper briefly examines the international experience concerning the regulation of private education at the school and higher education level. It begins with an overview of the private school and higher education sectors and a short discussion of the potential benefits of increased private participation in education. The remainder of the paper focuses on the following questions and sets out some possible Good Practice Propositions for govern-ments to consider:
What are the specific regulatory issues that need to be addressed to facilitate new and innovative educational partnerships between the public, philanthropic, and private sectors? What role can international organizations such as the World Bank and IFC play in promoting private participation in education?