Examples of good practice in private education regulation?
A note from Svava Bjarnason, Private Education Forum moderator:
Facilitating discussion on regulatory issues is the primary purpose of this Online Discussion Forum. However, a secondary purpose is to begin to collate resources for governments, policy makers and practitioners working in regulatory contexts in emerging economies.
Therefore, we welcome your recommendations for examples of policies and regulatory frameworks that can be put forward as good practise. Here are a few examples we have collected so far on the 2008 IFC Online Discussion Resources webpage:
- The Ghanaian National Accreditation Board publishes a Roadmap to Accreditation on its website which has two stages: (1) Institutional Authorisation, and (2) Program Accreditation.
- In Tanzania there are three stages to the process, all under the wing of the Tanzanian Commission for Universities, which are set out on their website.
We encourage Forum Participants (and others) to submit links to documents or webpages via this blog or send them to ifconlinediscussion2008@ifc.org. What makes your case an example of good practice? How might it be useful for other countries struggling with the same issues? We'll collect all the submitted examples on the 2008 IFC Online Discussion Resources webpage to serve as a general resource on this topic.
Comments (11)
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Private education has become a recent initiative in Ethiopia. To this end, many private institutions of learning are being expanded without taking into account the viability and anticipated investment returns on the part of the students.
The question of access to resources such as land and loans is not yet defined by regulation. Nonetheless, the opportunity for private education is immense and there got to be national, regional and international dialogue in order to benefit from the fruits of private education.
Posted by: Dr. Agedew Redie | Nov 6, 2008 7:00:36 PM
An interesting issue is whether and how much scope there is for use of the private sector as a means of regulation - in areas such as quality assurance/accreditation and entry into the education marketplace.
There are many examples in the education sector where private organizations regulate/certify quality. For example, Cisco and Microsoft both provide private sector certification of skills in the IT field(http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/learning_career_certifications_and_learning_paths_home.html and http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/default.mspx). Cambridge International Examinations plays a similar role at the school level by providing qualifications for 14-19 year olds (http://www.cie.org.uk/). The Accrediting Agency for Seventh Day Adventist Schools (http://www.nadeducation.org/dynamic.html?wspID=300&wscID=146) operates its own accreditation system for its programs and institutions. There are other examples, including the US system of higher education accreditation (http://www.chea.org/default.asp), the privately operated accreditation system for schools, colleges and universities in the Philippines (http://www.dlsu.edu.ph/accreditation/paascu/default.asp) and international accrediting organizations such as EQUIS (http://www.efmd.org/index.php/component/efmd/?cmsid=040929rpku), which provides international accreditation of higher education institutions in business and management.
Private accreditation can help to address some of the concerns with government regulation outlined above - a key one being that governments may use regulation to limit the entry of private institutions in order to protect public institutions from competition (ie government is both referee and player). The issue for governments is to put in place a system where such private regulation is recognized.
(Comment is cross-posted under "And yet more challenges...": http://psdblog.worldbank.org/psdblog/2008/11/and-yet-more-ch.html)
Posted by: Norman LaRocque | Nov 7, 2008 9:37:46 AM
Another example in which the private sector is involved in quality certification processes for schools and universities is the case of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 9001) http://www.iso.org/iso/home.htm.
In theory, schools engage in processes to obtain international quality certification driven by two main objectives. First, to carry out internal reforms during the certification process in order to align internal management processes with the international norm. The main advantage associated is that schools examine, document, and aim at optimizing each one of the internal management processes. Second, certified schools earn a reputational benefit from having an internationally recognized certification.
In Colombia, the National Institute for Technical Norms (ICONTEC) developed guidelines GTC 200 to adopt the content of ISO 9001 norms to the education sector in order to make them accessible to a larger group of schools (normally, private schools have the resources to engage in quality certification processes however, lower resource schools may be more constrained)
http://www.lalibreriadelau.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/1236.
The Colombian Ministry of Education partners with universities to carry out specialized courses and certifications on education quality certification in order to “democratize” the access to the adoption of international standards. These courses are available to both public and private education institutions
http://www.mineducacion.gov.co/cvn/1665/article-133593.html.
It is uncertain; however, what is the effect of investing time and resources to engage in quality certification processes on the efficiency of schools systems and the improvement of academic outcomes.
Posted by: Juliana Guaqueta | Nov 7, 2008 3:17:37 PM
In my opinion, Government should involve providers of private education in its policy formation for some reasons:
1) When private education providers take part in the government policy formation, they have their voice that contributes benefits to the private education. Management theory and practice show that, when people take part in the decision making they can understand better and implement the policies better.
2) Create balance between public and private: government can understand more the role of private education and will create conditions for private education to develop. For some reasons government cannot pay enough attention to its private education (lack of funds, wrong understanding of the private education, etc).
3) Private providers will influence public education to make the changes happen together in both sectors and private and public. Private education contributes to education not only in terms of quality, but also creates a competitive environment that makes management mechanism to be more effectively and efficiently.
What will happen when private education providers stand outside the policy forming process of the government? No any parties are benefit when they don't merge together, even when government supports only for public education.
Education is for all, so government should have responsibility for both sectors. Private sector when take part in government policies formation, understand more about the difficulties of the government and public sector face and will be willing to share these difficulties.
The mechanism for the private providers to take part in the policy formation is creating a steering committee and advisory board where both public and private education representatives work together. They have the equal right to voice and vote. The Government is a monitor to balance their rights and to make the final decision that benefit for the whole education system to serve education for everyone and for the benefits of the nation.
Posted by: Tran Thi Bich Lieu | Nov 8, 2008 9:10:07 PM
I'm coming late into the conversations so forgive me if I'm going over old territory.
I am correct in assuming that consumer protection is overarching objective of regulation in the education sector?
If so, then is it right to assume that the consumers that need to be protected include the prospective and current students as well as the corporations and organizations that recruit employees from those institutions?
If these assumptions are correct, then is there a possible alternative to government regulation that might achieve the same ends?
For example, just to be fanciful, what if a government decided not to regulate private education at all (because it would be too difficult and too expensive). What if, instead, the government made it a requirement for all tax payers to list the names of their primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions and their year of graduation as a part of their tax returns.
The government would have a wealth of comparative education data which if used in conjunction with traditional income data from the tax returns (including employer and economic sector details) could serve as a powerful proxy for both public and private education institution efficiency, effectiveness and competitiveness.
Government could publish the data annually in league table format (in newspapers, the internet and SMS/text messages) to show which schools and universities were contributing the most or the least to productivity in the the formal labor market.
With this data being widely available, individual consumers (parents and students) could determine which schools and universities produced graduates that were attractive to the labor market.
Likewise corporations and organizations in the labor market could also use this data to sharpen their recruiting efforts.
Just a thought. My company, School Ventures, is focused on improving access to information as a way to strengthen decision-making by those stakeholders involved in the education of children. We believe that the lack of good information, more than the absence of good regulation, is the major problem in today's education markets.
Posted by: Mubuso Zamchiya | Nov 9, 2008 10:52:24 PM
In Malaysia, the government has routinely consulted the private university providers. Private universities have participated in developing national policy options as well as National regulatory and enabling frameworks.
The normal mechanisms used by the government in Malaysia to include the private universities are through consultations, workshops, seminars, general briefings, membership in National committees. Memberships can be as individuals as well as from the private university associations depending on the circumstances. Often such committees are even headed by the private sector if the issues impact the private universities the most.
As a private university operator I find that this inclusive process is very useful and beneficial to all the stakeholders. Through such an inclusive process Malaysia has been able to draw upon the collective expertise, knowledge and networks of all stakeholders. We have drawn up National strategic and action plans together and I believe the success of this process is clearly seen with the international positioning of Malaysia as a growing hub for higher education.
Posted by: Ansary Ahmed, President Asia e University | Nov 10, 2008 7:54:11 PM
For what it is worth (not an emerging economy) see the detailed protocols established by the Australian government for the accreditation of higher education http://www.mceetya.edu.au/mceetya/national_protocols_for_higher_education_mainpage,15212.html and the quality training framework for vocational education and training
http://aei.gov.au/AEI/CEP/Australia/EducationSystem/TechVoc/AccredQA/default.htm
Posted by: David Wilmoth | Nov 10, 2008 9:44:14 PM
A recent online article reports that the government of Nepal is planning to abolish private schools by converting them into government establishments within two years
(http://nongsain.indopia.in/India-usa-uk-news/latest-news/420494/International/2/70/A).
The stated aim of the policy is to "provide free education to all up to class XII".
Such 'conversions' of private schools into public schools have been undertaken in a number of countries over the years, though many were subsequently reversed and the schools returned to the private sector.
What are country experiences with such policies? Have they helped achieve free education for all?
Would demand side financing interventions such as vouchers, subsidies and scholarships offer an alternative mechanism for achieving education for all?
Posted by: Norman LaRocque | Nov 11, 2008 8:20:02 PM
On the issue of collaboration between the public and private basic education sectors, we have two interesting examples of political challenges recently from South Asia. In India the new Education Act sets up a situation where all private schools will be mandated to reserve 25% of the places for children from disadvantaged groups. In Nepal it has been mandated that all private schools shall become government schools within a period of two years.
Two questions emerge this:
1. Pre these decisions, how much discussion was held with non state operators?
2. Post these decisions, what will be the mechanisms for negotiation for implementation of such dramatic laws.
Posted by: Michael Latham | Nov 13, 2008 10:46:48 AM
So far most educational institutions focus on education for employability – internal training for training apprentices or students. Successful placement in the labor market is the key measure of their success.
A most efficient education would however be the training for productivity – the mid- and short-term training strategy program – allowing educational institutions to expand their facilities and expertise to add a profitable new dimension to education by addressing the labor market demand directly. This greatly enhances the standing of educational institutions, generates new revenue streams for further investments, and raises standards and relevance of training both for basic and further education of individuals in society. As a spin-off, the experience gained in training for productivity will impact on the quality of education of students.
Experiences to team-up educational institutions and world-wide operating private companies have shown the positive results of such partnership.
To be able to optimize the training for productivity on one hand and therefore also improve the quality of education for employability on the other, a professional partnership between educational institutions and private companies in the area of excellence, innovation, and leadership is required.
By partnering with leading companies, educational institutions aim for the mid- and short-term training programs having as a consequence quality and relevance for education, closing the specific gaps to improve the productivity.
Private companies will benefit from such partnership by guiding educational institutions on their specific demands for qualification of human resources anticipating changes in quality and quantities if future required employees.
Posted by: Dr. Nader Imani | Nov 13, 2008 7:38:17 PM
Yes, the Government must involve private providers in policy and decision-making concerning the role of the private sector. In general, it is difficult to develop a sector without implying the actors of this sector.
In Cameroon, the aspects of regulation of the private institutions which are respected are those which benefitted from the expertise and the experiment of private providers. They are particularly the programs and the conditions of accreditation.
Posted by: Brigitte Matchinda, Director of Private Higher Education, Cameroon | Nov 14, 2008 1:46:18 PM