World Bank support for public-private partnerships in education: Examining equity

• In Event: Are Public-Private Partnerships in Education Acceptable from a Human Rights Perspective?

Proposal

The World Bank is one of the largest external financiers of education in developing countries, managing a portfolio of $14 billion, with operations in 76 countries as of June 2015 (World Bank 2015). This includes International Development Association (IDA) funding, which is allocated as concessional loans and grants to the worlds’ poorest countries. In addition to this important financing role, the Bank also has substantial influence on country education policy and practice through its policy advice, knowledge products and technical assistance.
While much of its financial support is directed to improving public education systems, the World Bank Group has sometimes been an advocate for strengthening the role of the private sector in the delivery of education. This has included championing public-private partnership (PPP) approaches such as vouchers and school “choice,” stipends and capitation grants for private schools, as well as other market-oriented reforms to education systems (Mundy and Menashy 2014). Its arguments typically center on claims of superior outcomes resulting from privately-provided education, particularly better test scores, lower cost and greater accountability due to competition (Patrinos et.al 2009). It also argues that private schools drive up quality in public schools through competition. However it often fails to acknowledge the paucity of evidence for these claims in the literature (Mundy and Menashy 2014).

In a number of countries, the World Bank through IDA is financing government programs which involve public-private partnerships with private school operators through per-student stipends, capitation grants or vouchers for low-fee private schools (Mundy and Menashy 2014). In its project evaluations and policy documents, the World Bank has portrayed several recent programs as successful models that should be replicated (for example, World Bank 2013). In contrast, academic research on education PPPs often points to concerns about their impact on equity and social segregation (Verger and Moschetti 2016; Mizala and Torche 2010; Gonzalez et.al 2004). Recent research on low-fee and commercial private schools has also highlighted concerns relevant to PPPs about equity and discrimination, unqualified teachers, poor labor conditions and lack of compliance with national curriculum and other regulations (for example, Srivastava 2013). Meanwhile, there are very few independent or external evaluations of WB-supported PPPs, and very little critical analysis, particularly from an equity perspective.

This paper will examine the World Bank portfolio of support for PPPs in education, including recent trends in financing as well as policy approaches. It aims to begin to fill the gap in critical research and analysis of these programs by asking questions about their impact on equity, as well as aspects of education quality, community participation, cost-effectiveness, and the longer-term health of public education systems. It will include case studies of IDA operations in several countries that include support for low-fee private schools (LFPS) through a PPP approach. It will also allow a broader look at how the World Bank is influencing country education policy and practice through its lending.

Author

• Katie Malouf-Bous, Oxfam International