Transcript Public Private Partnerships in Pakistan: Moving Primary Education towards the MDGs SASHD

Public Private Partnerships in Pakistan:
Moving Primary Education towards the MDGs
Christine Allison
SASHD
11 April 2002
Outline of Presentation
1. A brief overview of Pakistan’s Primay Education Sector
1. The Pakistan Government and Private Education
1. The World Bank and Private Education in Pakistan
1. The way forward: Government and Work Bank working
together
1. A Brief Overview of Pakistan’s Primary Education Sector
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Following some improvement in the enrolment ratio in the first half of the
1990s, the rate at best stabilized and possibly fell in second half of the 1990s
(reliable data are limiting factor)
“education gap” has gender, locational and income dimensions: gender gap
has narrowed but is still considerable; urban-rural gap has widened in the
1990s; gap in enrollment rates between richest households and poorest
households has also widened
Big shift in public-private enrollment distribution: in the 1990s decade,
enrollment numbers in government schools remained the same; enrollment in
private schools tripled. Private school enrollment now accounts for 28% of
total enrollment; 31% for girls. While private enrollment is strongest in high
income groups, all income groups exhibit increasing enrollment share in
private schools.
Pakistan has some of the poorest education sector indicators in the world:
primary gross enrolment ratio is in the order of 70%; net enrolment ratio is
around 50% (5-9 year olds). Only one in two children who enter first grade
complete primary cycle.
1. A brief overview of Pakistan’s Primary education sector
Table 1: Primary Gross Enrollment Rates (%)
1995- 1996- 19981991
96
97
99
Punjab
..
73
73
76
Sindh
..
70
64
56
NWFP
.
66
68
67
Balochistan
..
63
58
58
All Four Above
..
71
70
69
Azad J & K
..
..
..
101
Northern Areas
..
..
..
75
FATA
..
..
..
39
Pakistan -- Urban
81
88
87
91
Pakistan -- Rural
59
64
63
61
Pakistan – Male
78
81
78
78
Pakistan -- Female
53
60
61
60
Pakistan -65
71
70
69
Aggregate
1. A brief overview of Pakistan’s Primary Education Sector
1.
A brief overview of Pakistan’s Primary Education
Sector
Enrollment in Government and Private Schools: 2000
Boys
Girls
Total enrollment
Government
schools
6,923,157
(72.5%)
4,411,503
(69.4%)
11,334,660
(71.3%)
Private Schools
2,623,221
(27.5%)
1,945,669
(30.6%)
4,568,890
(28.7%)
All Schools
9,546,378
(100%)
6,357,172
(100%)
15,903,550
(100%)
1. A brief overview of Pakistan’s Primary Education Sector
1. A brief overview of Pakistan’s Primary Education Sector
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There are a large number of school types in Pakistan (17 including the
madrassahs). (See school grid; handout) This is the result of half a century of
changing priorities, new fads in the development community, and a laissezfaire domestic policy
Public sector schools (eight types), ranging from regular village schools
which teach in urdu to elite “public” colleges, which teach in english. Fees
range from nominal in village schools to Rs.2000/month (=$33) in elite
schools. Quality is very varied
Community schools (four types), many of which are the result of
pilot/experimental efforts, supported by donors. Fees range from nominal to
around Rs.100/month
Private schools (four types), which include private for profit, not-for-profit,
NGO and individual philanthropy. Medium of tuition is mainly english (some
urdu), with fees ranging from less than Rs.100/month ($1.5) to over Rs.5000.
2. The Pakistan Government and Private Education
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Successive governments in Pakistan have held different policy stances vis-àvis private education.
1972-79: the Bhutto years: nationalization of all private schools
1979-89: the return of private schools and expansion of madrassahs
1989-99: The decade of pilots and new approaches, in the aftermath of
Jomtien. Focus on NGOs and communities to increase access (esp. for girls)
and quality. Launching of school and village level committees to involve
parents and introduce horizontal accountability
1999 – to date Musharaff era: In response to crisis of democracy,
participation and distribution, all out effort to mobilize the private sector and
civil society partners to provide additional resources, improve management
and accountability. Government’s role changing from provider to facilitator
and arranger of services: attack on the “failed state”.
2. The Pakistan Government and Private education
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Pakistan is committed to the MDG targets for education. The IPRSP has set
ambitious targets for enrollment, retention, governance and quality indicators
As part of the strategy to improve access and school quality, the government
is explicitly promoting the private sector and public-private partnerships. The
government is seeking genuine and equal partnership with the private sector.
In the 2001-2004 Education Sector Reform Action Plan, the Government is
seeking to legitimize and formalize institutional arrangements for the various
school experiments launched in the 1990s (fellowships schools, adopt-aschool); to redefine the respective roles of the state, communities, parents,
and the private sector;
2. The Pakistan Government and Private education (cont.)
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The ESR has put forward a number of actions to support and engage the
private sector:
(i) incentives for the private sector: concessions on land prices, utility rates,
customs duties, income tax
(ii) school registration process simplified; more transparent procedures
(iii) restructured and re-financed Education Foundations, for more effective
public-private partnerships
(iv) Leasing of public facilities to private operators
(v) co-management of government schools by private operators “adopt a
school”
The government is intent on building capacity in government for effective
private sector collaboration
3. The World Bank and Private Education in Pakistan
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Until very recently, and with the exception of IFC’s Beacon House school
investment, the World Bank has not engaged directly with Pakistan’s private
education sector. The Bank’s focus has been predominantly on government
schools, government financing and provision of education.
However, during the 1990s, mainly thru projects, the Bank supported a
number of pilot activities whereby public funding and private provision were
encouraged. The Balochistan Girls Fellowship schools program is wellknown throughout the Bank for its very positive impact on girls enrollment.
The Social Action Program (project) supported the creation and operation of
SMCs, PTAs, PECs, VECs etc. as part of community involvement. SAPP
also promoted the contacting out by government of education services (such
as teacher training) to NGOs. Also sought adequate funding of Education
Foundations. All these programs met a lot of bureaucratic resistance.
3. The World Bank and Private Education in Pakistan
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During the past year, in support of the ESR and in recognition of the growing
importance on the private sector, the Bank has undertaken a number of AAA
activities. To mention a few:
Initial reconnaissance mission on private education (by ML, supported AV)
Study on private schools
Advise on regulatory framework, incentives package, funding and activities
of Education Foundations, new charter for NEF
Symposium of education decentralization, private education
And on-going activities include a policy note that provides a more coherent
framework for public policy vis-à-vis the private sector and ppp; TA to help
design a new scholarship program; and preparation of a LIL for national
assessment that will be used in both public and private sector schools.
4. The way forward: Government and the Bank working
together
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Until 2 years ago, the Bank (and other donors) were leading the development
of Pakistan’s primary education sector (doing the “heavy lifting, as QAG told
us!). While experimenting with some ppp and community-based approaches,
the bulk of the Bank’s effort was on the public sector. In all honesty, the Bank
was blind to the rapid growth of private school enrollment.
The present government has picked up the reins and is now driving the
education sector forward. The program is bold and ambitious and challenges
many hitherto “givens”. The emphasis is on both the public sector and the
private sector and the interface of the two, ppp. After a slow start, the Bank is
now fully engaged with the reform program, across the board.
The Pakistan government faces a number of major challenges as it pursues an
equal and dynamic partnership with the private sector: finding the right
balance between public and private sector, with appropriate roles and
responsibilities; there is a danger of too much government control and rent
seeking;
4. The way forward: the Government and the Bank working
together
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Building and sustaining institutional capacity for ppp: new way of thinking
and behaving will challenge the bureaucracy
Ppp under devolution. District governments (almost 100) are now responsible
for delivery primary education; in due course they will have control over the
budget. How will they approach the private sector?
Equity: the present school set-up has serious inequities in it: some poor
children are outside the system altogether; some poor children have access to
only fee-charging private schools; middle and upper class children have
choice, and enjoy public subsidy. Public spending on education needs to shift
to support the schooling of poor children in either government or private
schools; various ways of doing that.
4. The Way Forward: the Government and the Bank working
together (cont.)
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The Bank can help in many ways: On AAA, TA/advice, international best
practice, esp. on public finance, broad public policy. Bring clarity and
consistency to many good ideas and bold initiatives. Arrange seminars and
workshops etc.
On the lending front, Bank is already providing considerable program finance
to federal and provincial governments: this should help public funding of
ppp., scaling up previous pilots which have proved success. The Bank could
finance directly programs run by Education Foundations (can’t add $ to
endowments), demand-side funding experiments, conditional cash transfers.
Role of the IFC?