GLOBAL: Private education and development

In the past decade, private education has had an increasingly significant impact in the developing world, with many countries promoting private sector growth to expand educational capacity and access at all levels, an international education conference was told last week.

The conference heard that more entrepreneurs were investing in the private sector in developing countries and "bringing fresh approaches and perspectives".

It was the fifth global conference to be held in Washington by the International Finance Corporation and attracted representatives of private education organisations and institutions from around the world.

The IFC provides investments and advisory services to expand the private sector in developing countries.

The corporation - an arm of the World Bank - has committed US$469 million in financing 62 education projects in 30 countries at a total value of $1.54 billion. Of these, 21 or 35% were in the world's poorest countries. IFC-supported projects help educate about 1.2 million students annually.

A release from the conference said key stakeholders discussed strategies for recruitment and retention of staff and students, methods of adapting to financial realities, and innovative use of technologies in private education globally.

In keeping with the conference theme, Strategic Resilience in Times of Recession, participants explored the future of private education and =he changes taking place in the wake of the global financial crisis.

Speakers from 15 countries presented cases of strategic decisions that enabled their institutions to be resilient and thrive during the economic downturn.

"The IFC conference is taking place at a time when the private education sector in developing countries is experiencing considerable change and expansion," said the corporation's Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Lars Thunell.

"Private education can make significant contributions to development by increasing access to services for low- and middle-income people."

Thunell spoke about the strategic importance of education for the corporation and the need for innovative responses in finance, despite the fact the education sector had been "quite resilient".

"Education is at the heart of the IFC's efforts to create opportunities for people to improve their lives in developing countries," he said. "We are all familiar with the many studies that show how increasing education leads to improvement in a range of development indicators."

Thunell told participants: "We have an obligation to be innovative and search for new ideas for expanding access to high-quality education. At the IFC, we are very focused on finding ways for the private sector to contribute."

Other speakers included Mike Moore, former New Zealand Prime Minister and former Director General of the World Trade Organization . Moore argued that governments needed to have clear, transparent, and stable regulatory frameworks if they wanted to attract quality education providers to help them reach their national education goals.

Sergio Abromovich, Senior Director of International Business Development at DeVry University, challenged participants to be innovative and cutting edge in their approach - there was not one story, but "many stories," he said.

Abromovich urged the audience to consider the opportunities and lessons that could be gained from being open to the myriad of stories round across the private education sector.

Participants discussed how their institutions had responded or adapted to the financial realities created by the economic downturn. Although these responses may have varied, all here characterised by fiscal restraint while optimising opportunity.

Juan Alejandro Tobias, Rector of USAL in Argentina, spoke of the decisions is institution took in 2002 during the economic crises. These included the creation of a 'crises action plan' to reduce salaries and overheads while not increasing tuition fees and maintaining quality of provision.

His message, reinforced by his fellow panellists from India and Singapore, has for institution leaders to ensure the best possible levels of communication with students, parents, academics and stakeholders to maintain confidence in the decisions and actions taken.

Svava Bjarnason, Senior Education Specialist at the corporation, argued that "good governance is a critical strategy for institutions regardless of whether they are private or public".

The strategic use of technology to ensure quality and manage multi-site operations was examined by Carl Bistany, President, SABIS Educational Systems in Lebanon. The company operates a network of 61 schools in 15 countries.

SABIS schools have developed technology-based systems that enable detailed cracking of student learning outcomes to ensure students have mastered concepts before moving on to a more complex curriculum.

Mechanisms for parents to follow their children's progress help the schools communicate more effectively.

With strong demographic trends and increasing private investment in education in developing countries, private education was 'on a crest of a wave' in emerging markets in the coming years, said Ron Perkinson, International Director of the Sampoerna Foundation in Indonesia.

Perkinson said future areas of growth for the private sector would be found in postsecondary (technical and vocational) education and lifelong -learning, given the increasing demand for more employable graduates.

He said more than 50% of the population in countries from Indonesia to India, Pakistan and the Middle East were below 30 years of age, thereby providing many opportunities for the private sector.

"You have no excuse not to make financial and social gains in this large space," Perkinson said.

Fellow panellist Martina Roth, Director of the ntel Corporation and a member of the World Economic Forum, noted that future opportunities for the private sector would be found by improving education through collaboration and the development of "multi-stakeholder partnerships".

Sandeep Aneja, Managing Director of Kaizan Management in India, felt that providers should keep in mind the social costs involved and take it convenient for people to receive education, especially in a country like India where students may have to travel many miles to find a school or college.

Technological innovations and the use of mobile phones and satellite communications had already made a huge difference in the delivery of education but more had to be done, Aneja said.

Concluding the conference, uy Ellena, IFC Director for Health and Education, said the event had been 93an excellent opportunity for participants to consider how new and emerging models might be used in other countries and contexts."