Quality private education has a role in university systems

Historic mistrust of private higher education providers is still real in many countries, especially in low- and lower middle-income countries, says Dr Roberta Malee Bassett, the global lead for tertiary education and a senior education specialist at the World Bank.

But, said Bassett, the distinction between public and private is not very useful any more. A more valid comparison may be between ‘good quality’ and ‘poor quality’ institutions.

“The focus should be on where private and public institutions can be more innovative and effective towards achieving national or institutional strategic goals,” she said.

Bassett was speaking at the 19th International Conference on Private Higher Education in Africa on 2 September, hosted virtually from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The conference was organised by St Mary’s University of Ethiopia, in collaboration with the Association of African Universities, the African Union Commission, the International Network for Higher Education in Africa, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Ethiopia and the Programme for Research on Private Higher Education.

Bassett said private higher education in Africa is important for complementing government funding capacity, providing opportunities for expanding access in constrained delivery contexts, agility in responding to labour market needs and providing healthy stimulation through competition.

But this comes with some risks that could include inadequate quality, insufficient oversight, increasing inequalities and unfair competition.

The quality challenge of private higher education, she said, is brought about by diploma mills, franchise institutions that are disconnected from local, social and economic needs and virtual institutions or e-learning.

The equity challenge, in turn, is a result of low-income, disadvantaged students facing the greatest hurdles in accessing scarce spaces in public institutions. They are subsequently disproportionately directed toward private options.

“On fair competition, the private higher education is faced with the challenge of ‘free riding’ – the use of moonlighting public professors [and] hidden public support (such as dual-fees structures and private universities established by public companies),” said Bassett.

Tackling the challenges

To resolve these challenges, she said, governments have to take a role of supporting private institutions by instituting an enabling framework that encourages all tertiary institutions to be more innovative and responsive.

Other measures could include defining a coherent national strategic vision and policy framework inclusive of the contributions from public and private institutions; establishing an enabling regulatory environment that removes barriers, and includes modern and agile quality assurance mechanisms and offers appropriate financial incentives.

Examples of countries in which the governments are supporting the private universities include direct subsidy (Chile), payment of teachers (Pakistan), tax exemptions (Brazil), scholarships (Côte d’Ivoire), student loans (many countries), vouchers (many countries), loans to private universities (Mozambique) and land grants (Iran).

According to Bassett, a well-functioning tertiary education system requires diverse institution types and delivery modes allowing for access and choice, as well as articulated pathways for movement across the system.

Technology is no longer the future for tertiary education, it is the present. And, while COVID-19 has exposed the cost of the digital divide, it has also put a spotlight on potential opportunities.

“Access to and persistence through tertiary education is a global concern and one that requires sustained commitment to address. Efficiency ensures that resources – fiscal and human – are utilised thoughtfully and strategically to promote desired outcomes, both public and private,” she said.

“Tertiary education systems or institutions must embrace agile frameworks that prepare for and use shocks as opportunities for reflection, assessment and evolution in order to maintain commitment.”

A fifth of students are in private HE

Distinguished Professor Daniel Levy at the State University of New York said Africa has more than 20 million university students, and 20% of them are studying in the private sector.

“In 2015, there were 1.5 million students in private universities and, in 2021, the number is approaching 2 million students. This is 2% of [the] global higher education [system],” said Levy.

He said private higher education in Africa overlaps what public higher education does.

“Institutions should have their own road maps which they should fulfil. They should be accountable to their own stakeholders – the private sector.

“There should be room for private higher to lay out their own challenges and each institution should fulfil its own mission. There is need to be a system of differentiation,” he said.

Currently what we are observing is that almost all private higher institutions are striving to make money rather than assuring quality of education, he said.

Gabriel Negatu, the former director general of the African Development Bank in the East Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office, said private universities have enabled those who would not have had a chance to get a degree to now get it.

Private higher education institutions are playing a tremendous role in ensuring access to education to most disadvantaged sections of society. But there is still a need to play a pivotal role in the future of the continent, especially in terms of innovation.

He said a key question is still about the quality of education offered by the private universities. There is still a gap between the public and private university in terms of quality, which needs to be addressed.