“Education via Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Model”- A Candle In Dark Pakistan’s Academia”

 

Pakistan is facing a serious challenge to ensure all the children, particularly the most disadvantaged and impoverished to attend, stay and learn in school. The Covid-19 pandemic has already proven that Pakistan has an inadequate public education system that fulfills demand-supply equilibrium, as the access to quality and equitable education remains very low. Currently, Pakistan has the world’s second-highest number of out-of-school children (OOSC) with an estimated 22.8 million children aged 5-16 not attending school, representing 44 percent of the total population in this age group. In the 5-9 age group, 5 million children are not enrolled in schools. After primary-school age, the number of OOSC doubles, with 11.4 million adolescents between the ages of 10 and 14 not receiving formal education.

Disparities based on gender, socio-economic status, and geography are significant. In Sindh, 52 percent of the poorest children (58 percent girls) are out of school, and in Balochistan, 78 percent of girls are out of school. Nearly 10.7 million boys and 8.6 million girls are enrolled at the primary level and this drops to 3.6 million boys and 2.8 million girls at the lower secondary level. Gender-wise, boys outnumber girls at every stage of education. Poverty and parental attitudes to girls’ education in distant areas are the leading causes of girls not attending school. Rag-picker children are also deprived of this blessing of education.

Socio-cultural demand-side barriers combined with economic factors and supply-related issues (such as availability of school facilities), together hamper the access and retention of certain marginalized groups. Schools’ infrastructure in remote areas of Pakistan is much poor, as girls’ schools lack basic facilities such as toilets, water, or electricity.

Gaps in service provision at all educational levels are the major constraints to education access. The government education sector is incapable to provide holistic education and enroll all the children of Pakistan at the same time. On the other hand, the Private sector is affordable and in a range of just a few limited people of the country. Governance challenges and poor teaching quality make education delivery even more complex.

  

What is Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Model?

Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is defined as “a long-term contract between a private party and a government entity, for providing a public asset or service, in which the private party bears significant risk and management responsibility, and remuneration is linked to performance” (The World Bank, 2019). The roots of PPP can be traced back to Leibenstein (1966) who introduced the concept of “X-efficiency”, explained the productivity differences between public and private firms with intangible “X-factors” such as labor-management relations, organizational structures, incentive systems, and selection of workers. In line with Leibenstein's (1966) suggestions, PPP can be necessary for governments and public firms to reduce the inefficiencies which occur in their organizational structures. “Indeed, PPPs may both increase the amount of capital for infrastructure investments and the efficiency of any operation through the transfer of private sector expertise” (Ahwireng-Obeng & Mokgohlwa, 2002; Bajwa et al., 2018). While there are various potential benefits of PPP in several areas of economic and social life. Such an alternative source of funding, the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model has become increasingly popular in recent decades as a mechanism to support infrastructure or other related investment activities of low-income and developing countries.

Reasons Behind Acquisition Of “PPP” Model In Developing Countries

Budgetary constraints, high levels of the national debt, and lack of sufficient funds are often identified as reasons why low-income and developing countries seek to find an alternative method to finance their infrastructure or to make better their socio-economic life. Also, Macroeconomic stability is often cited as a significant factor in implementing PPP projects. Macro-economic stability in terms of PPP projects means the relationship between macroeconomic variables (i.e. GDP, per capita income, general government balance, total debt, inflation, money supply), PPP activity by using World Development Indicators (WDI), and The Private Participation in Infrastructure (PPI). The PPP model is reported as beneficial for the whole economy as well as for both public and private parties. Several studies find that “PPP” provides several advantages and opportunities in terms of fiscal stabilization, fund flows, and efficiency gain to the developing countries due to a long-term partnership between public and private actors with the aim of mutual benefits. Countries with large budget deficits were more likely to use PPP whereas countries with natural resource endowment were less likely to use PPP.

 

PPP Model With Respect To Developing Pakistan

The decision for governments and private firms to engage in a PPP project may be very challenging in developing countries (Kamasak, Yavuz, and James, 2019), as in any business model, the satisfaction of both parties, in particular the private partner, and the effectiveness of the project remain aspirational and may not be guaranteed unless a careful evaluation is conducted about the potential factors that may affect PPP success. By taking into account the complex dynamics of developing countries like Pakistan, it is imperative that private firms and governments which target potential PPP projects should have a thorough understanding of the relationship between economic factors and PPP arrangements. This is not only important for the efficiency of PPPs but also for the mutual benefit of the partners. Without a well-organized PPP system that also considers good timing, the probability of failure might be higher than the probability of success.

  

How could Pakistan Benefit From PPP Model In Education?

The education sector in Pakistan has been a hub for educational experiments with new products being launched from time to time. Instead of waiting for the ‘next big thing’, it might be worthwhile to learn lessons from and adapt what has worked in similar fragile contexts. PPPs offer the flexibility to incorporate community-supported education programs and have the capability to match the scale of the public sector. The model has the potential to offer responsive and cost-effective learning for students, especially for girls and rag-picker children. While public-private partnership (PPP) initiatives have the potential to increase the supply of schools, more effort is needed to increase demand.

How Can Public-Private Partnerships In Education Sector Of Pakistan Help?

Public-private partnerships, in which the state works with private, often non-profit organizations to build and manage schools, may alleviate the supply-side challenges by improving teaching quality, and increasing access to learning. Evaluations of PPP models from developing countries and their impact suggests that such programs led to increases in enrolment and improvements in school infrastructure. However, a PPP initiative may require more than simply constructing and managing a school. To create a demand for education and increase enrollment in such a context, it is especially important to work closely with community leaders who can influence parental attitudes. Our neighboring countries such as India, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan successfully increased both the access to education and the quality provided by using community-based initiatives to deliver local educational services to cover the case of rag-picker children.

Small-scale community-based schooling models implemented in the socially conservative districts of Pakistan, led to an increase in enrollment, especially for girls, by 75% and 51% respectively.

 

How does Education With PPP In Pakistan Works?

PPP models and their adaptability to address gendered barriers provide us with various important lessons for improving the education system in Pakistan:

·         Mobilization of P3A (Public Private Partnership Authority), Government of Pakistan towards educational projects is the dire need of time for better availability of education for all in Pakistan.

·         Engage with the community, religious, and political leaders through Parent-Teacher Councils (PTCs) and Jirgas (a traditional assembly of tribal leaders) that can specifically address barriers hindering girls’ enrolment. Community-based schools in Balochistan employing such an approach tripled their enrolment of girls in junior secondary schools.

 

·         Hire school staff from the local community, especially female teachers at the primary level, as local female teachers are relatively more trusted by the communities than outsiders.

 

·         Build girls’ schools (even if smaller) that are located closer to the communities to reduce transport issues for girls. In a study of school life in Ghana, schools were set up with support from communities by PPP Model, and within five years this model had spread to 767 communities with 36,000 pupils, 43% of which were girls.

 

Remarks

“As both man or girl, without education is like………………………….a building without foundation, a bird without wings, or a genius like silver in the mine”.

 

So it is a dire need of time to pay more attention on the implementation of the PPP Model in the education sector of Pakistan for the creation of a better, skilled, and wise Youth, which consequently is the only solution for the holistic social and economic well-being of Pakistan.

References:

1.     1.  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316856423_PUBLIC-PRIVATE_PARTNERSHIPS_IN_PAKISTAN_A_NASCENT_EVOLUTION

2.     2.  https://www.dawn.com/news/1643082

3.     3.  https://www.dawn.com/news/1597881

4.      4. https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/776203-an-unfinished-end

5.      5. https://www.opml.co.uk/blog/public-private-partnerships-future-girls-education-pakistan

6.      6. https://www.unicef.org/pakistan/education

7.      7. https://www.dawn.com/news/1623032

8.      8. https://www.dawn.com/news/1587747

 

Written By: 

Abdul Moeed Awan.

BS - PAG. 

6th Semester.

Morning Shift.

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