What role should the private sector play in the achievement of Education for All? How can social and commercial concerns be reconciled? Currently, the public versus private school debate is restricted to measurable levels of efficiency and effectiveness. Research argues for a more critical and politically-engaged approach to understanding how private schools contribute to learning and livelihoods.

A study by the Open University in the UK uses the case study of Nepal to explore the contested nature of private education provision. The history of schooling in Nepal is one of continual changes in how state and non-state education providers are judged. The expansion of public and private schooling since 1990 has provided opportunities, but has also reinforced inequalities.

Attending school does not necessarily ensure status and employment. Instead, the prestige of the institution attended becomes the mark of social distinction. As a result of pressure from the Communist Party of Nepal, relations between the state and private schools have developed as an area of political concern.

The content and management of schooling (and the outcomes and livelihood opportunities it can lead to) are more contested than international policy suggests. The situation in Nepal is a clear demonstration of this:

• Focusing on regulation and fees does not address issues of low performance in student examinations, or the unmet aspirations of the majority of children and their parents.
• While school principals claim that they are engaging with the needs of poor families, rather then simply catering to elite groups, they still have to consider being profitable in the marketplace.
• Debates revolve around the effectiveness and efficiency of private and government schools on the basis of completion rates and examination results.
• The broader issues of school curriculum and the purpose of education, raised in popular and political debate, remain unaddressed.
• There is increasing discussion of partnerships between the state and the private sector. However, this masks contentious issues such as the role of the state as both the lead sector and as the enforcer of regulations.

The Nepal case study highlights concerns that must be addressed to develop a deeper understanding of the private school sector. This is essential to develop relations between the government and private sectors in the pursuit of Education For All. There is a need to:

• develop the framework on which international policies on private education are based. This should include a greater range and depth of case study material as well as debates around the issues.
• look beyond the sector, and the development of regulatory frameworks, in order to understand the social, political and cultural significance of private schooling.
• understand the diversity of interests of different groups (pupils, parents and private school directors) as well as the choices they make in relation to the broader educational and political context.
• put the relationship between state and private sector at the centre of discussions, rather than each sector being treated in isolation.

Source(s):
‘Private Schools as Battlefields: Contested Visions of Learning and Livelihood in Nepal’, Compare 36(4), pages 463 - 479, by Martha Caddell, 2006

Funded by: Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC); Open University

id21 Research Highlight: 9 March 2008

Further Information:
Martha Caddell
Development Policy and Practice
The Open University
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
MK7 6AA
United Kingdom

Tel: +44 1908 274066
Fax: +44 1908 653744
Contact the contributor: m.caddell@open.co.uk

The Open University

Other related links:
'Out of sight, out of mind? Multigrade teaching in Nepal'

'Teaching women well – health and education in rural Nepal'

'Poor selection: how do poor people make education decisions?'