Theoretical Analysis

The theoretical analysis of privatisation is important in order to understand why certain policies work. However, the effectiveness of policy in the real world is required to verify the validity of the theoretical framework. To this end, an analysis of the efficacy of private schools in other third world environments is required. A study published through Harvard’s Evidence for Policy Design found astonishing results from low cost private schools in Pakistan (the circumstances of the schools being very similar to many South African contexts, i.e. in poverty with underperforming public schools) (Andrabi et al., 2010:1). The test scores of students, conducted to ensure no cheating, were 0.8 to 1 standard deviations higher in low cost private schools than in their public counterparts (Andrabi et al., 2010:1). These improvements extended beyond test scores including an improvement in civic skills. Children were better informed about Pakistan, more “pro-democratic” and exhibited lower gender bias (Andrabi et al., 2010:1). This dispels the notion that there are important subsidiary, non-education, skills that only a public school system is able to provide. The starkest improvement was the cost of education. Private schools spent 40% less per child than public schools, excluding administrative costs (Andrabi et al., 2010:1). These administrative costs were additionally significantly higher for public schools, adding to the cost difference by 2 times or more (Andrabi et al., 2010:1). With the hard data reflecting the theoretical benefits of low cost private schools the imperative to move towards a private framework of schooling is clear. Regulation is required to prevent free market failures in the education sector. However, the scope and type of regulation is of utmost importance. It may be tempting to apply the highest levels of stringent regulation: teacher qualification, school grounds inspections, detailed financial reports, management checklists etc. However, there are multiple reasons why this is unwise. There are large administrative costs to regulating schools. This burden must fall to either the government or the schools themselves. This cost should thus be kept to a minimum. Moreover, there is the cost of actually abiding by the regulations. Often these regulations are far more stringent than those required by public schools. Most importantly, at this level micromanagement of private schools through regulation is highly ineffective. Governing bodies may want specific outcomes of schools, but ultimately academic achievement should be the only criterion. Consequently, if schools ‘cut corners’ or use very unorthodox methods, these should not be prevented by the government, this is the heart of effective business: innovation. This may seem unacceptably risky. So what regulation is required? Really, the only regulation required ought to be cross section testing at each grade. All students ought to be registered with the government (a regulation that is important, regardless, to ensure all children are going to school). Then a random sampling at each grade should have to report to a central location in order to complete a standardised test. If private schools achieve results better than the local public schools, even if these results are below the pass mark, they should be allowed to continue to operate. This is a relatively cheap form of regulation and requires little intervention in the running of individual schools. The reason the testing needs to occur at each grade level is if it only occurs as a leaving exam, i.e. the matric exam, problems that are occurring at lower grades could take up to 12 years to be noticed, and this is unacceptably long. A method to make this procedure even more effective is with the use of multiple choice questions, as expensive markers would not be required. The final potential form of regulation to consider is that of access to information. Parents need to know what schools are preforming better than …show more content…
South Africa’s failing education system would be much improved by the stimulation of private schools. However, the way forward is complex; there are many impediments to the flourishing of private schools: teachers unions, high regulation and access to financing. Fortunately, all of these factors are surmountable. Thus, by the analysis of this essay it is evident that creating a conducive environment to low cost private schools would dramatically improve educational achievement, and is an absolute necessity for the flourishing of South