PUBLIC–PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN EDUCATION Lessons Learned from the Punjab Education Foundation Allah Bakhsh Malik Public–Private Partnerships in Education Lessons Learned from the Punjab Education Foundation Allah Bakhsh Malik ©2010 Asian Development Bank All rights reserved. Published 2010. Printed in the Philippines. ISBN 978-92-9092-078-6 Publication Stock No. RPT101591 Cataloging-In-Publication Data Asian Development Bank Public–private partnerships in education: lessons learned from the Punjab Education Foundation Mandaluyong City, Philippines: Asian Development Bank, 2010. 1. Public–private partnership. 2. Education. 3. India. I. Asian Development Bank. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. By making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area, or by using the term “country” in this document, ADB does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. ADB encourages printing or copying information exclusively for personal and noncommercial use with proper acknowledgment of ADB. Users are restricted from reselling, redistributing, or creating derivative works for commercial purposes without the express, written consent of ADB. Note: In this report, “PRs” refers to Pakistan rupees. Asian Development Bank 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550 Metro Manila, Philippines Tel +63 2 632 4444 Fax +63 2 636 2444 www.adb.org For orders, please contact: Department of External Relations Fax +63 2 636 2648 [email protected] CONTENTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR v FOREWORD vi ACKNOWLEDGMENT vii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY viii INTRODUCTION 1 PUNJAB EDUCATION FOUNDATION 2 The Punjab Education Foundation Governance Structure 2 Functions of the Punjab Education Foundation 3 The Strategy of the Punjab Education Foundation 3 Programs of the Punjab Education Foundation 4 The Punjab Education Foundation Budget 4 Disbursement of Funds to Partner Schools 5 Human Resource Management 5 FOUNDATION-ASSISTED SCHOOLS 6 The Foundation-Assisted Schools Program 6 Foundation-Assisted Schools Selection Criteria 6 Foundation-Assisted Schools Operating Rules 7 Foundation-Assisted Schools Program Statistics 7 Impact of the Foundation-Assisted Schools Program on the Quality of Instruction 8 Third-Party Evaluation of the Foundation-Assisted Schools Program 9 Possible Improvements in the Operation of the Foundation-Assisted Schools Program 12 CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 16 The Continuous Professional Development Program 16 The School Leadership Development Program 18 Achievements of the Continuous Professional Development Program and School Leadership Development Program 18 TEACHING IN CLUSTERS 20 Teaching in Clusters by Subject Specialists 20 Achievements of the Teaching in Clusters by Subject Specialists Program 21 EDUCATION VOUCHER SCHEME 23 The Education Voucher Scheme 23 Selection Criteria for Education Voucher Scheme Partner Schools 23 Access to Information by Households 24 Disbursement Procedure 24 Income Distribution 24 Achievements of the Education Voucher Scheme 26 PUBLIC–PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN EDUCATION: LESSONS LEARNED 27 | iii Tables Table 1: Annual Budget of the Punjab Education Foundation, 2004–2009 4 Table 2: Budgetary Allocation of the Punjab Education Foundation by Program 5 Table 3: Number of Students and Schools in Foundation-Assisted Schools, 2005–2009 7 Table 4: Results of the Quality Assurance Tests, 2006–2009 9 Table 5: Number of Teachers Trained through the Continuous Professional Development Program, 2005–2009 17 Table 6: Number of Principals and Vice Principals Trained through the School Leadership Development Program, 2007–2009 19 Table 7: Number of Subject Specialists Employed in Teaching in Clusters by Subject Specialists and Districts Covered, 2006–2008 22 Table 8: Number of Students Benefiting from the Education Voucher Scheme, 2006–2009 23 Figures Figure 1: Distribution of Families Benefiting from the Education Voucher Scheme by Monthly Income 25 Figure 2: Distribution of the Occupations of Parents of Students Benefiting from the Education Voucher Scheme 25 Iv | Contents ABOUT THE AUTHOR Allah Bakhsh Malik, PhD, is an academic, researcher, senior manager, and economist. Mr. Malik earned a bachelor of arts in law from the University of the Punjab, in Pakistan, and a doctorate in development economics from Cambridge University, in England. He was a visiting scholar at the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education at Columbia University’s Teachers College, in New York, in 2006–2008. He started his career with the Central Superior Services of Pakistan in 1985. He has worked at the grassroots level, leading community-driven development teams, and has held senior positions in the public and private sectors. Mr. Malik is the author of eight books and regularly contributes to Pakistani and international journals. He is currently a visiting professor at Government College University, Iqra University, the Civil Services Academy, and the Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development, all in Lahore, and at the National Institute of Management, National School of Public Policy, in Lahore and Karachi. He is also a consultant with an extensive domestic and international clientele. His research interests include resource mobilization, educational management, social protection, economic management, strategic planning and policy formulation, public–private partnerships, women empowerment and sustainable development. | v FOREWORD Developing member countries face the twin challenges of increasing access to, and improving the quality of, education. Despite considerable progress in lifting enrollments at the primary education level, a number of countries are at risk of not achieving the universal primary education Millennium Development Goal (MDG) by 2015. A number of governments have responded to these challenges by making greater use of the private sector and public–private partnerships (PPPs) as a means of improving both the financing and delivery of education. Research by the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, among others, has documented the wide range of education PPP models in place in both developing and developed countries, including voucher and scholarship programs, the private management of public schools and post-secondary institutions, contracting with private providers for the delivery of educational services, public–private infrastructure partnerships and contracting with the private sector for the delivery of professional or ancillary services. While PPPs are no panacea, they do offer governments a range of innovative mechanisms for expanding access to education, as well as for improving the quality and efficiency of education at all levels. In an MDG context, PPPs can particularly benefit countries that already have a significant private education sector, as they offer the prospect of rapid scaling up of delivery. As Public–Private Partnerships in Education: Lessons Learned from the Punjab Education Foundation shows, turning the promise of PPPs into reality on the ground requires a supportive political environment, good program design, and effective implementation. Governments and development partners can draw many lessons from the Punjab Education Foundation’s experience with the introduction of its PPP programs in the education sector. Norman LaRocque Senior Education Specialist Asian Development Bank vi | ACKNOWLEDGMENT The author wishes to thank Norman LaRocque, senior education specialist of the Southeast Asia Department, for his time, views, and guidance in the preparation of this report. Thanks are also due to Robert Hugh Davis, Ma. Priscila P. del Rosario, Leticia de Leon, Josef Ilumin, Anthony Victoria, Vicente Angeles, Rodel Bautista, and Joanne Gerber for valuable editorial and design assistance, and to Fatima Bautista for overall administrative support. Any errors of fact or interpretation in the report are strictly the responsibility of the author. | vii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In Pakistan, it is the state’s constitutional responsibility to provide free education up to the secondary level to all children. The state has been partially successful in providing access to education, but it has not been able to ensure the quality of education for many students— particularly those living in poor and underserved areas. Parents dissatisfied with the public school system have looked elsewhere for better education opportunities for their children. The less affluent among them have started turning to low-tuition private schools in urban and rural areas. The Government of Pakistan alone cannot accomplish the gigantic task of providing quality education and meeting the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Education for All (EFA). That is why the government now supports the use of public–private partnerships (PPPs) in its efforts to improve the equity and quality of the educational system. Evidence from the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) indicates that the marriage between public and private institutions through PPPs has been extremely successful due to the combination of private-sector efficiency and public-sector funding. Indeed, the combination has resulted in better learning outcomes, fewer school dropouts,