Removing tuition cap to help boost investments in RP education

Removing the cap on education tuitions could help boost investments in the Philippine education system, the World Bank said in its latest study. Although caps are intended to make private education affordable for the poor, these can also cause “the quality of education to deteriorate and limiting the profitability of education investments," said the study entitled “The Role and Impact of Public-Private Partnerships in Education." Although limited, foreign direct investments (FDIs) in education were improving in developed countries, developing nations, and transition economies. FDIs in education reached $3.5 billion in 2005, up from just $86 million in 1990, and $401 million in 2002, the World Bank said, citing data from United Nations Conference and Trade Development. Most of these investments were in developed countries. Deepening the partnership between governments and the private sector has become a “reliable way of financing quality education and making it accessible especially to the poor," the study said. These partnerships can also “help developing countries meet the Millennium Development Goals for education and to improve learning outcomes," said Harry Anthony Patrinos, one of the study’s authors. Patrinos is the World Bank’s lead education economist, specializing in all areas of education, especially school-based management, demand-side financing, and public-private partnerships. Besides philanthropic activities and high-engagement ventures, private organizations can support the public sector by constructing, managing, or maintaining infrastructure. Private organizations can also give teacher training, provide assistance in management or curriculum design, among others. The study cited the Philippines as one of the developing countries that have encouraged the expansion of the private school sector by recognizing it explicitly in legislation. "This recognition can be the foundation for building political and public support for the private sector's involvement in education and for minimizing investor uncertainty. This is particularly important given that education is often seen as a social rather than commercial endeavor," Patrinos said. The Philippines has been successful in using a voluntary accreditation system for private schools and higher education institutions to assure quality in both the private and public sectors. The Center for Educational Measurement also provides testing and assessment services that track the education performance of schools and governments. "Well-designed quality assurance mechanisms can provide consumers, providers, and government officials with valuable information on the performance of private schools and ensure that providers are meeting quality standards," Patrinos added. The Philippine business sector's active involvement in solving problems in education confirms the study’s findings, Emmanuel Jimenez, sector director for the World Bank's human development sector department, said. - GMANews.TV