This document discusses privatization in Latin American education. It begins by defining public and private education and categorizing different types of privatization policies, including internal privatization of public schools and open privatization through private school expansion. It then examines prototypical cases of privatization policies in countries like Chile, Colombia, Argentina and Brazil. These policies range from school vouchers to private management of public schools. The document questions whether further privatization can help Latin American countries achieve education goals given that private schools do not clearly outperform public schools and may increase segregation.

1. What does “privatization” mean in
Latin American education?
Cristián Bellei & Víctor Orellana
Center for Advanced Research in Education
& Sociology Department
University of Chile
cbellei@ciae.uchile.cl
Comparative and International Education Society Conference
CIES 2014 -Toronto, Canada – March 10-15, 2014

2. Topics to be covered on this presentation
1. Basic conceptual definitions: public vs. private education
2. Categorizing privatization policies: a working framework
3. Privatization of education in Latin America: prototypical cases
4. Privatizing education to attain EFA goals and post-2015
challenges in LA countries?

3. 1. Basic conceptual definitions: public vs. private education
• Increasingly, the notions of “public” and “private” education are fuzzy; they
are gradual, not categorical concepts in the current educational policy arena
• All institutional education has a public nature: weakening state role in the
educational system can be considered privatization
• All education is private: increasing family influences in the distribution of
educational opportunities can be considered privatization
• Public education is provided by public schools (i.e. controlled and
managed by state agencies): an increase in the proportion of students
attending private schools can be considered privatization
• Pursuing social objectives, public goods, is the essential reason to support
public education; private education can also pursuit social objectives, but it
can give priority to private objectives

4. 2. Categorizing privatization policies: a general framework
• Privatization policies have been promoted for different declared
objectives: accommodate cultural diversity (e.g. Catholic Church);
increase quality and competitiveness; expand access
• Privatization is not a single policy, but a family of educational policies
• (I) Internal privatization of public education:
• Private providers of public school inputs (materials and processes):
infrastructure; funding; non-educational services; educational
materials (including textbooks); technical-pedagogical services
• Private management of public school processes: school
management is transferred to private agents: What are the key
school decisions? Teachers, curriculum, admission, school closure
• School - families/students relationship can be privatized: school
choice (market dynamic); school fee payment (private contract);
school management
• In all these three dimensions a public school can be internally
“privatized”, while remaining formally public

5. 2. Categorizing privatization policies: a general framework
• (II) Open privatization of education:
• Increasing private education provision by supporting the creation,
operation or expansion of private schools (i.e. reducing private costs of
attending private education)
• Takes the form of an “agreement” in which the state provides public
resources and makes some requirements as an exchange:
• Public resources for private schools: privatization policies differ in
the level of resources provided; in the level of autonomy private
schools have to use those resources: free disposition funding (non-
categorical funds); directed funds (categorical funds); provision of
materials and services; and whether for-profit providers are allowed
• Public requirements for private schools: no additional requirements;
more accessibility to students; regulation of educational materials
and processes; defined educational outcomes
• Privatization policies will be more radical if the state provides more
resources, free- disposition funds, with no additional requirements, to
for-profit providers

6. 3. Privatization in Latin American education: prototypical cases
• Chile:
radical neoliberal reform (1980s), privatization policies within a
market oriented educational system: school choice; universal
vouchers, equal treatment to public and private schools, both non-
for-profit and for-profit schools (funding and other resources);
promotion of new private schools; no additional requirement to
private schools; subsidized private schools charge tuition to
families; subsidized private schools can select/expel students
• Colombia:
PACES Program (1990s) targeted voucher to low-income students
to increase secondary enrolment, for-profit providers allowed;
Concession Schools (2000s) (PPP model, similar to US charter
schools): a 15-years contract, in which state decides where to
open schools, provides public infrastructure, select students, per-
capita funding, set performance goals; non-profit private agencies
manage schools with high levels of autonomy (curriculum,
pedagogy, teachers)

7. 3. Privatization in Latin American education: prototypical cases
• Argentina:
prolonged relevant presence of private education (mainly Catholic
schools) –around 30%-, serving mainly middle and upper classes;
most private schools are subsidized by the state, but they are not-
for-profit and receive lees resources than public schools; since
1990s, decentralization of public education transferring
responsibilities from federal to provincial authorities; testing and
accountability introduced; focus on quality and efficiency
• Brazil:
private schools account for less than 10% of enrollment (mainly
upper class, Catholic), some of them receive partial state
subsidies, as long as they are non-for-profit; since the mid 1990s,
decentralization of public education to municipal level, efficiency,
testing and accountability policies; focus on increase coverage and
quality

8. 3. Privatization in Latin American education: prototypical cases
• Haití: extremely low educational coverage, severe difficulties to
establish a national public educational system; 80% primary education
is private (relevant presence of the Catholic Church), and receive state
and international subsidies, but also charge tuition to families; World
Bank voucher program and other international cooperation agencies
support private schools to increase access
• Fé y Alegría: Catholic (Jesuit) network of schools, serving low income
students; the largest private education provider in Latin America
(educating about 1.5 million students in 20 countries); cooperates with
public authorities in several ways, depending on the country; most of
its resources come from state subsidies
• Cuba: it is a counter-example, with a fully state free education, high
coverage and high students’ performance; but Cuba also implements
several “accountability” policies, including teacher performance
evaluation, assessment instruments to schools, and corrective
measures based on performance

9. 4. Privatizing education to attain EFA goals
and post-2015 challenges in LA countries?
• Latin American countries have implemented a wide range of educational
privatization policies:
• Basic promotion, and tax benefits for non-profit providers and donors
• Direct subsidies (probably the most common and traditional form in LA)
• Partial contracts in both non-educational support functions and educational
aspects (like teacher training and textbooks)
• Concession contracts for private management of public schools
• Vouchers and school choice, universal, open to for-profit providers
• Results?: private schooling and private spending in education are higher in LA
than in OECD countries; there is no evidence of private school’s advantage in
terms of academic achievement (compared to public schools); and private
education has been associated with higher SES school segregation in LA
• EFA challenges in Latin America: improve quality and increase equity (low
SES and indigenous students), therefore, no evidence to support privatization
as an educational policy priority; nevertheless, low quality public education
-especially in poor areas- will continue providing arguments for those
interested in expanding private education in Latin America

10. Percentage of private enrolment in primary education: 1970-2011
Source: UNESCO-UIS database

11. Private spending as a percentage of total education spending:
Primary Secondary
Dominican Republic 50.0 54.7
Guatemala 26.2 74.3
Peru 23.8 40.8
Chile 20.7 22.5
Colombia 18.1 21.4
Mexico 16.1 22.4
Paraguay 15.8 20.1
Argentina 6.5 8.6
Cuba 1.5 -
Barbados - 2.7
Source: UNESCO-UIS database
Average private spending on education : 1.2% of GDP in Latin American
countries (a third higher than average private spending of 0.9% of GDP
in OECD countries).