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Private sector
involvement in education a positive trend
It is in everyone’s interest that the standard
of education is high. And today many corporations are moving
beyond philanthropy to become more involved in education at all
levels. According to a survey of 123 private sector executives
and 88 respondents from educational institutions, conducted by
the Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by Cisco, this is
a good thing.
Overall, 76% of respondents say a rise in private sector
involvement in education in their country is “positive”.
As a result, 92% of all respondents say it is important for the
private sector to advocate in favour of improvements in academic
performance to policy-makers. The private sector has not missed
this point. The question is not if, but rather how, corporations
become engaged in education. These are the key findings of an
Economist Intelligence Unit report, also sponsored by
Cisco—Global education 20/20: What role for the private sector?
The research also shows that the private sector is aiming to
balance direct engagement against policy interaction depending
on educational level. “Better education is in everyone’s
interest,” says Kim Andreasson, senior editor, Industry &
Management Research at the Economist Intelligence Unit and
author of the report. “And the private sector can play an
important role in education even though it is unlikely to
replace the role of the state.”
The main findings of the report include:
* Corporations can make a difference. When asked if the private
sector can affect education policy in their country, 94% of all
respondents say it can affect policy either to a great extent
(41%) or to some extent (53%). Among those who said the private
sector can influence policy to a great extent, 96% also said is
was somewhat or very important for the private sector to
advocate for increased levels of academic performance to
policy-makers.
* Engagement is pragmatic. For a corporation, it is easier to
become involved at the university level where there is a natural
link to the private sector through internships, employment
opportunities and fundraising. For lower educational levels the
gap is wider and the influence not felt as much. Only 8% of all
respondents say that corporations are somewhat or very involved
in the development of primary education curricula; for secondary
education the equivalent number is 9%. However, that number
rises greatly at higher education levels. Twenty-five percent of
all respondents say the private sector is somewhat or very
involved in curriculum development at the college level, and
almost half (48%) say the same about graduate school.
* But will the commitment last? When asked about the most
important global educational trend over the next decade, only
14% of all respondents predict it will be a growth in private
sector involvement. With the current economic turmoil, most
corporations are focused on survival. One-fifth (21%) of survey
respondents say the involvement of the private sector in
education increases in an economic downturn while almost half
(46%) say it decreases. About a quarter (27%) says it neither
increases; nor decreases.
Global education 20/20: What role for the private sector? is
available free of charge at
www.eiu.com/sponsor/cisco/globaleducation2020/
Global education 20/20: What role for the private sector? is an
Economist Intelligence Unit report sponsored by Cisco. In order
to assess attitudes about the role played by the private sector
and how it affects traditional education, the Economist
Intelligence Unit conducted an online survey of 211 private
sector executives and educational respondents in February 2009.
Of the 123 private sector respondents in the survey, 39%
describe themselves as board members or C-level executives.
Forty percent work for publicly listed corporations and 52% for
privately owned companies. One-half (50%) work for companies
with global annual revenue exceeding US$500m. Of the 88
respondents from educational institutions in the survey, 62%
represented an institution that offered graduate education, and
45% a college education. Another 28% represented corporate
education, and 18% and 14% offered secondary and primary
education, respectively. Forty-one percent of the institutions
were state owned, 40% were privately owned and 5% were publicly
listed. A majority (62%) of respondents came from organisations
with annual operating budgets of US$250m or less.
The Economist Intelligence Unit is the world leader in global
business intelligence. It is the business–to–business arm of The
Economist Group, which publishes The Economist newspaper. As the
world’s leading provider of country intelligence, the Economist
Intelligence Unit helps executives make better business
decisions by providing timely, reliable and impartial analysis
on worldwide market trends and business strategies.
Public-private
partnership in education
BOI to help
set up Knowledge City in Henegama
BOI is in the process of establishing a
‘Knowledge City’ in Henegama, in the Gampaha District to cater
to the growing demand in the tertiary education sector on
public-private partnership basis. With the limited no of
vacancies in the State Universities the no of students opting to
go abroad or enrolling in privately run tertiary education
institutes who offer degrees/diplomas with the collaboration of
foreign educational Institutes is in the rise. However except
for a very few these institutes are located in Colombo &
suburbs. The Proposed Knowledge City at Henegama in the Gampaha
District will cater to students from the surrounding cities such
as Gampaha, Negombo, Katana, Divulapitiya, Mirigama, Minuwangoda,
Wattala, Jaela, Attanagalla, Dompe, Mahara, Kelaniya & Biyagama.
This ‘Knowledge City’ is envisaged to attract internationally
reputed universities & other tertiary educational providers who
will offer undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate & diploma
courses in various fields of study. ‘Knowledge City’ will
include facilities such as common library, sports grounds, gym,
health care, food courts, hostels, etc. It is
BOI will facilitate the private sector to establish the core
facilities of the proposed ‘Knowledge City’ on PPP basis.
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