Is primary education a public good?
Today, in this blog I am going to talk about whether we should privatize the primary education in Canada.
First of all, let’s examine what public good is.
In economics a public good is defined as a good that is both non-rivalrous and non-excludable, meaning that the consumption of a designated good by one individual does not reduce availability to others, and does not exclude others from using it.
In my opinion, in Canada, the primary education is commonly known as a ‘close to being Public Good’, meaning not 100% public. Therefore, primary education is considered as a mixed public good because primary education is rivalrous to some degree and non-excludable.
How is primary education managed in Canada?
In Canada, public education is provided to all Canadians who meet various age and residence requirements for free. The ages for obligatory schooling vary from one jurisdiction to another, but most require attendance in school from age 6 to 16.
Education is almost entirely decentralized to the provinces and territories who are responsible for the provision, funding, and regulation of education. Each provincial and territorial ministry or department of education determines curriculum standards, education financing, teacher education, assessment, and other related issues. According to Statistics Canada, the total nominal spending on elementary and secondary education in government schools was $69.9 billion in 2015-16.
Although the public benefits from free primary and secondary education, there are few challenges. The challenge in public provision for primary education is the quality of education provided by the teachers. Because public school classrooms are overcrowded, the time spent to each individual student is limited and is difficult to monitor and evaluate the performance of the teachers.
Furthermore, because public schools have limited public funds, they are restricted in their program development or curricula. Public schools have less freedom in developing their own curricula and in some circumstances are too much dependent on government interference.
What if primary schools were privatized?
In most private schools, classroom size is much smaller, which allow teachers to give attention to each individual student. Private schools also are not restricted in their program development or curricula. Furthermore, private schools are not subject to the budget limitation imposed by the state, and therefore have a freedom to develop their own curricula.
Funding wise, the legislation and practices concerning the establishment of separate educational systems and private educational institutions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
If of $69.9 billion, only $4.4 billion was spent for private education in 2014-15, this means, the parents cover the tuition fees, which normally cost around $4,000 to $100,000 annually. Therefore, if education privatized, parents will have to put on with it.
Moreover, private institution have selective enrolment as they have the authority refuse the admission of certain students, whereas public schools allow all students, regardless of any factors. Selective admission creates a culture that has the potential to redefine the very nature of education.
Private or Public?
The privatization of education creates a range of ethical, political and educational problem that cannot be disregarded. According to the UNESCO report, privatization policies in education are predicated on the assumptions of economic self-interest (corruption) and generate unsustainable patterns of social inequality.
Nevertheless, the global trend towards privatization of education also implies the case of Canada. It is true that the idea that education should be funded and managed entirely by the state is no longer feasible, especially in an era of expanding demand for education. However, privatizing it entirely is putting too many risks in the primary education.
In line with this, the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) for primary public education is the best way to provide transparent and equal education to all citizens. Through PPP, State will work together with private sectors to develop policies programs, where State provides the fund while the private sector brings access to finance, knowledge of technologies, managerial efficiency and entrepreneurial spirit. This way, State will be able to control the excesses negative output created through privatized education and will provide fair and equal education to all.
Such a balance will not easy to achieve, and such partnerships can often be a create a conflict of interest between public and private sector, as the private sector inevitably gravitates toward activities where it is quick to make a profit, leaving the public sector with the inherently more complex and less easily rewarded task. However, the upside of it is that State has the option to opt out the private partnership when things go wrong with the private sector.