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“Several decades ago, private higher education already ranked as a major force in the higher education realm in many countries. Expansion in Latin America had begun in the 1960s, and the private sector was dominant in several key East Asian nations. At that stage, the forces shaping higher education were relatively stable. Then, in the last quarter of the 20th century, the dynamics changed dramatically, and the private higher education has suddenly become the fastest-growing segment of higher education worldwide—expanding rapidly in almost all parts of the world… The anatomy of private higher education varies internationally, but the upsurge is found in parts of the world that are undergoing the fastest enrollment growth—the developing and middle-income countries of the South and the countries of the former Soviet bloc. In these regions, as in much of the rest of the world, the state is unable or unwilling to provide support for public higher education. In all of these places, the private sector fills the gap… How to perceive the private sector and integrate it into the broader academic system in a country—and worldwide—is a key challenge. The newer private institutions are quite different—in structure, orientation, financial background, and in other ways—from the traditional private universities. Without question, understanding, integrating, and creating an appropriate policy framework for private higher education are central issues of the current period.” Philip G. Altbach ... ... ... “Private higher education has a public-good component. Thus, it is in the pubic interest to devise appropriate ways to support this commonly neglected sector. This discussion is particularly relevant given the ongoing expansion of private higher education throughout Latin America, a trend that is likely to become stronger in the near term as the flow of students leaving secondary education rises beyond its current modest levels… In Latin America during the 1980s, the response to rapidly increasing demand for postsecondary education involved not only the expansion of existing institutions—sometimes to gigantic proportions—but also the creation of a whole set of new institution sable to accommodate a far more diverse student body and willing to offer entirely new types of academic programs in new institutional settings. A large, though by no means exclusive, part of this expansion occurred with the active participation of the private sector to such a degree that, in some countries, it dominated public enrollments… We believe that the low end of the private higher education sector has a valuable social role to play in helping less well-endowed and less-affluent students to reach the postsecondary level. Yet, by itself it is unable to develop the requisite types of programs, materials, or staff to implement this role. The participation of the public sector is indispensable for the private sector to fulfill its potential role.” Claudio de Moura Castro and Juan Carlos Navarro
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Privatization of Higher Education